VOICES OF THIS TIME

EXALTING HIS NAME

Hear them exalting your nameHear the hypocrites wailingMourning more than the bereavedFret not for we are writing the storiesWe shall sing these songs of the truthThat they seek to trash your memoryWe know your soul was not for saleThe vultures cannot have anythingThere is no carrion for them hereThese opportunists shall face shame

CORN AND CHAFF

Not every dark cloud bears rainNot all that glitters is goldNot every laugh is heart feltTake heed of these time tested wordsBehind some smiles are snarlsBehind most promises are liesBehind those tears are hungry crocodilesWaiting to devour you at every turnLearn these lessons well childrenPretenders mourn more than the bereavedImmerse yourself in Socratic skepticismQuestion the closeness of the closest kith and kinSome try to take the morsel from your mouthsOthers fight relentlessly for divisionsTaking the warm ambers from your hearthListen my children, listen to my guidanceSeparate now the chaff from the corn

YOUR TONGUE

Then your tongue you wagged

1

Like the tail of a bitch on heatYour weird suspicions became factLike a village imp you pissed in the wellLike an eagle you swooped on the chicksNow the scars are indelibleYou even broke the witches’ codeThat venom in your ill chosen wordsThat venom in your indiscretionYou chose to forget those lessons of oldThose lessons of old about the tongue

SHELL SHOCKED

The stench of unbridled greedFouls that relationship foreverThat smoke stings my eyesThe battle lines are drawnWe all are smote brutallyThat is the stench of avarice

LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE

When what has been hiddenFrom the wise and the prudentHas been revealed to the babe and the sucklingWhen the cupboards can no longer hold the skeletonsWhen those stories are toldWhen the seditious songs are sungThat is when this winter is goneWhen there is the glamour and glitter of summerThat shall be the healing of this nationThe fear of the truth shall be goneWhen the unrepentant shall repentThat shall be the healing of the nationThat is when the lessons of the future are drawnDrawn from the tragedies of the past

OUT OF THE ASHESBehind this trail of destructionThat hope refuses to dieThat revolution of old lives onThe spirits of this land live on

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Everything now derailed shall be back on trackOpportunists’ names shall be put to shameThose that profane that sacred bloodThe raving and the ranting mad menAll the murderers, liars and prostitutesPosterity shall learn these lessonsThat is the bitter path to nation building

SINGING TRIUMPHANTLYWhen my conscience speaksI shall bear the painBear this pain stoicallyI shall fear no evilLucifer seems to hold sway hereMy soul is not for sale Though they may deny me bailNever behind my mother’ skirtsWill I cower and hideI shall fear no evilThe devil is not my masterI see through their evil schemesMy creator has made me this wayThese demonic forces cannot hold swayTheir evil schemes shall crumbleThe wind the chaff shall blow awayThe wax that melteth before the fireI shall sing this song triumphantly

AT THE DEVIL’S BANQUET

What stories will you leave behindWhat name will your children carryWhen you trash our sacred institutionsWhen you seek cheap gratificationDragging your name through shameThrough the murky waters of shameListen to that voice deep inside youThat voice warning you against evil schemesListen you disciple of macchiavelliStop those devilish human sacrificesNow you shall bear the mark of the beastThe persecuted shall not be alone in pain

3

ANOTHER VICTIM

Then we are toldThe snake was thereWeaving a yarn for womanThen she fell firstThe snake’s charmThe slithering pythonThe goat under hypnosisThose great grinding coilsThe moth in a fatal danceDazzled by the flameThe fatal attractionThat is our demiseA trail of broken heartsJust like a fountainThat wheel turns full circle

INDICTING THE SYSTEM

With my keen mind I saw itThat tragicomedyThe sacrificial lambsTo the slaughter they wentBasic tenets of justice trashedI say it with neither fear nor favourWhat presumption of innocenceExpediency at the centreMercenaries there everywhereQuestion the impartiality of the benchLavishly fed and accommodatedThat obscene grandiloquenceThat shameful profligacyObvious outcomes exhibitedWhat an indictment of the system

