YEARNING VOICES

To P.K

Your part you playedA standing ovation this is

Those sacrifices in ZambiaYou could have chosen comfortRelative middle class comfort

On the side of the down troddenYou, Joshua Nkomo and others

The dangers of enemy fire presentParcel bombs, car bombs and other weapons

The racist regime had to be dislodged

You will never walk aloneNdabaningi Sithole is there with youMany they have hated passionately

You dared to sing those dirgesForsaking the fruits of sycophancy

Posterity will treasure these living lessons[dedicated to the late Patrick Kombayi]

SENTENCED TO DEATH

The euphoria died downThen you saw their colours

Hunted with the houndsThey had run with the haresThe opportunists were at itChampions of our struggle

Assuming high sounding titlesRewarding the praise singersThe ideals came off the railsThe profound pain you felt

Then you spoke against evil schemesTheir wrath you incurred

The hot lead shattered your lifeYou had dared to tell the truth

That was the offence you committedThe death penalty it carriedTorment them in your death

THE OMINOUS CHASMS

A deluge of questionsNot one answer forth comingThe many battles you foughtWhat was at the root of it all

Will I ever understand itMaybe in just in just one dreamPerhaps in another's confession

What was the root of the lamentationsThat you found love in another tribeWas it to do with her assertivenessEveryone of them remains mumThe ominous chasm plain to see

The rifts there for everyone to see

FRIENDS OR FOES

Behind that hollow laughterThe hyenas ready to pounce

They dig pits in my wayTheir machinations plain to see

Behind those plastic smilesThe Judas Iscariot kissThey want me nailed

For the truth is an offence

The vultures hovering aroundOnly to find no carrion hereBecause of the truth I say

They want me out of the way

WANTED

They congregate in evil placesHatching their evil schemes

Against them I have committed a crimeMy crime is to expose their evil schemes

Schemes to worship the devil

I have to fly without perchingThe archers are sharpening their arrows

They are learning to shoot without missingI will not be a sitting duck for them

They seek to assassinate and eliminate me

THRIVING ON FEAR

Two sides of the same coinOn podiums and pulpits

Exalting themselves alwaysPoliticians and priests steeped in lies

Promises made never fulfilledSpreading the web of fear

Angling for hearts and minds

YEARNING FOR LIBERTY

We created FrankensteinSome actively made the partsIn your graves do you hear me

Others chose to be in deathly silenceWhen they could speak out loudly

Frankenstein then started the rampageDevouring mothers, children and fathers

Devouring his creators without mercyA web of fear spread

There Frankenstein thrived

Frankenstein must now be chainedThe ghosts of the past must be exorcised

The time for deafening silence is upTo smithereens we blow FrankensteinThe nation must now sing and dance

STILL BORN

Someone put the cart before the horseAnother handled food with dirty hands

A doctor used a rusty scalpel on the patientThe result was an obvious deathAt the end an avoidable death

Voices spoke in unison thenTheir usual arrogance blinded them

Self proclaimed champions of our struggleYet another derailment looming

We must go down the disused mine shaftsTalk to the time-white bones down there

No more dust to be swept under the carpetAppease all the angry spirits

Open up all those shallow gravesAccept responsibility for the atrocitiesStand on moral high ground and preach

DAVID DEAD STONE*

In ominous silenceThere before your discovery

Your out of place imposing statueThere before that distinct rumbling

The rumbling of mosi-oa-tunya

The baTonga did not matterThat name refused to die

Under the English dead weightThe English dead weight of Victoria

Your queen could not take precedence

Mine was righteous indignationStood there and told you the truthYour imposing statue at that place

That out of place statue

*David Livingstone

POLY TRICKSTERS

Tired of poly trickstersConmen games everywhere

The ruling elites stinkThe air is polluted

Everywhere their empty talk

The same old songBroken and unfulfilled promises

Too many con- artistsNo leaders in sight

Poly tricksters everywhereSucking the nation dry

Insensitive to our sufferingWining and dining on our behalf

OUT OF BONDAGE

The light of liberty is shiningWhy are you seated in the darkness

The darkness of forces of oppressionHear the sweet sound of freedom

Calling you to throw away the burdensThe burdens of your service to evil

Exorcise the ghosts of your pastCome out of the closet

Unchain your mind nowCome confess about the murders

Come now free yourself from rapeAll those heinous crimesThere lies your liberty

A BATTERED NATION

This sad and sick nationIn dire need of healing

The shocking levels of violenceAftermath of lessons in brutality

Learnt over a very long timeThe scars quite evidentAll the sadism exhibited

The demonic forces of brutalityWith truncheons dispatching terror

Finding satisfaction in inflicting painThis sick and sad nation

In dire need of moral regenerationLaw enforcement agents breaking the law

Breaking the law with impunityWho are we now to turn toThis nation needs healing

THE BARE FACTS

They hate my gutsFor they know the truth

They hide behind fingersMy mission is not overNo justice for the poor

While the rich buy their way outBuying their way out of jail

But then the wicked must sufferGood men and women must confront evil

Ready even to die for the truthThat is the price to be paid

For they congregate in evil placesWining and dining with the devil

Those hurdles are not insurmountableTheir invincibility is a myth

The vigilance of my maker is here

TO THAT FIGHTER

To that bar you took your idealsChallenging the stereotyping

A woman alone in the barThere among the many men

Sipping your beerDefying their gazing at you

As though you were some UFOYou were just yourself

Not a guinea pig in a feministic experimentThat respect you earned

Never cadging a beer from themNever expecting to be treated like a victimStanding firm and singing your own song

