Intwasa Poetry

Lloyd Robson

Intwasa Poetry Intwasa Poetry edited by Jane Morris ’amaBooks ISBN 978-0-7974-3645-9 EAN 9780797436459©This collection: ’amaBooks, 2008©Each contribution remains the copyright of the author Published by ’amaBooks P.O. Box AC1066, Ascot, Bulawayo email: amabooks@gator.co.zw www.amabooksbyo.com Typeset by ’amaBooks Printed by Automation Business Forms, Bulawayo Cover Paintings: Aubrey Bango Cover design: Veena Bhana ’amaBooks would like to express their thanks to SABDET for making this publication possible and to Alliance Française de Bulawayo for their continuing support. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Foreword i Julius Chingono About Words 1 Ditched 2 Half Mast 3 It denotes 4 They are picked 6 Chirikure Chirikure Dancing mother 7 Mutserendende 8 Time to move on 9 John Eppel Border Jumping 10 Giving 11 My Home Town 12 Shards 13 Waiting 14 Ignatius Mabasa Epitaph 15 Ghetto Lights 16 Poetry 17 Shepherd Mandhlazi When We Were Young 18 Judy Maposa How about? 19 Deon Marcus A Dialogue 21 Love 22 Root and Rain 23 There is something 24 Unsown 25 Albert Nyathi My Daughter 26 St. Valentine’s Day 29 Struggles 30 Pathisa Nyathi Upon Mzilikazi Bridge 31 Mthabisi Phili Sunset in Mzilikazi 33 John S. Read Small House Bliss 34 Lloyd Robson calling planet woman 35 bap-bah! 36 hoover haiku 37 this sticky heat 38 when she sleeps 39 Owen Sheers The Equation 42 Not Yet My Mother 43 The Umbilical Tree 44 Valentine 45 When You Died 46 Véronique Tadjo The cries from under the earth 47 Joelle Taylor Mother’s Milk 50 The Navigator 52 No Man’s Land/ No Land’s Man 55 Contributors 56 Acknowledgements 60 Contents Foreword Bulawayo’s premier arts festival, the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo, is held in September each year – it is spring, intwasa in the SiNdebele language. Spring is the time in western Zimbabwe when flowers begin to grace the thirsty land, a time that heralds the coming of the summer and the longed for rains, a time for a new beginning. The Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo showcases a wide range of the arts, including literary arts. In the short period since the first Intwasa Festival in 2005, the literary arts sector has grown to become one of the leading literary events in the region. And one of the most anticipated components of literary arts has been poetry. Writers from outside Zimbabwe have played a significant role in developing poetry at the festival: Owen Sheers and Lloyd Robson from Wales, Véronique Tadjo from Côte D’Ivoire, and Joelle Taylor from England. Equally important have been the award-winning Zimbabwean writers and poets who have taken part: Julius Chingono, Chirikure Chirikure, John Eppel, Ignatius Mabasa, Deon Marcus and Albert Nyathi. It is these poets who are featured in this collection, together with several of the local poets who have made poetry at Intwasa such a success: Shepherd Mandhlazi, Judy Maposa, Mthabisi Phili, and John Simcoe Read. I must also mention the role that ’amaBooks Publishers have made in Intwasa Literary Arts. They have been closely involved in the organization of each of the festivals, have i launched several books during them, encouraged local writers to continue in these difficult times and have worked closely with other sectors in the festival. This anthology is concrete testimony to the positive fruits that follow creative interactions between artists from very different cultures and traditions. It demonstrates that there is a promise of a brighter future in the arts for our city and for Zimbabwe. This is the promise that is enshrined and encapsulated in the spirit of Intwasa. Pathisa Nyathi. Chair Board of the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo. ii Julius Chingono About words Listen with care slippery words slide away with the air. Talk with care slippery words slip off the tongue. Handle with care this side up contains words. Stand well away falling words when mouths open. 1 Ditched She had spent the night alone again. It dawned in her mind he was not returning to her. Dawn melted into tears brushed away with speed hidden from her baby who had just learnt to pronounce, Daddy. 2 Half Mast Some national flags prefer to fly at half mast are ashamed...