DEVIL’S MEAL

When you wine and dineWine and dine with the devilSome day you may be the devil’s mealListen carefully and you will hear

4

Wisdom is there in the simplest of placesSubject the down trodden at your perilThe fruits of your injustice are your miseryThe wailing of the persecuted will nag you

OF THISTLES AND THORNSThis fight is onIt is not for the faint heartedIt is not for the cowardsComfortable behind their mothers’ skirtsIt is a protracted fightAgainst the despotsIt is a class struggleTheir shameless greedAnd the maintenance of the status quoToday cast off the steel yokeCast off the shackles and chainsCast off mind warping religionsThis is no God ordained orderShove into an abyss warped ideasMake the ultimate sacrificeFear not the bruisesFor the way is thistle and thorn laden

TO AN OUTLAWOf those whoring perceptions rid yourselfRid yourself of the gold digger mentalityThis man can never be a gold mineThere always for your exploitationThe idea of enlightened self interest practiseLife is worth more than silver and goldThis very, very simple lesson learn nowYour mind cast far and wideLook , why do you set this granary on fireThat veil from your mind’s eye wrenchFrom your mind wrench the thinking of a harlot

BATTLE HARDENED

Out of great heat and pressureThe diamonds emerge

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The hotter the battle the sweeter the victoryIn this my blood the warriors liveFighting those battles of oldListen I have been through it beforeWith the same ferocity I shall fightMy head shall not be delivered on a plateThose evil schemes shall not be foreverGoodness shall triumph over evilThat is when the hunter is hunted

DISCIPLES OF LUCIFER

Fire and brimstoneThunder and lightingThis shitstem shall fallWickedness shall not prevailMy people continue to wailLord you have the powerPharaoh in Egypt saw itThese evil men must see itToday evil may seem to triumphShake the system by its rootsThe sun now must set on themGive these evil men an earthquakeUnleash all the elements against themThese disciples of the fallen Lucifer

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Music to my earsThat lecture

Bare it allTake off that veil

Tell posterityAbout the stolen stories

Sing those songsAvoid oblivion

That counterfeit historyDown into the trash can

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Say it loud and clearThat all may hear

Admired even by foesThat mighty force

Those vain attemptsTo feed us on garbage

Look at the futilityThose spirits speak

[ after a news report of a lecture by dumiso davengwa- a zipra intelligence supremo]

BURNING ILLUSIONSThe truth livesRising sphinx likeFrom the mounds of liesThe resilience of itThere for all to seeTheir pretended greatnessOpportunists’ storiesExaggerated victoriesNow we know the truth![Hey we have always known it]

TINY FIST

Mind’s eye and ear fouledThe verbal diarrhoeaThe arrogance exhibited

That nationalism trampledSee the backwardnessAll you international citizens

Opportunists galoreBlack oppressors, white oppressorsWhat is the difference

This is my tiny fistBullies wince in agonyThe meek are not weak

Those stories of old

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And today’ storiesThat is our liberty

OF KITH AND KIN

At the centre of it allThat lustUnbridled lust for money

The myopic mindednessShocking ungratefulnessAll the madness

The transmogrificationFrom in law to outlawThe stench of a slut

Look out childrenMonsters may devour youMasquerading as kith and kin

The wolves in sheepskinTake this Socratic skepticismQuestion their love

APPRECIATING LIGHT

Now we take stockThe chaff from the cornThose stories of oldThere is the resilienceThe trauma of this rapeToday the broken pieces we pickTo lose hope is too costlyThe victims cannot apologiseThe villains must payNow heal this landAppreciate this light from darknessThe oppressed yearn for freedomUnsustainable are these falsehoodsImminent is the demise of the opportunistsProfaning our sacrosanct struggleNow see this agitationThey cling to clan, tribe, retrogressionLessons learnt from forces of darkness

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Where are the liberators of old

