HELP ME!

Here i am
lost and ashamed
revolted and disturbed at what i have converted into
you either too smart or too dumb to find God
which am I?
This time i think i have gone a little too far beyond ungodliness
i think i have crossed some sort of indiscernible line
i think i have entered into a precinct where to me your name is as petite as a grain
where your absence means liberation
i've sunken too deep into the conducts of the world
i've put ample emphasis on triumphing in this life and i care so little about the one after it
it hurts
each day i carry this tormenting pain
i swear i can feel it crushing and devouring my insides
i want to praise you but i can't shake off the nauseating feeling that you are not worth it
i want to love you more than anything but i also want to appear first on the list of those i love
i want to learn about you but i'm too busy finding myself
i want to speak of you but i wouldn't know what to say
i want to fight for you but i'm already battling with my seemingly immutable and unending demons
i often call unto you and i wonder if the reply i hear is from you or it's my own voice echoing back to me
i hope you don't look away as i attempt to drag my filthy worthless self before you
i hope you are not humiliated
i hope you don't see me as an exhibition of a failure
even though you possess every right to think that
but here i am
flawed and wrecked
i bow before you with all my errors, with all these blemishes
here are my burdens
numerous and awful
what are you going do?

By Opelo Michiie Makoba (Botswana)

Picture credits: www.dailymaverick.co.uk

Insomnia...

With a stuffy nose, 
And so many thoughts
That no one knows 
How is one meant to sleep?

Awake with me are God, 
Truck drivers and whores
While everybody snores
Lost in their dreams so deep

I wish I could hit pause
On life and it's blows
On time, as it goes
Time I still fail to keep

For as the thickness of night grows
We all know what follows 
A promised daylight that's supposed
To end the nights that weep

That day draws near, dawn feels so close
Insomnia, this is the worst time you chose
To visit me, trap me behind the doors
So leave, do not call or speak after the beep

By Naomi Lialabi (Zambia)

photocredits: www.topix.com

Child With A Broken Soul.......

I am afraid of voices in suicide
notes that were never seen
And whispers of spirits 
left in stainless steel police coffins
Enchanting me into a black hole

Words that drag me to the darkness
in which they were written
Make me find refuge in their grimness
as if it were my mother
Am I a child intrigued by the writer
because I have her broken soul?

My thoughts are tinkets hanging 
in the shrink's office
To please patients whose epiphany 
is knowing that they are better than others

My thoughts are naked and helpless
tugged by death and its accomplices
And mysteries of the unknown purpose
of enduring everything here
These thoughts seek any type of clothing

They find dumped garments of proselytes
Who soon want their clothes
back when sin repullulates
No tailor can make the right measurements
The nakedness can only be covered
by those who poured out their souls

-As broken as their souls were

By Dzikamayi Chando (Zimbabwe)

Picture credits: www.google.com

‪#‎Note to him...

I know I’m not your type
Not that girl...with wide hips and hugging jeans
I’m just the girl with wide eyes hugging my journal
Reciting my thoughts to blue black inkblots on a white canvas
I know I’m not your type
You know the kind with catwalk confidence and charisma
I’m just the girl walking silently as the cat
Hoping to escape the crowd's gaze
So I can confidently tuck my thoughts in between these pages before my mind walls rise
So I can smile to their charismatic indulgences in the serenity of the self -thoughts of when I met you in my thoughts
Introduced you to the crimson coloured sky
As when we ran barefooted to our happily ever after
If only for that moment fairy tales existed
But I’m not your type
So I snap back to reality
Back to the truth
Because I’m not that girl willing to get entangled by white sheets
Held prisoner in invisible stains of sin and deceit
I’m just the girl washed clean by the blood
Whiter than any sheets
Having rubbed off the scarlet letter around my neck
I’m the girl at the cross
Waiting diligently
Waiting for daybreak like the night watchman waits for morning
Waiting for my Adam to finally rise up
Know that I am his your type
And will both recite these poems found in locked hands
Rocking back and forth the past and future
Yet still locked in the present innocence accompanied by locked gazes
With beaming faces and giggles as a lace
I am the girl who doesn’t have to be your type
Just the woman you never wanted to admit you needed
One sent by God to you.

By Dangie Pheto (Botswana).

picture credits: www. cindy-saul.blogspot.com

A NEW SONG...

My heart, my soul longs for a new song
A song of peace and serenity
A song of hope and joy
A song of freedom
Liberating the inner man
A new song my heart awaits

Counting every minute
I wait for my song
Only my song would come from one man-God Himself
In whom music to my ears would be rest
Anguish no longer holding
Frustrations, fears all held illegal
A new song my heart believes for

With the hope of His glory
I am enchanted...
I am captivated to hope
That my new song will come to stay
That i may tell my story
Of His peace and rest
That overwhelms my inner being

Ironical it seems
Of my new song
Because its not only my song
But humanity's lament
A cry for peace
The salvation of man!!!!