Accept my apologies if I erredWith your thick dreadlocks flowing

You found your own spaceLive then in the full knowledgeThat some sat up and listened

[Christine Nleya]

YOUR COOKING

Woman , I enjoyed your cookingWhen I yearn for more

Blame not at allYours was a special dish

That no one should ever taste

That was a tasty dishThat I will never have enough of

The inexplicable succulence of that dishWoman you perfected your art

INGRATITUDE

The blows and kicksOf your ingratitude

Those do not bother meMy skeleton on the outside

The lesson of old holds swayOut of those ten

Only one expressed his gratitudeThat is how it is to this day

FAMILY FEUDS

At times I stand aloofLetting time take control

Providing lasting solutionsComplicated involvement avoiding

Withdrawing into this cocoonThanks to the poetry

Retaining my sanity still

Drawn into those battlesThe roots not known to me

The origins of this bickeringComing up with this and that theory

Fighting and running away to live again

STILL UNDER SIEGE

With that steely determinationThat home you built

Driven always by that modestyNot chasing after ill gotten gains

Did you labour in vain then

There are those latent forcesThat home now pulling down

Turn it into a termite’s paradiseThose teachings in ecclesiastes true

There are profound lessons here

The river of time flows stillThat feuding continues unabated

Caught in the eye of a stormA torrent of blows and kicksThat dark cloud shall pass

OF THIEVES AND CHIEFS

Shocking buffoonery exhibitedIn this seemingly never ending drama

The tragi-comedy bedevilling this nationNow in the band wagon of avarice

That institution turned to rubbishIts usefulness it has outlived

Listen to them aping their mastersPosh imported cars along dusty tracks

Those silly helicopter ridesThose crumbs from their masters’ tables

Fast turning chiefs into thievesThat shocking buffoonery exhibited

BEREFT OF LEADERS

In their eyes it is impossibleWickedness will just prevail

It will only be for a little while

That time shall soon comeThe houses built on the sand

Their collapsing is now imminentYou were long told of king owl’s horns

That time is now at handTrees are now bearing fruit

God fearing leaders now ariseThese demons are to be exorcised now

Rivers of blood shall not flow againThe future is now at the threshold

THOUGHT TRACKS

After the mask of hypocrisyHas been by reality shredded

The truth will walk stark nakedMuch to the chagrin of the pretenders

That is when it dawns on youThis life drama has no script

The sweetness is in the spontaneityIt is in seizing the particular moment

The futility of pigeon holingThought police cannot arrest this

No dam to hold back these thoughtsEfforts at censorship put to shame

IN THE FAST LANE

The post man given a hefty kickA hefty kick in the arse

The pre-patched pair of trousersTechnology kicked him off the streets

No more letters in stylish handwritingThe e-mail address took over

Then someone brought face bookNow they talk of skype

Mesmerized by all this technologyLost in the technological jungle

e-mail, video conferencing, skypeah what next then

RAZED

That fire of infidelityThat mansion razed

The ruins plain to seeChildren like a ping pong ball

Parents in a tug of war

Down that steep slopeInto manic depression

Seeking solace in cocktailsCocktails of cocaine, heroin, mandrax

The cataclysm is here

That mansion razedThe deep chasms on the pedestal

Saying prayers to the devilThe ominous emptiness here

The ruins of a family

DEBATING

Deafening sounds of sycophancyOur minds repeatedly smote

Propaganda machinery unleashedPutting a stop to that vital debate

Never voted for my father Their warped talk about cultureNo sun rises before another sets

Never voted for those kings

FRET NOT

Their usual refrainTheir grab and steal

Killing with impunityTheir dark deeds

Protected by the devil

Their ill gotten gainsStench of corruption

No peace in the mansionsTormented by the wailing

The wailing of the poorThat innocent blood shed

No peace at all thereTormented by their wickedness

HIGH SOUNDING EMPTINESS

Just a fistful of dust

Maybe a handful of ashesThe ultimate position

Stripped of high sounding titlesThe bare essentials on the pedestal

Born of a womanBy way of natural delivery

Maybe by caesarean sectionThe mindless ostentation exhibited

Lessons in humility forgottenDrowned in that euphoria

The euphoria of assumed titlesThe high sounding emptiness

THE HEAT IS ON

Congregating in evil placesJust to plot evil schemes

To shed this innocent bloodThey shall not prosper

Their evil schemes will prevailBut only for a little whileFor my maker is a fighter

Not against flesh and blood

They shall soon be smittenIt was a sling and a stoneLittle david slew goliath

Bury them now in their own pits

BLOCKED EARS

Then Vincent Ford ‘wrote’ them‘Composed’ those great lyrics

You put the passion into itThe world sang along

The world still sings along

Where are you Bob MarleyWhat of the ‘composer’ Vincent Ford

The job is yet to be completed‘No woman no cry’ still misunderstood

Never the lyrics of a misogynistTelling a woman not to cry

Assuring her everything will be okayStill many do not get it today

Listening skills at an all time low

IN THE CREVICES

Brimming with buffooneryHe came out of the closet

A foul mouthed idiotForgetting his glass jaw

Many in the crevicesWaiting for a non existent victory

They will get a whackingThe time for that is nigh

KILLERS ON THE PROWL

The story will fall into placeThe pieces of a jigsaw puzzle

The lips of the righteous will teach manyFools will die for want of wisdom

My maker shall protect meThe mouths of the wicked are open

That warrior blood will riseNow it is needed the most

The killers bay for my bloodThat mighty force shall shame them

THE ANNIHILATION

That fake smile is goneThe predator snarl is out

Now we are at daggers drawn

Run wicked one runTake refuge before its too late

Your empty talk gets you nowhereYour troops shall be annihilated

STILL FIGHTING

I will not raise my handRaise my hand against themThese disciples of Lucifer

They have incurred the wrathThe wrath of my maker

For they shed innocent blood

Forever they shall be cursedNot everyone will be fooledReason will have to prevailEvil cannot prosper forever