CROCODILE COURTS

Then I looked aroundThis was not AustraliaDid not see kangaroosThen to the Limpopo riverMan eating crocodiles everywhereCrocodile courts-that was appositeFor many were mauled and devouredThe unfolding tragicomedy

AFTER THE VERBAL DIARRHOEA

Man born of womanShow me your four ballsThen I will run for dear lifeNever will I cowerCower behind my mother’ skirtsNever will I eat shitNever will I drink urineThose insults you hurl at meBlaming me for your failures

The warrior spirits riseRising against your vain prideRising against your vain gloryShattering the myths of your invincibilityThis militancy is against your backwardnessThe bullies will never hold swayThis warrior spirit shall be forever

DIVINE INTERVENTION AGAIN

The invincibility of PharaohAsk Moses about it It was just another mythOur creator is the mighty oneLearn those lessons of oldThe children of Israel on the moveWhat did it take Pharaoh to relentBehind recurrent droughts our liberty!

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BADGES OF BATTLE

That path is chartedDivinely ordained it isThose ordeals and tribulationsServing the apprenticeshipsWhat is to be has got to beStand in the way of destiny?The scars are the badgesWear them proudly revolutionariesFreedom on a silver platter is a mythTake a closer look backThere are no stories of cowardiceSons and daughters forever are cursedCan the descendants of Nyathi walk tall?

Not one can hide behind a fingerThis fight is on foreverPosterity shall know the heroic exploitsCowardice can never be a virtueLike Socrates drinking hemlock I shall beDie your many deaths, cowardDabble in self censorship I shall notProudly wear the badges of battle I shall

TRAMPLED RIDERS

The horse tramples the ridersNow is pay back timeThe rider’s ingratitudeThe scars from the whipRider and his baggage were enoughThe rider invited other ridersThen the burden became too muchDown in the dust goes the ridersThat is the price to be paid

[66 strangling the nation]

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SADOMASOCHISM

This brutalityThis sadomasochismIs this an artIs this a scienceThe erstwhile system’s waysWhat lessons have we learntPerfecting the barbarismThe root of this violenceThis profanation of lifeWake up now women and men of conscience

VICIOUS CIRCLE

Then they stock the firesThe fires of feudingOur institutions severely batteredTheir economies in bloomOur lives face certain doomThen they make an about turnWe sign their peace treatiesThen they end their warsSee their economies bloomTheir reconstruction programmesThe de-mining exercisesCast away cloaks of gullibility

66 OR IS IT 666

The mark of the beastThe number 666Let the discerning mind seeThose that choose blindnessThe curse they shall bearSee the time is nighIt was so in the days pastIgnore prophecy at your peril

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THE COLOUR OF VIOLENCE

The indelible brutalityShackles and chains of enslavementThe aftermath of the Berlin conferenceTheir order out of their chaosThe roots of colonialismThat fight is still onThe stifling neo-colonialismAdd to this the home grown violenceWhat is the colour of violenceIs it better when it is blackIs it better when it is whiteSee their obscene privilegesSee the crippling and grinding povertyNow is the time to remove the blinkersAnswer me: what is the colour of violence

DEVIL WORSHIPPERS

Listen now childrenLove Socratic skepticismGo beyond those smilesGo beyond sharing surnamesGo beyond sharing totemsTo siphon what little you haveThey claim to be your close relativesChildren you are warnedSee their unbridled love for moneyThe worshippers of the devilTheir love has a heavy price

THE RESPONSE

The response was swiftThe immense brutalityThey dared to challenge the shitstemDaring to challenge the minotaur There followed the decapitationsThere followed the bayoneting

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The masses were at it againThey were at tether’s endThen that righteous fight was onThat brutality deterred no oneVictoriously they marched onThere is no pride in badges of cowardice

OUR MEMORIES

We should not write these songsWe should not tell these storiesDo not recite these poems at allThose stories, songs, poems in the carvingsOur memories are seditious to themOur memories are treasonous to themThey relentlessly seek their obliteration

Listen to what they ask us:Why do you talk of slavery?Why do you talk of colonialism?Why do you talk always of neo-colonialism?See the protracted assault on our mindsHear the reverberations of our liberation

TO A GOBLIN

Just another goblinA shrieking vampireInsatiable blood suckingJust another gold diggerThen I saw your evil schemeThen the truth smote youYou, just another bad memoryWallow now in your soullessnessFace eternal torment, vampire!