By  Tshepiso S Bagwasi
photocredits: www.google.com

Skin deep....

We raise the dust,
just to know where the wind blows,
I'd trade our lust,
just to know how real love goes,
what's love without trust?
that's very simple,
A relationship that never lasts,
making you feel like you need more,

I gave you my heart
and you gave it back
I know it came with four chambers
but you still tore it apart
I feel really dumb
because I still want you back
After all the lies, the different guys
I miss your touch
and I still want you by my side
is this suicide or real love
its not had to decide
I promised to give you all I had

I've truly tried to sweep
you off your feet
but it seems the broom
got stuck between your heels
I'm willing to give
you a second chance
but only if you'll love me for real
if you're not willing
send me a rescue team
that pulls you out of my blood stream
because in me you're skin deep
waters not shallow enough for me
to swim

By Kanyanta Chisashi (Zambia)

photocredits: www.google.com

LOVE CRIED

I heard your heat beat
Against the walls of your chest,
Pleading to be let out.
Pleading to love.
I held you in your hurting
And our hearts entwined
As yours cried love into your veins.
I have never seen love cry,
But I heard your heart wail.
It's voice was pierced with sorrow,
Silent sobs racked the inside of your chest cavity
Behind a cage of composure
And face of stone

By Esnala Lahru Banda (Zambia)

photocredits: www.google.com

On Sithole

How can I be a racist when genocides persist?
Hutsi fought the Tutsi over the shape of a nose,
Now Azania burns because her children insist
Similarity is more than skin. Machete blows
Expose a truth long denied: the devil is within
Not on the surface of the skin. As brother falls
Before brother, Azania turning Cain on kin,
Hector Peterson turns stain of the kettle’s calls;
Colonialism and slavery, a mirror, our mockery!
Angels and demons both have dark shadows,
The similarity of skin does not make one kin-ly,
I’ve seen too many black knives in dark corridors.
My brother is the wind beneath my feeble wing,
Whose voice is mine for the same song we sing.

By Philani Amadeus Nyoni (Zimbabwe)

photocredits: cnn news network.

Beatrice...

sometimes
i look out of the window,
rehearsing a reaction
and practising an apology,
but words elude me
and beautiful metaphors
will still fail to cover the naked truth,
so ugly, that it hurts;
it pierces through my heart
and leaves me hurting;
I'm rushing to the clock
hanging from my broken wall,
to stop the arms from moving,
but it's my time alone that stops.
relentlessly,
these spectres haunt me;
memories of the two of you,
her tiny head lying on your chest.
that was on the night i left
and wandered in the wilderness.
I'm now only kept warm by my conscience
when the sun leaves me at sunset,
reminiscent of how I had left you.
my heart sobs...
we were so tenderfooted
and barely seventeen,
a new life costs a fortune
and my pockets had no diamond.
hear the vibration of my heart
and realise how sorry i am.
i hope you name our glory Nobulumko
- she who has wisdom will liberate us.

By-Ndumiso Mdayi (South Africa)

photo credits:https://www.google.co.zw

illusion

let me see beneath your cosmetic,
borrow me your agelines I want to draw emotions on the air
let every stroke tell of my lust and longing.

Let me see behind you mirror, 
am I the fairest of them all, why is my shadow missing,
are we playing spot the difference? 
run along and catch the stalker.

Let me see beneath my imposter
potraying me wrong like a blurry picture 
Iam not me, just pretending to preserve your smile.

Let me see beneath your underwear,
after that I will dicth you like a hot potato,
then I will show you my true colours, but you are a girl you are colour blind.
So you will go to the next guy
and he will break another button of your blouse

By Abel Dube (Zimbabwe)

Picture credits: www.google.com

Forget me not...

Forget me not

For the times we have spent together

The times we spent apart yet willed to be together

The times we have been together yet willed to be apart

The times we have been together and felt together

Remember me always

Forget me not

For the laughter we shared

The laughter we shared unsure if we were laughing at the same things

The laughter we shared and wished we’d laugh that way again

The laughter that brought us closer together

Remember me always

Forget me not

For the tears we shed together

The tears of joy and sorrow

The tears that made us unravel the inner beings in us

The tears that separated and brought us together

Remember me always

Forget me not

For the kisses we shared

The kisses that made us dread and yet want to see each other again

The kisses whose meanings we sought in the depths of our hearts

The kisses that we always will cherish

Remember me always

By Vimbai Beritah Chinembiri (Zimbabwe)