The noose tightens around their necks

THE ODD MAN OUT

They reduced it to a commodityThat is what they did to justice

They removed that blind foldingExposing that goddess to wealth

Justice was put up for saleAll sorts of price tags were put

Then I spoke against all thisA mortal enemy I was then branded

There was the nudity of it allThere was not a trace of shame

That system was falling to piecesSomeone had to be sacrificed

TO A DIM WIT

A sad chapter in this storyThis story of my lifeYou were just a stain

To be bloated out of sight

You wove a tall taleCould not even mask the liesThen you incurred their wrathTrying to belittle their minds

Now you wallow in shameYou could not win mind games

Your foul mouth now imprisons youYour buffoonery now on a pedestal

ON MY WAY

Pursuing my idealsWith maniacal zeal

They will be after meFor standing in their way

The way to ill gotten gainsThe path of destruction

Never expecting a pat on the backBut an arrow through the heart

There is a price tagJustice is up for sale

Hear the trumpet of triumphThe vanquished drown in their tears

THEIR FOOLISHNESS

What is the root of this foolishnessThis very dangerous foolishness

Killing your own kith and kinMuch to the amusement of detractors

Yearning to be hewers of woodStill crying out to be drawers of water

Crying out for menial jobsDerailing that struggle for resources

THE HUNTED ONE

Thought the grass was greenerGreener on the other side

Without bidding farewell you leftThe scythe of squalor decimating lives

You could not just be a sitting duck

An economic exile they termed youIt was deeper than they could fathomYou did not want to be a caged bird

How then could you bid farewellThe poison tipped arrows are still here

SCATTERED

Everything working like clock workReady for all the romp and pomp

Friends and foes ready to feastThe African laughter resonatingFor you were back to this land

The land of your ancestorsThen death struck on the eleventh hour

GUTTED

The fiery fire of infidelityGutted the spacious mansion

What remained was an empty eggshellBereft of the yolk and egg white

There were threats of suicideThere were threats of trigger squeezing

No plaster of Paris to mend the fractureThe blows landed heavily on children

Some found solace in hard drugsOthers plunged into the cesspool of lunacyIllusions and delusions in the driving seat

TIME HAS COME

With my bare feet I standStand on this burial groundBefore each grave I standThere lies my grandfather

Here too is my grandmotherMy father lies here too

Then I invoke those spiritsThat fight will be protracted

Run wicked one for I am hereYou shall be weighed in the balance

You shall be found wantingInnocent blood should not be shed

OUT OF GRIM NECESSITY

The grinding poverty hereThe larvae burdened water

The elusive foreign currenciesLies told to get food aidOut of grim necessity

Tired soils yielding nothingThe heavy rock of poverty

Weighing heavily on their shouldersThe axe wreaking havoc

Out of grim necessity

Queues for never arriving grain trucksThe politics of food at playSouls put up for sale here

‘hunger in the belly rose to the brain’

Out of that grim necessity

UNTITLED THOUGHTS

Not totally deflowered by technologyNo addictive internet here

A cell phone here another one thereThe occasional motor vehicle passing by

Cattle bells clanging in the distanceThe village cocks exchanging greetings

Doves cooing up there in the treesVoices broadcasting news from out there

Voices whimpering under the rock of exileThese thoughts yearning to find expression

Dying to reach out to others out there

JUSTICE FOR SALE

The poor will not have justiceThe price to be paid has soared

Soared out of reach like a bird of preyThere is no justice for the poor

The goddess has removed the blind foldNow blinded by United States dollars

Now also blinded by the Rand

The souls of officials are up for saleThe poor will yearn for justice

The rich use officers like door matsMurderers get away with murderRapists buy their way out of jail

The poor continue to be the victimsThe victims of their poverty

The rich commit crimes with impunityThe poor’s rights are trampled on

The scandalous are cheered onCourt officials in the mafia strangle hold

Laughing all the way to the banksEnjoying all those empty trinkets

The goddess of justice has been rapedThe blind fold has been removed

The goddess is now blind to justice

BUNS IN THE PAN

The whole heap of themThey are steeped in it

The race for self aggrandizementThe craving for the fruits of power

Raping the minds of the poor

They are cut from the same clothEveryday spewing all the propaganda

Lies are packaged as the truthThe media is on a tight leash

Singing the praise songs for bread

All we hear is ‘Power to the people’Yet the people remain emasculated

Confused by systems created by the rulersTo serve the elite and their hounds

The schemes are plain to see

GIVING BIRTH

My mind is in labourThe pain is getting worseThe baby is on the way

Could be a full term babyOr one destined for the incubator

The pain of a still born one

The pain is getting worseThe waiting will not be longThe naming is on the way

That is the icing on the cakeThe pain gives way to joy

STAYING AFLOAT

The poetry keeps me afloatSaving me from the depths

The depths of the murky water of frustration

Deriving happiness in sadnessHope available in large dosesThis poem keeping me afloat

