So Much For Our Wars by Thandeka Gonde

Photo by Resta Nyamwanza

We’ve made our marks on the land

So they know we’re here to stay

We’ve strained our muscles taut

So they see how tough it can get

We’ll tug to the last ounce of strength

To prove how right we are

We’ll make them come to us

Our perspectives are better

We’ll make them cross the line

To prove they were wrong all the while

We’ll not cry like them

because we’ve always been stronger

We’ll tug with a grin on our faces

Because we’re in control

Of just one end of the same age-old rope.

The Lion and The Lamb by Praise Ndlovu

I have come to realise that there are two Mes

This has often put me ill at ease

How I came about I cannot explain

Maybe from the past, some deep childhood pain

Most likely from the societal pressures inflicted upon y gender

Wherever from, I wish I could just stamp: Return To Sender

There is the Career Centred Me

Success is my number one priority

I've grabbed the baton and I'm not letting go

Putting away all things that'll mess my flow

I've got my eyes on the finishing line

The much awaited, long anticipated success sign

Then there's the Me who is domesticated

Having a man who is fully devoted

To me. Marriage, children our blissful vision

To love and nurture each other our mission

Pregnant, barefoot in the kitchen. My deepest fantasy

Loving husband, secure marriage. All I can see

Is it lawful for these two to ever amalgamate?

Or it’s a sin, for when they merge they fornicate

Am I suffering from a Multiple Personality Disorder?

How do I draw the line, where is the border

Can I wear the trousers and still put on an apron

Or will it be a cause for society to frown upon

So here live I, Me, that is Both

A situation which I completely loathe

One day you'll meet Me, taking on Life

The next, I’ll be a sweet domicile wife

But I pray that the Lion and the Lamb that dwell inside

may one day live in harmony as they lie side by side

Shuttered Dreams by Loice Majora

Like a bunch of roses without a vase

his dreams wither

His heart is filled with shivering tension

his soul burns with passion

Like a wondering Jew

his soul wonders

wrapped in deep  thoughts 

He pours sourish murmurs

 like a street beggar in front of an empty bin,

his soul is grilled with longing.

He came a long way in search of a peace of mind

only to find pieces.

He was tired of his own home,

the suffering  pushed him out

 his folks  became monsters.

He could no loner bear the pictures of his everyday life

Sitting on a cornerstone near the river,

he covers his face in his trembling palms

even though he feels the fresh breeze

 its like civil disobedience for him.

once again his soul

craves for harmony

His home problems caressed

his anger and passion rapidly

hot blood streaming in his whole body.

For in the corners of hope

he had found hopelessness

his soul is wounded

Deep down his heart he feels pain

 it cannot be cured

no medication can help

neither the cutting edges of a knife in the theatre,

nor a traditional healer on a mat.

His great expectations had shuttered.

his soul groans with regret and betrayal

and he realises indeed his dreams are shuttered

Love Is Not Always The Same by Thelma S. Katt

They say 'if you have loved before,
You will love again'
Love is a game
And every time its not the same..

Once upon a time it played out like a song
One with a message so sweet and strong
Carrying lovers to a world only imagined
Full of adventure and places yet to be discovered..

Then it became a dream
Not a nightmare,but a sweet and sensual dream
Where lovers shared every minute,every moment
In poems from emotional poets
Full of hope,peace and eternal bliss...

Of love stories,
Time passes,sadness reigns
From dreams of 'what ifs'
To shattered hearts,
When lovers are torn apart
Some for a moment,
And others for a lifetime...

So love is a game
And every time its not always the same
Some rise from the pain
But not everyone can regain
What they once had
And nobody can change it,
Its just the way it is....

Infected by Loice Majora

She watches leaves fall down

She tries to soothe her soul

under the flashing light of the moon

She realizes - more pain.

The grip of fear,

leaves her trembling like a lost sheep in a vast forest.

She weeps  but her strength fails her

She is too weak, the pain cannot be described

She smiles feebly to her dying infant

cuddled to her skinny arms

She smells death but it seems worthy for her now

She is like leaf  which will blow  away with wind

She is like a moving skeleton,

her hips which used to mark her womanhood

have disappeared,

Her soul is shattered like a mud calabash.

She has dead memories

for she remembers nothing good except

the loud and unfaithful husband just like a tattoo.

  

She realises how it begun

She coughs and spits blood

She is a poor innocent soul paying the fate of being married and lobola paid for

She didn’t have a chance .

She is indeed damned

She realises that she will fade away like dust

and will leave no footprints