Picture credits; Hotel Rwanda-The movie

A VALENTINE'S WISH

He says,
She say she's every woman and more 
Worth a dozen roses but is she the woman for me
Baby I hold you close,
I take an oath
Honey drip on your lip
Till you feel like heaven coming
Though I haven't seen you lately,
Only broken voices on your phone when I call
Baby, I miss you greatly

She says: 
He tastes of the mysteries of manliness
His promise of heaven hard to ignore
The hunger in his deep dark brown eyes
The heat of him as he embraces me
Clouding my every instinct
Could he be true?
His oath so sweet
So amazing yet unbearable
But don’t let me go
Kiss me forever
Hold me till I’m breathless

He says:
Girl be my every fantasy, my very own woman clothed in robes
My very own woman clothed in a scent of rose
Your robes fall to the floor
I'll count up to 10, and then 11, but on that 12th rose
On that 12th I close my eyelids
See your every curve, feel your heartbeat juxtapose
On that 12th rose, I imagine you close

She says:
Be my knight riding in to my rescue
Be my Hercules
Hard Solid Steady
Rock me back and forth
Drink of my sweetness
Gorge yourself full of my delicate being

He says:
But is only but an imagination
Vivid deliberations, blue print to my avid infatuation
And as nights oppose
And the day draws close
My Valentine's wish
Is to have you close

By Peter Zoe and Bridget Oree (Zimbabwe)

photocredits: www.google.com/blackpassion

True story

If you were me where would you go,
What would you do,
who would you tell?

If you were me and you loved you like i do,
would you send me your picture?
Or you would wait for me in the rain
soaking and breathing
living for me, just to see me one more time?

If you were me would you see you when you look at the mirror?
Would dance for me,
would you make funny faces to make smile,
would it hurt you to leave me?

If you were me
would you lend me your life to relieve me of the pains you afflict on me?
Would you contract my share of deseases in this lifetime?
Would you serve my sentence in hell?

If you were me and i were you
if it was up to you
would trade my love for a beanie
because all i have is this woolen hat
but i miss you 

By Abel Dube (Zimbabwe)

Photo credits: pixelsandpaperchallengeblog.blogspot.com

BABY YOU LIED...

I married you

Because of your lies

Not because you lied on me

I thought I'd change you

You promised

You'd take me to the sky

You don't have a plane

Or if you had any

You'd have given it for a bottle of wine

You showed me a car

It was not yours

So when your took it back

You said it was stolen

Do you have the watch

Which you had the first day

Or was it

With its money

That we had a drink

I love you

I have you

But what I may not hide

Is what I know

Baby you lied.

By  Dan Walubengo‎ (Kenya)

Photo credits: www.bongocelebrity.com

His heart beat....

The fire in his eyes seared through me,

a smouldering heat that burned through every premise of my being.

He cradled my face in his warm soft hands

brought me close and gave me a taste of heaven.

His lips tasted of honey, of morning dew.

He tasted earthy he tasted of the mysteries of manliness.

He brought me even closer, he felt hard solid like immovable he felt warm he felt like home.

He then whispered the most amazing things to me things I had waited my whole life to hear. 

“you're beautiful” he said, “you're a creature so magnificent so endearing so captivating so very breath taking that I’m lost for words at times if not always”.

He spoke of a light in me,

He spoke of a calmness in me,

He spoke of a kindness a gentle meekness a love he said that shone so bright and so profound that he couldn’t help but be drawn to me.

My spirit soared my soul exploded into a million pieces my mind sent into a tailspin, my body alive. This creature, this amazing wonderful being in awe of me?

Could it be that the inner most exuberant parts of me had finally shone through?

Could this creature of wonder have finally stumbled onto the greatness that was and is me?

As I lay next to him, his heart beating strong his breathe steady I knew, I knew ! then I had found my purpose.

I knew then that destiny had come calling,

I knew then that my life's intention would be to love him, to hold him dear eternally.

By Bridget Oree (Zimbabwe)

Photo credits: www.google.com

SRB...

There are fellows with a strong rural background

The rustics or country bumpkins

Who are backward and awkward

When brought to foreign land

Within sight of bright illuminating agents

Which fascinate the eye in the night sky

But wait till its morning

When they are more at home

Till they turn the tap in a clockwise motion

Or the distance covered by merely seating how easy life can be

Return the favour thy urban dweller

Seek the bus back home

After countless trial and error navigational mishaps

The homestead appears in the horizon

Thorn greet friendly when disturbed

Man’s best friend makes a nuisance of your presence

A flat battery brings your musical soliloquy to a halt

You appreciate how dark the night is

And how dark the light is

More so the appearance of the moon

Never mind stealing being accepted for once

As it steals light from the sun

Candle light not enough for your liking

As your life burns in the same way

By Kelvin Mpofu ( Zimbabwe)

Photo credits: www.google.com

WHY DOES LOVING YOU FEEL SO WRONG ??....