All the shackles and chains aroundFinding freedom in my mind

Thought police cannot touch this

At times am a dove in the skyAt times a mountain echoing voices

Yours, mine, everyone’s voices

Experimenting with the images

Subverting all strictures aroundFinding satisfaction in creativity

DIM THE LIGHT

The multitudes will use that roadBuilt on years of lies

The path of truth will be overgrownOvergrown by thistles and thorns

They detest travelling along it

They will blame the mirrorFor their faces are askew

Obsessed with all those praisesThe high sounding empty titles

Sycophants singing those praises

Hear the dirges out thereThe fools are followed everywhereLeading the gullible into precipices

The fate of visionaries is knownThis light can never be dimmed

TRAPPED

There have been many attacksAll kinds of vermin at it

But my skeleton is on the outsideTheir schemes bear no fruit

Steeped in a messy disasterThat day will soon come

We are now in the count downThe spider will be trapped in its web

FRUITS OF FAILURE

Behind it all The hidden hand

The greed and corruptionAftermaths of failure

The genocide in RwandaSomeone somewhere profiting

The catastrophe in SomaliaThe total destruction

The fighting in EthiopiaThe oil driven fights

Internecine strife in NigeriaIn the jungles of the DRC

Blood diamonds fuelling conflictThe dust under the carpet

The truth yearning to surfaceDust covered reports in Zimbabwe

The stench of xenophobia in South AfricaAfrica in dire need of healing

Needing more mature leadership

THE CONFRONTATION

The maggots feasting on the truthBehind that anthill in the bush

That man dared to confront the rotThe mafia had to conceal the evidence

Cover myself with a blanket of fearThat could never be an option

Trample my own conscience I refuseThe minotaurs should be bludgeoned

*[Captain Edwin Nleya]

MOUNTAINS OF SHAME

The height of gullibilityTo fall for those plastic smiles

Behind those fake smilesThe snarl of predators

Masters of intrigue brought to shameTime has no master

The deeper they bury the truthThe more it yearns to surface

Postponing the inevitableThat exercise in futility

Standing on mountains of shameTheir ways plain to see

HAITI

That is the way of the worldThe altruism just surfaces

In the face of death and destructionThe shameful exhibited philanthropyThere before foreign television crews

Haiti you have always been aloneDown there under the weight of poverty

See the abundance of friends nowNow you are headline news

That is the way of the world

TORTURE CHAMBERS

Regrets presiding over the inquisitionIn the torture chambers of past hurts

The subconscious relentlessly whackedBlood curdling screams shatter the presentShards of broken hearts there everywhere

The ghosts of the past stoutly refusingStoutly refusing to yield to the futureThere a fresh dawn yearning to sprout

Time healing those broken heartsThe tide of pain is on the ebb

TAKEN FOR GRANTED

There in their ivory towersThey take us for granted

They forget the pastThe roots of that struggle

The workers, students, subsistence farmersAll taken for granted by the rulers

The unexplained power cutsThe water supplies just disconnected

Our thoughts drowned in speculationRelying on rumours and gossip

The fear that rules our livesThat will jolt us into action

WOMAN

Stand up and liberate yourselfThrow off that yoke

That yoke of silly valuesPull that chair for yourself

Open that car door tooThat silly label throw out

Be a fighter not a lady

There is a price to be paidShow me what is for free

Then the chains I will show youI will show you the bondage

Get up woman liberate yourselfRefuse to be pampered

Do not seek to be a manYour identity as a woman forgeThe rabid feminism throw out

The chains of dependence severFor your bread toil now

The sanctity of your body restoreNever again to be a sex objectTake charge of your sexuality

That curvaceous body is not for saleNever an avenue for those trinkets

Liberate yourself right nowPray not to self made gods

Throw away those mental crutchesFight the second class citizen status

An indelible mark leave now

HEED THE CALL

That blood of slain heroes and heroinesDo you hear it calling now

Those contradictions apparentSeeking refuge in Europe

Fleeing from kith and kinWhere did the derailment begin

A generation of semi-literatesTeacher come and intervene

These pock marked roadsEngineer heed the call

Our people dying in drovesDoctor pack your bags now

Treated like dregs out thereTake leave of them now

The xenophobia and racismThink of the home you left

The fire gobbling this homeCome help put out the fire

Those voices wailing out here Those derailed ideals call

Artist come back home nowThe hills , valleys and plains are here

The sickening emasculation evidentTransfer that power back to the people

THE GLUTTONS

Tired of the gluttonsThe double chins prominent

The obscene full belliesClamouring for real change

Another crop of opportunistsNo respite for the down trodden

Those ideals shelved againPropagating the false consciousnessThe wailing rural masses forgottenCarrying on like beasts of burden

The opportunists at it again

THE RESPONSE

When they dug pits in my wayWhen wickedness seemed to hold swayWhen my name the dragged in the mud

Severely assaulting my integrityWhat was I to do

Stand there and be kickedSit there and be humiliatedSit there like a clay pigeon

Be there and gobble up the shitAnd wash it down with urine

Sit and rest in the lap of cowardiceGo down on my knees and beg

Beg for forgiveness from the villainsOr maybe turn the other cheek

Turn the other cheek and get a back handerThe response lies in your empathy

SAD STRIP SHOW

Those secret places exposedThose twin peaks swinging, swaying

That dark patch of pubic hairThen they called her raving mad

The men and their cat callsThe crowd of men swelling around herThey called it a free for all strip tease

