Epitaph

I’m here, I’m not.
She was here, She’s gone.
Rocks ground to pebbles,
Then dust,
Then nothing,
—Nothing—

I counted the spaces they left
Huge, huge, huge, gaps loom
So I spread their absences on the floor of my heart
Now this heart won’t dance right
But still, more gaps loom
—Irreplaceable—

Humans are humans
They come in different shades
Same fabric
That which make us animals
And butterflies
They hurt
They heal
The Yin, the Yang
The Push, the Pull
That keep our empires bleeding
In love and in war

Some still fresh, some worn by time
Headstones bearing sorry epitaphs
Of loved ones lost in the earth beneath
‘Lowo rach, lowo kwalo joherewa’
So we light candles, place new wreaths
Bitter-sweet memories we re-live;
A touch of mysticism they plastered on the cheeks of our existence
A generous love they spilt on pages of our destiny
And laughter,
And friendships,
And warmth of bellies on freezing nights.
Memories of breasts we suckled
and Twins we starved—
To death!

Still the hand of time swings
Back, forth
Wringing our souls off guilt
for transgressions against our own—
Sins we committed in absentia.
Still,
We cling,
to body parts we kept!

 

Death is late

I will write a letter and toss it in the wind
Or strip your hammock and toss in the river
I might be dead when they reach you
Nothing has changed
Yet nothing has remained the same
The gods have been vexed
All this time they’ve held rain

Grass still grows
Watered by endless flow of blood
The valley has changed its appeal
The shades we once rested under
Now home rotting humans
And vultures feast
The freedom fighters have fought the system
Then rebelled against their prior motives
They kill anything in human gait

But still….
The government lives
Not counting the ones lost
They fly outside to drink and dine
Because this nation is rotten
Their appetite might wane

When they took you, bro,
I couldn’t fight them
That’s cowardice I know
But death isn’t for the brave either

Bro, this nation is rich
You could have seen their arsenal
Yet, war isn’t cheap
Neither is peace affordable

Remember the cave we hid in?
They blew it up
Hundreds died in there
And smoke and dust soared high
As the blast drowned
Their shouts of victory

My turn is coming
I’ve dreamt about it with eyes open
I saw its end…
Somewhere in a vultures poop
I’m still lying here in wait
I know the bullets won’t reach me in time
This hunger, cold and fear won’t wait

Burry me deeper

Burry me deeper enough to stay dumb

Burry me deeper, for I don’t want to witness your fights

Fighting over what you didn’t create

When I labored all alone, broke my spine to give my children a life I only dreamt of as a kid

I see you wagging tongues, now you’re closer to a corpse

A corpse you couldn’t stand as a person

You eulogies suck, praises, now I am the man

Who stood for what is right

Who fed the hungry

Who schooled your children

But you never said thanks when I did all these

Burry me fast, am breaking at the weight of your words

All lies,

I’m not in my grave yet

But I hear rants

Who takes what? Who takes what?

This is mine, which is yours, we share,

Share it all,

He would have liked me to have this,

Are you even my children?

I see them crumbled in a corner

They can’t wail anymore, they are the real losers

They’ve lost a father

And everything the father worked for

That they may enjoy when am gone…

Burry me deep before they begin crying,

I don’t want to see them walking barefoot,

I have no strength left to fight for them

Hunger will never kill them

But your greed will

Burry me deep, deeper enough

That my curses won’t reach you