So you are still out-and-out with that old passion?
I look cogently at you actively warbling that song, unchanged, 
You sing out the aridity of deceased poems in the levelheadedness they ranged
You sing perfectly the words I need to hear!
Your voice fondles my within at such easy charge
I think I love you too; I know it I love you too!
In your realm my heart weeps to belong,
It calls to merger the love, to piece the pieces in throng
But I’m too feeble to abide the bearing so strong,
I love you, but it feels so wrong I don’t know why!

 My heart still sings songs of late melodies long;
Synonymous with ancient rhythms that need not to be taught,
But told in stories and words that need not be translated,
My days still shine with smiles of love but hatred;
Beneath me death darkened its arms dark and waited,
I dream of impassioned nights and stealthy aftermaths...
My mistake was not to love but who I loved,
Your words were like salve to my wounds…
You made me believe in eternity, that I could live forever and;
Your words would sustain me.
Illusions, illusions! I loved you, and it feels so wrong I don’t know why!

 Your voice leaks out sharply;
Like hell’s knife-edges cutting through a vein!
Our voices weep loud, louder and loudly;
Like death’s child at edges through the pain,
I train my mind behind me like a famed fool
O! How cool, I lose my seeing in the love lovey spool
And you fool! I choose my feelings above toes, for love’s a tool,
That rules above eyes of its beholder beneath the moon,
I need you like the light of words in Jen Worlds scripts,
I need you like sunshine above heads in distant worlds deep,
I need you to send me through,
And I will wipe off tears from your eye’s tip,
I need you to let me on through so I could fall into your grateful embrace,
I need you like I need God in my life but loving you feels so wrong, and I don’t know why!?

But for once, let us forget the world with all its flaws,
Cocoon ourselves in the safety of our embrace and loose ourselves in these scripts,
Remind ourselves once again that every word has its worth,
So mind not the dollars
For the cents is all we got, for now...
Forget about tomorrow,
For the night is yet to age.
I love you,
And I will love you still,
Though it feels wrong, still

By Jennifer Legotlwane & someone (Botswana)

photo credits:  Afrofuture

Mukondi....

Mukondi, they did not tell you? in the morning you will be hungry again. That the pot is empty before it is full and that it is full before it is empty. That you will work for your pay only so you can pay for your work. That from lives of your children will yield the pain of your death. That Chikomba, your friend who was the witness at your marriage, will be the cause of your divorce.

Mukondi, did they not tell you that in the morning you will be hungry again? That what you eat today is what will eat you tomorrow. That the birds that sing beautifully in the bush will tear at your corpse when you are dead. That the sun does not chase the shadow but that the shadow chases the sun. That the egg did not bring the chicken but that the chicken brought the egg.

Mukondi, they did not tell you? in the morning you will be hungry again. That dogs can only bark at what they cannot bite. That the tree can only grow when the seed has truly died. That the pen that spoils the paper can put no mark on stone. That the wind that carries the gentle butterfly can draw the harshest floods.

Mukondi, did they not tell you that in the morning you will be hungry again? That you will celebrate to gain the courage to mourn, and that you will mourn to build the hope to celebrate. That things are not what they seem, for to fail is to succeed at failing, and to succeed is to fail at failing. That in the end one is all and all is one, food for the stomach and the stomach for food. That as they dig they bury, that as they live they die.

By Yemurai Nyoni (Zimbabwe)

Photo credits: AfroFuture

lest i forget...

I forget a lot of things
Some matter, some don't
In this haste to create a life I dream of
Sometimes I shatter your dreams

But when I breath this air
I remember the miracle I am
I don't want to forget God's love in my life
His mercy, His grace
When I live to see another year
Let me be reminded of His never failing love, for me

Because He made me meet you
In some way, you have touched my life
You have made me laugh
Maybe angry,
Maybe sad
Maybe I even reciprocated the actions, and feelings
But in this way, I am here because you influenced my life

For the times I was happy
Thank you,
Let me say this now
Lest I forget how much you matter
Before this life pulls me away
Its realms reaping you from my reach

Because every moment spent with you was priceless
And words cannot express my misery when I let you down
Because I still want you in my life
To laugh, live and love
To load, aim and fire
To repeat whats necessary

This we have is greater than me
But before I forget all this
Before every bit of it fades into nothingness
Let me thank you for being my friend.

By Pardon Gwara (Zimbabwe)
Picture credits; "Best Friends Forever" by Kip Hayes