Their eyes almost popping out of their orbits

Feeling their womanhood exposedHer birth suit covered by unwanted clothes

Those secret places out in the openThen they called her raving mad

OFF THE HIGH TABLE

Courted by politiciansThe poet leads the way

Like earth moving machineryThe poet paves the way

The ululation pierces the airThe whistling resonates

The poet takes centre stageBasking in the spotlight

When the wining and dining comesThe poet relegated to the crumbs

Prohibited from the main roadThe earth moving machinery

TECHNOLOGY AND MAN

Will I be lost in the crowdThat invisible crowd on face book

Or is it the tagged crowdAm I turning into a recluseOr is it an internet junkie

I resisted the false allure of gamblingNever went for hard drugs

The dangers were all too obviousAm I set to be a hermit

Exhibiting anti-social traits

OUR HOME

In HaitiIn Chile

Thousands buriedUnder mounds of concrete

Lives lostHumanity baffled

Is this our homeAre we passing through

Was it Jim ReevesSinging of a home elsewhere

Stories of tragediesWars and rumours of wars

Unbridled looting everywhereThe selfishness exhibited

GOLD RUSTS

Then your mind is scorchedLong after the bribe is taken

Your reputation will be in tattersFor you valued silver and gold

What the happens to your conscienceDo you not feel the emptiness

Do you not smell the rottennessWhen you sit alone at home

What price have you put on your soulThat these low lives can buy it

Are you not haunted by ghosts of misdeedsJudas Iscariot became judge, jury, executioner

In your wisdom you wine and dineWine and dine with the villains

The victims have no one to turn toIf gold rusts what of iron

CORRUPTION

Thomas Mapfumo you sang of itYou saw it rear its ugly headJah Solo , ah man you saw itThat was kindergarten stuff

Now the maggots are hereThe social fabric is in tatters

They become pimps for their mothersThere are no souls left here

Wealth is amassed by any meansThe truth causes offence

Organized crime is now big businessThe just are to be persecuted

DESCENDANTS OF ISCARIOT

That emptiness I feelAssaulted by your betrayal

Deranged by errors of your wayUnder a deluge of questions

A direct descendant of Judas IsacriotAm I a victim of your viper’ s kiss

Ran with the hares and hunted with the houndsDeep inside I feel the emptiness

You went for thirty pieces of silverYou took the path to destruction

That noose tightens around your neckYour wretched life shall be extirpated

FRUITS OF CHOICES

Take care in clamouring for freedomFor it may lead to free doom

You may walk down that roadThe road leading into an abyss

Drench your mind in alcoholEnjoy the cigarette smoke mists

Engage in weird sex and drugs experimentsAlone enjoy the fruits of your choices

Thomas MapfumoJah solo]Solomon Skuza[

Both Zimbabwean musicians who sang songs denouncing rampant corruption

RASTAFARI

Consciousness raising powerful forceA struggle for emancipation

Constant reminder of the worst crimeThe enslavement of the melanin man

At the forefront condemning injusticeSpreading the message of love and redemptionLinking Africans at home and in the diaspora

In support of revolutionary struggles

MODERN DAY DELILAH

Delilah get out of my way

Read your mind too wellThough I am under your spell

Your wicked ways shall not rule

Read your mind too wellThen I played the fool

A past master in the gameThat is what I am

Through your sweet emptinessSeeking to derail my ways

The ways pursued with ferocious zealThat scheme will not work

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

Am a chip off the old blockThe stone the builder refused

Now become the head corner stoneIn his life time reviled

Now you run to his fruitsSeeking favours from rejected ones

The door is bolted tightThe hand of reconciliation you bit

Please shed no tears nowNo use crying over spilt milk

You allowed your cacti thoughts room

MARRIAGE

The rose in full bloomThe sweetness of its fragranceThe allure of the pink petalsThe allure of the red petals

Then the thorns take centre stageThe beauty of petals is drownedThe pricking dents that beauty

Then deep revulsion sets in

IRRETRIEVABLE BREAK DOWN

Too many cracks in the wallTried to use steel reinforcement

Plastered the wall againCracks developed yet again

Tried to use steel reinforcementPlastered and re-painted the wall

Too many cracks in this wallMaybe time to demolish the wall

For it may fall on the childrenThen we will take to wallowing in regretIs this not the time to demolish the wall

CAPTURING THE GLOOM

Cacti thoughts in the mindWith my parched throat

Walking on in this barren landNothing greets the eye here

Thorny bushes and aloe plantsThe desolation growing here

PRAYERS FOR LUCIFER

Do you still have a conscienceOr is it you long lost your soul

Chasing after all the silver and goldDisplaying that mindless ostentation

Sister how do you afford to sleepWith those vampire thoughts in youHatching false testimony against me

Dragging my name through slime

What about you my dear brotherCongregating in evil places against me

Wining and dining with the devilThat day of reckoning is at hand

FEUDING ROOTS

Then there was the blissThat resulted in my birthI am not a product of rape

Nor am I a product of incest

Now I am a ping pong ballThe grass between two fighting elephants

My mind thrown into turmoilAll the bickering you drag me into

DECAYING DREAMS

Those dreams of the bright lightsThe bright lights of Egoli

The streets are paved in goldThat myth pursued with vigour

Those dreams of the place of goldThe dreams lie in crocodile stomachs

Some dreams drowned in the Limpopo riverOthers are in maggot infested corpses

Do the mothers and fathers sleep soundlyDo the nation builders have peace

Do they sleep peacefully in their mansionsDo they ride peacefully in their imported cars

