Conflicted by Tsitsi Gumbo

'forever,' he said
'I’m scared, oh so scared,' she said
he said, 'sweat blood I will for you'
'eternity then,' she said
so boat set sail

founded with tears
'longing' holding 'fright'
crashing at infancy as it were
he said, 'you shine no more! I 'eurika-ed' new light'
...................she said
as a calm storm raged inside her
battering her,
cutting off her anchor
sinking her ship
so she bobs on aimlessly
hoping.....hoping.....
'eternity then?' she asks
...............he says

Awakening by Elizabeth Vavashe

One more breath drawn from the wintry air

Yet another day, douse in stupor

lost in tangling nightmares dark

never to wake from deep slumber

Sleep, sleep poor dead corpse

Sorrows heap and cloud your face

though you draw the breath of life

slumber in your lungs draw empty air

Swing to life a sprout of spring

vibrancy and resonance like the cry of a newborn

awake the slumber of your sleep

Past dawn, this a new day

Groan with the discovery of day

the dreams of yesterday haunt today

casting shadows as though she lived

awake as from the death of history

One more breath from summer’s heat

spring is here, let down your hair

Deep, deep, let loose a sigh

Today is today, let out a scream.

Neo Soul...Monday Nights by Zibusiso Mpofu

It's Monday Night again
Can't chase the blues away
Hard working days
And my thoughts, a million miles away
The DJ is on again
Lifting my spirits sway
Into the sound clouds of reverberation
Conversation and monotone accumulation
Appreciation of  catalysed reactions
Forming sounds booms
And beats abounding at beat of my
Boomingly beautiful mind
These neo soul sounds
Soothe my saturated soul
Swaying it back and forth
To  soundless times in my mind's eye
So I'll dream, dream songs
And dream worlds
Drown baseless thoughts
And just...escape...
It's Monday night again
Can't chase the blues away
The DJ is on again
These neo soul songs
Soothe my spirits say...

The Letter by Paidamoyo Muzulu

I can’t remember when I last received a letter
The envelope was sky-blue and had a foreign stamp

The address was scrawled in tight and flowing long hand
My mind went racing.

Slowly and composed after a thorough scrutiny of the date stamp
I gathered the willpower to prise it open.
Yes, inside was the sweet scented long feather-weight ivory writing pad.
The handwriting was controlled, tight and flowing.

Each sentence was carefully constructed,
The diction was near perfect as the syntax.
It was written in an enthralling and captivating descriptive language,
But still simple enough to convey her emotions.

I envisioned the writer serene on her desk,
Her slender and lovely hands scrawling away.
The letter carried the tenderness of her feelings.
It was simple yet powerful.

Reading the emotional signing off,
My mind wandered to new forms of communication.
No email, text or chat message had moved me like this before.
The letter had a mystic gripping aura.

I gazed at the ceiling and shook my head to clear it.
I searched my drawers for the long forgotten pad and pen.
Emotionally, I scribbled in a daze blotting the plain pad.
I crumbled the blotted pad and started again, more composed.

Wrote slowly, concisely and legibly,
I let my hand translate my emotions into words and images.
I infused tenderness and seriousness of thought on paper.
I signed off at long last with satisfaction at my handiwork.

Carefully I addressed the envelope,
Tenderly took it with a merry heart to the post box.
I sighed as I dropped it,
Praying silently it would be received with eagerness.
Hoped it would be delivered in good time still carrying my frozen emotions for her thawing.