TO A LEECH

Reaping where you did not sowGet off my back you leechGet off my back you louse

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You seek to leave my granary emptyAsking me to give even what I don’t haveWith your insatiable appetite for wealthDrown then in this your heartlessnessSilver and gold for you I have noneChase then after the wind rabid dogBark then foolish dog at the flying bird

INTROSPECTION

Fervently saying those prayersSaying prayers to the devilThis feuding in the familyRiddled by petty jealousiesLoose tongues spreading rumoursSee these undeclared warsThe unbridled desire to manipulateWho will make the first moveSee the ominous deep chasmsIs it the yoke of poverty on our necksThen they say the creator worked for six daysSome want to rest for six daysIs there pride and dignity in beggingGo sluggard watch the ants at workThe family fabric torn to shredsThat unbridled desire for material prosperityThat scythe of hatred shall be stoppedThat legacy of feuding shall stop

OPPORTUNISTS AT WORKAre these the nationalistsThat made the supreme sacrificeHeld in solitary confinement in jailsAssassinated, napalm bombed in those daysThose that challenged the white supremacyAre these the nationalistsNow fanning tribal supremacyVying for power by any meansPropagating this culture of violenceAre these the nationalistsRevolutionaries leading us into an abyssLeaving behind a legacy of tribal conflictThose bloody lessons were more than enoughWhat is the root of this tribal supremacy

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What is the root of this racial supremacy

DEPENDENCY SYNDROME

The heinous falsehoodsThese ominous chasmsBlood congealing petty jealousiesAnd now these shredsThese deep septic wounds

At each other’s throatsSaying prayers to the devilForsaking our creator’s waysThat rest came on the seventh dayGo sluggard watch the ants

Where is the beggar’s prideBy the sweat of your own browsFill your granary nowLearn lessons from proverbsThese lessons shall light your way

SOMETHING DIED

Chained to that bedThat hospital bedHeld captive by painThat agile mindThrough the hypocrisyMy x ray mindThese indelible lessonsThe treasure of bitternessI saw through those schemesListen my children, listenThen something died in me Will it ever be resurrected?I have built this damIs the dam wall strongThe current surges forwardDid I learn my lessons well‘Speak tongue’s lashon the naked buttocks of silence’Then they are jitteryThis is the torrent of my blows

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THAT TIME

When the stories are toldEmerging from under the moundsThe mounds of half truthsWhen those songs are sungSweet melodies above discordant voicesWhen those sculptures are unveiledShattering veils of conservatismWill you be on the firm ground of progressWill you wallow in shame and regretRaise your hand if you have a conscience

The future is built todayThis is a question of choiceNow is the time for those songsThose poems, the novels now surfaceThis nation cannot afford malnourishmentRead Ecclesiastes now narcissus

BEYOND

Look beyond the fighter planesImported at the expense of foodLook beyond the water cannonsImported to quell popular uprisingAgainst the ways of the insaneLook beyond repressive legislationCrafted to fight against the truthThere is my people’s resilienceThere lies our limitless hopeIn this struggle lies our greatness

WAR ON MEMORIES

Dabbling in this dirty businessOf trying to erase memories

Driven not by love for peaceBut misplaced status quo maintenance

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They are still at it unashamedlyTheir dangerous divide and rule tactics

Don’t teach your children about slaveryAll talk about colonialism is retrogressive

Zimbabweans talk not about slaveryThat is what is drummed into us

Cheer up you fought gallantly against colonialismConveniently they choose to forget of the effects

WAILING DREAMS

Dreams of eJoziDreams of the glamour and glitterOf the streets of JoburgDreams now in the bellies of crocodilesIn the dark, dank depths of the watery abyssDreams turned into nightmaresNow languishing in LindelaWaiting for the deportation trucksDreams of mother’s milk long run dryDreams, dreams, dreams of home