The desolation and barrenness back homeIn droves the children flee

Are the questions being askedNo light here but thick wintry darkness

THE SPENDING GENERATION

In their quest for the easy lifeThey have joined the hyenas

For good measure nicknaming themselvesUnashamedly calling themselves hyenas

The nocturnal predators they arePouncing on the lone drunkardsSticking knives into the backs

The backs of lost travelers

Putting the sanctity of life into trash cansNot cringing at the sight of blood

The generation that enjoys spendingExtolling the virtues of indolence

VEIL OF DARKNESS

Those menial jobs a lame excuseBehind it all a grand designThose tactics are still here

Those menial jobs are no panaceaNo panacea to the grinding povertyAnd the engulfing flood of crime

Africa your children weep and wailSuccumbing to divide and rule tacticsWith mud and spittle give them sightForestall the heart rending ‘necklacing’

Expose the bloody beneficiaries of divisionsRend now the dark veil of ignorance

TO BOB MARLEY

Out of great heat and pressureThe diamonds emergeDrilling other metals

Others turned to jewellery

Out of the slumsAmong the dregs of society

Someone termed it trench townAmong indescribable squalor

Defying the force of gravityWith that divine inspiration

They sat up and listenedOut of squalor came the gem

With other kindred spiritsSpreading those messages

The music hits us with no painDisturbing the neighbours still

Turning those attacks into songsThere was ambush in the night

The often misunderstood ‘ no woman no cry’That uncanny ability to grasp issues

You warned the rulers in ZimbabweBut did they take heed

‘no more internal power struggles’Those lyrics haunt us still

WAKE UP CALL

We now have joined themBranding our ways pagan

Non believers in whatHot iron branded ‘uncivilised’

Now proudly propagating slavery

When my mother diesWhen my fathers dies

Are they no longer my parentsNow excluded from one of the commandments

When are we going to wake upWalk tall among others

Forsaking the derogatory namesHaving pride like sand on the sea shore

ROLLER COASTER RIDE

Each one closetedCloseted in dark thoughts

Dark, dank thoughts of anger

Tight knot of hurtEntangled in disillusionment

Perhaps a flood of regrets

Tired of this bickeringThis roller coaster ride

No end in sight

LIFE

Maybe in fairy talesPerhaps in a fool’s paradise

Built on illusions and delusionsTo live happily ever after

Coming across hills and mountainsWalking across plains too

The tumultuous and unnavigable riversAt times swimming in calm waters

BOTTOMS UP

Making a mockery of meritRising to the top by arse licking

Selling their souls for a songSycophants singing for their bread

Selling their worthless bodiesUsing their bottoms to go up

Trampling their own consciencesMaking decisions out of emotions

Listen to this brutal franknessThe blind lead the one eyed

The consequences clear to babies, evenThe shame of it sticks out like a sore thumb

SOCIETAL POISON

A poisonous mixtureA legal mind and poetry

Is anyone listening out thereTell me Dr Eddison Zvobgo

Society takes the poison

Allowing poets to be lawyersLetting poets , lawyers be politicians

That is the beginning of tragedy

REFLECTING

Those chains still thereDeeply embedded in the mind

The status quo maintained

Turned into drawers of waterCondemned to be hewers of wood

Squashed under that hegemony

Kept under the bootThose unholy alliances

Keeping us in sewers of under-development

Those raw materials siphonedThe supervisor class promoted

Derailing the self determination ideals

AFRICA DAY INTROSPECTION

Behind it allOur unmistakeable resilience

The abundance of hopeFor we are no pessimists

The reality plain to seeAfrica bleeding profusely

Fires of discord fannedThe beneficiaries in glee

Robbed of childhoodPlaying fields bereft of children

High on LSD,heroin, mandraxRaping , robbing, killing with impunity

The hidden hand at itPropping unpopular, repressive regimes

The ever widening chasmsBickering over foreign ideas

Africa bleeding profuselySomewhere they drink the blood

The prophets long said itThe richest place; home to the poorest race

In Somalia, Sudan, EthiopiaEverywhere the bloody feuding

The scramble for blood diamondsEverywhere death and destruction

Beneath all this desolationThe undying hope sprouting

ROBBED OF INNOCENCE

Africa where are the childrenNot anywhere near the playgrounds

Dying in droves in battle fieldsWaging senseless wars everywhereMinds befuddled by heavy drugs

Committing matricide, patricide and fratricideRobbed by the greedy of their childhood

Denied the knowledge of the sanctity of lifeTurning killing into an enjoyable game

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Not a potted plantNever a caged bird

Not water in a damIn the open ocean

Severing those chainsSavouring this liberation

My soul not for saleShunning their trinkets

Behind the meekness of the lambThe deep lion roar

COLOUR BLIND

Someone got colour Then labelled me black

And I accepted that colour blindnessThat person again colour blind

Another one labelled whiteThey accepted that colour blindness

PERSECUTED

They nailed him to the crossHe had not harmed anyoneNever harmed even a fly

But they drove the nails in

Why should dreamers sufferWhy should the innocent die

Why should they be like garbageTo be thrown onto rubbish dumps

When one door is closed tightMany more will be opened

There is a time for everythingBehind every season a reason

ANOTHER ATTACK

While you lived A mortal foe you were

At every turn persecutedYour ideas shamelessly stolen

Admiration mixed with revulsion

A revolution hijackedA personality cult propagated

Sycophants singing for their breadCreating non existent victories

Illusions emanating from delusions

HONOURABLE

Look through the muck for the honourThe multiple farm owning schemes

Sowing the weed seeds of evil dynastiesResorting to sordid deeds to retain power

Those evil schemes bereft of honour

Look through the muck for honourResorting to grab and steal methods

Crushing dissenting voices under jack bootsSquashing skulls in the torture chambers

