The Orator by Heather Dube

Image - blackenterprise.com

Raised in the city of kings.
I claim my throne of royalty
With ink as my spear
paper as my shield.
I claim my space in the world
to be heard.
I express myself
liberate my mind
I share my thoughts
I explore the depths of my imagination,
the turmoils,
the pains,
the smiles,
the laughter.
I tell stories
maybe told by others
but not told my way.
Take this journey with me
as I scribble through the wars of literature
leaving signature trails
on empty pages,
Claiming my rightful throne.
The Orator

Our Children's Tears by Mgcini Nyoni

Image - palindromekmarie.blogspot.com

We have grown fat

on our children’s tears

We have become rich

on our children’s blistered hands

and cracked feet

We have allowed fat men

with big stomachs

and big luxury cars

to tear our children’s hymen

and we dare ask

what’s wrong with our children

We have crammed whole families

into single rooms

and the children sleeping under the bed

can hear the parents having sex

Our children have seen

their mothers sneak in boyfriends

 as soon as the father leaves

for work at the industrial site

Our children have seen their fathers

with other men’s daughters

behind the public toilet

And we dare ask;

what’s wrong with our children?

We have given our children machetes

taught them to chant party slogans

and to clobber political opponents

and we dare ask

what’s wrong with our children

We have become rich using

dubious economic policies

that have not benefited

the ordinary man on the street

We have built beer halls

nightclubs

and taverns

In place of schools

and libraries

and we dare ask;

what’s wrong with our children?

We have grown fat

on our children’s tears…

Days Past And... by Sdumie C Moyo

Image - madamenoire.com

Last night my heart thawed
When I felt your soft sultry lips brush against mine
It was like I drifted on a light cloud for a moment
The music in my heart was so piercing that I forgot my surroundings

Began to lose myself in you
You saw the flame in my eyes and smiled
You gave me a rose though it wasn`t Valentine’s Day
With the utmost passion
You told me you loved me though it wasn’t my birthday
Last night we slept under the stars and we both wished it to be everlasting

When I woke up, I was without your company
In my bed, with nothing but my blankets keeping me warm
My pillow tightly clutched to my chest
Reality began to sink in...
My delusion was the rerun of a time in my life when I thought I had found the one...
My Adonis Alpha Male
I can still taste your lips though they are just but a remote recollection
When you see me, instead of stopping to speak you pass me by with only a distant nod
I can’t help but be taken back to the time when you couldn`t take tour eyes off me
When saying ‘hi’ was never enough for you
I guess...you were the one for me then and not my forever after

I hate you for making me fall for you
I hate you for making me love you
Because of you, I always have to battle your ghosts that threaten my sanity
Because of you, I made a promise to myself; I will conquer your ghosts until you are distant memory from another lifetime and I will LOVE
Like I have never been hurt before!

~Screw Valentine's Day~ by Heather Dube

Image - reallyrich.com

Roses are red
violets are blue
blah, blah, blah, blah! 
I don't care
if the sky is purple too.

Poems are great
Valentine's is lame
I know I don't want to be loved
for one day in a year.

Chocolate is sweet
and so are you
but baby
keep the flowers at bay
from me today
save them for another fine day
not Valentine's Day.

My Wedding by Rudorwashe Kanukamwe

Image - forblackweddings.com

I’m dressed in a virginal white, satin gown.

To enter on a honorary basis,

Into the culture I have never known.

A marvelous opportunity,

To forget who I am and why I am that.

As this marriage stretches its tentacles to bind me,

And disrupt my life

Before I call it mine.

Don’t take offense

At the sound of my voice.

I am no the friend or the lover,

He has mellowed me into,

The years since then.

This marriage is square,

Rather than round, so that you can see where it ends,

And identify the idiosyncrasies’