This land

Just my piece of the earthfor me to raise my raceFor me to grow my foodJust my piece of the earthfor me to forge my destinyfor me to hold my head highfor my links with my spirits Just this my piece of the earthTake your trinkets to the westTake your trinkets to the east My future will not have your poison

STORIES OF OLD

Not with a sharp swordNot with a shield

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That fight is still onMight is not always rightI shall fear no evilMy creator is my health and my strengthThose were the days of the sling and the stoneThese are the days of stories of old

VICTORY

Satan’s forces at workShall not be victoriousMine is a mighty creatorThough they dig pits in my wayStrike at me with their bows and arrowsThat righteous fight shall be foughtForces of light shall hold swayListen to the trumpets of triumphThe fallen angel Lucifer has fallenHear the thud of that eternal fallWickedness has been vanquished nowThat innocent blood they shedFight viciously like an avenging spiritForces of darkness can never triumph

THAT SPIRIT

This is an old fightWith new fightersAnyway what is newWhen the old fighters live in meThat is undiluted realityNo need to fret myselfThat spirit was thereThen it met its endThese hands have held that spearThose warriors of old liveFighting again and againThat spirit was thereThat mighty force defeated itDefeat is written all over its face

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LESSONS AGAIN FOR MY CHILDRENThey are not my kith and kinAll they want is money

Enjoying the bread of my sweat, tears and bloodThat is all they do

Behind all those plastic smilesTheir very heavy hearts

Asking me to give what I don’t haveThey have no love at all

Learn these lessons my children

AWE INSPIRING

Give thanks and praisesTo the AlmightyExalt his nameFor he is the mighty oneThe creator of the universeThe greatest of forcesThe maker of all forms of lifeThe awe inspiring oneThe king of kings, lord of lordsThe redeemer, the greatest judgeForgiver of proponents of evolutionThat mindless philosophy of the devilThat negation of the force of creationExalt his name O childrenOne whose greatness lies in simplicityGive thanks and praises to loveFor God almighty is loveThe source of the rivers of loveTranscending the chasms of doctrinesGive thanks and praises to this greatnessThis unimaginable greatness

NEW FOCAL POINT

When America mourns

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The world should mournWhen its American blissThe world should winceThat is the way of lifeRemember Vietnam, Remember September 11

ROTTEN RELATIONSHIPS

Beneath those bland smilesThis still sad songBeneath those celebrationsSee their pyrrhic victoryDisciples of Judas IscariotThose blood coated pieces of silverAftermaths of unbridled avariceMaggots feed on that relationshipFeel that emptiness deep insideThat prostitute like desire for wealthAbout the size of my wallet you frettedThen I was smote by your greedNow I know where my bred is butteredThis is the exorcism timeThe extirpation of your wickednessForsaking time tested wisdomLook your demise is at hand

POISON IN THE WELL

Then it was a few caustic wordsDid you look beyond them then

This bitterness lasts foreverTime has not healed this wound

You saw the speck in my eyeThat log you still have in your eye

Your lunacy was at its heightYou looked for comfort in collective misery

Forgive me for I cannot forgive youYou poisoned the well I drink from

There is the bitterness etched in my mind

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Will time heal this wound?

TO KHULU

That manFor a small giftThe profuse thanksShowers of blessingsOr is it a deluge of themChoosing modestyForsaking mindless ostentationSeeing no virtue in beggingThat man

TRUSTING THEM

The Judas kissThirty pieces of silverThat betrayalToday the cross is revered

That coat of many coloursJoseph sold into captivityHeart rending wails of his fatherThen the brothers saved

Samson on a missionThere Delilah wasHis body and soul caressedEyes plucked out by villains

What then is newWhy should I wailThat story of old is retoldLike Solomon I ask for wisdom

DAUGHTERS FOR SALE

Give them moneySatisfy their lustIs it satiable

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A yearning for moreBy any means necessary