Maybe that is where the honour lies

RESOLVE

Waves of despondency rock this boatThe oars of hope will take it to the shore

Never to drown in this watery abyssRowing to the horizon of those ideals

This boat will not capsizeSurmounting those ravenous waves

Daily stalked by these predatorsThe boat will reach the shore

BUREAUCRATIC ARROGANCE

Wrenched from the marital bedThrown into the open jaws

The open jaws of temptationsThere about to be crushed

To become part of the statistics

The dark cloud of arroganceAcid raindrops of cold indifferenceInsensitivity of typical bureaucrats

A naked exhibition of those traitsThe shocking rift between word and deed

EARTHQUAKE OF THOUGHTS

Earthquake of deranging thoughtsIn this tumultuous era

Bayonet thrusts of despairThe tree shaken by its roots

Tossed into this violent whirlwindDrawing deeply from the spiritual dimension

Thinking of that once warm hearthNow turned into ice cold ashes

In the vortex of this stormYearning for the feather bed of serenity

Donning the life jacket of hopeSurviving this deranging earthquake

AFRICAN DRUM

The demonized drumSpeaks to my soul

Soothing my African soulSweetly caressing it

Invoking those spiritsThe restless spirits of my people

Hot iron branded paganThose that dangled at noose ends

Reverberations of the drumSpelling out my happinessAt times messages of strife

The demonized drum

SCALING DIZZY HEIGHTS

It is not about what you knowNow it is about who you know

About warped political connectionsLicking arse to scale dizzy heightsSex in plush offices for high posts

Throw into the trash canBrittle perceptions about merit

Those systems rotten to the marrowDiarrhoea ideas running the show

Service delivery dealt a telling blow

DISCORDANT VOICES

His voice deemed discordantSinging all the wrong songsNot singing the usual praises

Violently shaking their consciencesTaking them out of the comfort zone

In a huff he packed his bagsBaying for his blood they were

The hounds had picked the scentThat audacious eye was too much

That discordant voice had to be silenced

REVOLUTION TIME AGAIN

Anyone out there listeningOut there taking notes

Of a revolution going onOf the prophecy revealed

That prophecy comes to fruitionThat blood letting is at handThe fruit of unbridled greed

The hunger fast turning into anger

A FEW CRUMBS

Just a few crumbsFalling off the high table

Master that is all I yearn forJust a few crumbs

Not more than a few crumbs

PART OF THE STORY

On what moral high groundPreaching democracy to the worldMaking the Palestinians homelessElsewhere Roma people evicted

Blamed wholesale for crimeTorture chambers in Guantanamo

Making a mockery of those conventionsHands stained with Saddam’s blood

Falsehoods about weapons of mass destructionBlood thirsty military –industrial mafiaCheap talk about freedom of worship

Waging war against IslamFanning endless wars in Africa

To pave way for lootingOn what moral high ground

Preaching democracy to the world

DREAMS OF HOME

Dreams of a nationalistic struggleNow hijacked by tribalistic elements

Now in the grip of opportunistsRavenously devouring all the wealth

Dreams of the land of milk and honeyNow soaked in the blood of patriots

Dreams of peace, prosperity and stabilityUnder the threat of a storm of eternal poverty

Dreams of the vibrancy of tomorrowNow like carrion devoured by vulturesDreams of a bloody liberation struggleThe nightmares of today and tomorrow

Distant dreams of ‘mwana wevhu*’Now abandoned in squatter camps and shacks

While prime land is reserved for picnicsDreams of home, dreams of home

A LOOMING CATASTROPHE

The supervisor class at itThe obduracy of the mastersActing from the same script

Oblivious of the lessons of old

Another bloody revolution looming

Threatening to tear apart this nationThose that together dislodged the foe

Today at each other’s throats

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

Like a rabid dog driven awayBuried under mounds of scorn

Friends transmogrified into foesThe hunting hound denied even a bone

Now in your demise embracedLike vultures fighting over carrion

Their eulogies laden with superlativesShowered with empty accolades

The propaganda mill at full throttleMistaking our silence for ignorance

Erecting those monuments in our mindsIn due season trees bearing fruit

TORTOISE POETRY

Under the acid rain of repressionThe poetry turns cryptic

Held by the throat by thought policeOminous presence of the censor’ scissorsTortoise poetry withdraws into its shell

The poetry is screaming silentlyMarechera saw the truncheon outpacing thought

Hear them whimpering under the jack bootsThe jack boots of thought police

The unmistakeable intensity evident

SLIPPED AWAY

Tired of asking for a piss potTired of asking for a shit pot

Tired of their childish chidingThen he stopped drinking waterThen food he totally abandoned

Sought refuge in eternal rest

Ever the proud man he wasRefusing to queue up for donor foodDecided to let his maker intervene

Tired of those masquerading as nursesTired of those so-called professionalsThen he left all the baggage behind

FORESTALLING GREED

Among them the visionariesSaw waves of greed

Noble ideals in a trash canUnder mounds of choking dust

Submerged by the quick sand of corruptionLike an abandoned nest

The fate of the leadership codeAmong them the visionaries

Succumbed to those machinationsWhere are the visionaries today

TALK

What is the root of this self censorshipThe source of this deafening silence

I hear them shouting silentlyThe songs, poems, stories in whispers

A nation of intellectual dwarfsBereft of lively debate

Talk at the street corners and in beerhallsTalk on board commuter omnibuses

The present is here listeningPosterity is waiting to hear you

ROTTEN ROOTS

Behind the cap of knowledgeBehind the graduation gown

The body in the morgueThe trail of mourners

The undertaker’s hearseThat ululation and whistlingThe foul stench of corruption

THE BENEFACTORS

The addict is tucked awayFar from public scrutiny

The broken home is not seenHidden under a scratch card

Hidden under a gambling ticket

The poison is candy coated

That is the judas kissHighlighting the fake philanthropyCon artists become the benefactors

The gullible buy the sordid tale

ENOUGH

That time is nighEnough is enough

That meekness of the lambMistaken for fear

Now the lion must roarHit them in the bone marrow

Riding rough shod over meNow at the end of my tether

No longer a goat for ChristmasNever doubting my intelligence

Fighting for what is right

The stench of corruptionThe sickening arse likingPutting that behind me

That is my missionHear the thunder and lightning

PATHETIC CREATURES

No longer driven by needBut propelled by want

Unbridled desire for trinketsDoing even the unthinkable

Souls put up for saleNeatly packaged and delivered

The devil relishing the spectacleFamilies torn to shreds

Amassing the obscene wealthReaping tonnes of misery

The maddening rush for diamondsThe creator watching his creaturesThese pathetic, greedy creatures

CHASMS

Deep chasms in this nationA nation torn to shreds

All the political bickeringIn dire need of panel beating

Disfigured by dents of propagandaPolitical mudslinging taking centre stage

while we die in droves in ‘hospitals’Generations of semi-literates producingPropaganda machinery in full throttle

Champion the cause of the elitesThose that fly to western countries

Flying even to eastern countriesEducating the future masters

Ensuring the health of the mastersIgnorance like amoeba multiplying

There in the heaving and wailing ghettoes

SOUND OF HYPOCRISY

The wall paper falls offThe crevices now exposed

Fleas leap out of sightCockroaches scurry for cover

The wall paper falls off

REMEMBERING

Back then in the ghettoGrowing up on a diet of violenceBred by shortages of everything

Those paltry pay packetsBickering fathers and mothers

Catching those birds for relishThe water boiling at home

Mothers ready to cook sadzaFish not biting at the stream

Another meal confined to a dream

You take this for a jokeFacing the blinding sun daily

Going to school and workNow we call them western suburbs

Those were the townships

Rummaging at rubbish dumpsCat and mouse games with guardsReading anti-communist comicsDo you remember Captain Devil

The propaganda machinery at work

Spreading myths about jackpotsLying deep in the quicksand

Rummaging at rubbish dumpsCultivating the literacy and numeracy

Today you take this for a joke

Yearning always for better daysYearning still for better days

The racist system kept us in the muckRevolting against this political patronage

Hoping still for a better tomorrow

GROOMING IN PROGRESS

Standing there mouths agapeWatching grooming in progress

Thought it was a lie thenReality giving me a back hander

Clapping our chapped handsUlulating on empty bellies

Whistling oblivious of the implicationsSee the grooming in progress

Getting rid of stage frightEmotionally charged crowd in a stadium

Winners walk away with medalsThe winner stays in the subconscious

CLEANING THE TOILET

The acrid smellThose hairy maggotsThere on the stale shitIn the rivulets of urineDefunct flushing unit

In dire need of cleaningThen I must clean the toilet

Typhoid , dysentery, choleraDecimating the future

Get the flushing unit workingThis toilet I must clean

The moment demands decisionNot the time to duck and dive

HIGH TABLES

Keep your tables highWhere no crumbs fall

Where Lazarus is bannedWhere the gruesome murders

Are washed down with whiskyWhere the hungry and thirsty

Salivate and never get a morsel

Keep your high tablesWhere the concubines laughLaugh at humourless tales

Tales of your imagined heroic deedsEmpty stories spun by spin doctors

Keep your high tablesSupported by clay legs of lies

RIVAL SUITORS

Cut from the same clothOne at the pulpit

Another at the podiumEntangled in a bloody feud

The rival suitors at it

THE END

Waiting with bated breathThe end of an era in sightUnder the cloak of secrecyHistory judging the liars

Goebbels still rememberedPropping that anti semitic dictator

Vibrations of the endSecret celebrations in hearts and minds

Others gripped by that fearThat fear of their dark deeds

Their commands fall on deaf earsThe people march on triumphantly

OVERSTAYING GUEST

In the cosy arms of euphoriaThey fill stadia beyond measureUlulating and whistling fervently

Minds brimming with hopeHope for a better tomorrow

Then they have to be cajoledHerded like a flock of sheepFear instilled in the minds

To prop the waning popularityThe bitter fruits of overstaying

A guest overstaying the welcome

ROBES OF INIQUITY

Emerging from those institutionsWearing robes of iniquity

Bamboozling ordinary folkGladly espousing alienation

Wielding worthless pieces of paperEmerging more schooled than educated

Very far removed from realityTrashing indigenous knowledge systems

That is where we are now