Instead of daughters they see dollarsThe highest bidder takes the prizeMy naivety ruled thenNow I know the truthThe tell tale signs were thereWhy did I proceed against a red robotPay dearly I must for this recklessness

MONSTERS IN LAW

Monsters in lawTheir love for wealthThat foul stenchThe nostrils pervadingMonsters in lawThat story of prostitutionThat unbridled greedThen I did not take heedThat tainted bloodExorcise that evil spirit

BATED BREATH

We now know themKnow them for defying logicThese shameless opportunistsThose that rode on your backsThose that still ride on our backsTrying still to trash our memoriesTheirs are pyrrhic victoriesWe shall always rememberOur children’s children shall knowThese muffled stories shall be toldThese dwarfs masquerading as giants

EARTH’S LAMENT

Did I not feed, clothe

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and shelter your fore parentsHave I not done the same for youNow that you brutalise me this wayDo you have love for posterityWhat greed grips you like thisWhat is the root of your selfishnessIs it the maddening profit motiveThe smog that stunts tree growthThe few trees that remain As your chain saws and axesReduce forests into plainsThe raging forest fires you startThe nuclear waste you dumpThe effluent filling the riversThe streams and other water sourcesYou wantonly destroy wild lifeHow do you lay claim to superiorityWhen most of your plans bring destructionWhat makes you shit and piss in my faceLearn lessons of enlightened self interest

HANGOVER STILL

Those lessons did not take rootWhen will they learnThen it was a hot stoneThen it was Vaseline or cooking oilThey are at it still todayRunning in vain away from themselvesThat kinky hair branded a curseWhen will our people be themselvesForeign industries capitalize on foolishnessWhen will they learn to love themselves

EXILE AFTERMATHS

Then from exile they returnedThe liberators among themAmong them the opportunistsThe autochtonous watched in aweA new dawn on the horizonBut the foolishness was evidentThe baffling eurocentric perceptionsThen this society was mesmerized

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Deep divisions then set inFamilies were flung helter skelterThen the thick smoke blinded usIs a repeat performance on the wayWhat will they bring from the diaspora

DEATH THE LOSER

And then we close this chapterWith the thud of picksAnd the scrapping of shovelsIn thought we bury ourselvesThat man feels no more painDeath you are not a victorFor the spirit is not vanquished

NO MORE STIGMA

Then I waved the fliesfrom off your faceThat you could do no moreWas that a smile on your faceA smile in your deathA smile wrought by deathA whirlpool engulfs meWhat is this turbulenceStep forward you childrenThe children of the slain bullThat seed was dispersedTherein lay your demiseIs there room for secretsEnjoying the warmth of denialWhat is the root of all thisThis stigmatization baffling usMy salute to your braveryRest then among our kith and kinThe spirits of the land welcome you

TRIGGERED THOUGHTS

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That persecutionAt the root of itI think it was tribalism

SithokozileThat was a time of joyThose forces were latent

Today I see the sad taleThose souls wailedI Solani!

The relentless persecutionThat time of exhortation: JabulaniNow I know the truth

Still they were at itHis own kith and kinTill he asked : Siyephi?

Somewhere the truth concealedThe benevolence of those soulsZandile – the conundrum

THE LAST DIARY

That invasion of your privacyWas keeping the diary therapeutic

Those pages of deep bitternessThe regrets that yearned to surface

Then you followed the soap bubbleThe spirits of our fathers called you

The tale behind the tale was sadSimply you expressed your loneliness

Enough pain you countenancedThe creator accorded you rest

BABYLON THE BITCH

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Babylon the harlotNow is the time to payThose crimes against humanityMy people in shackles and chainsDying and tossed into the AtlanticThe auctioning of my peopleWorse than the auctioning of livestockBabylon the whoreMy people colonizedStill wallowing in the chasmsThe bayonet thrusts of denigrationBabylon your days are numberedAfrica now unites against your waysMy people have to be free now

TO ANOTHER SON OF THE SOIL

Behind the questionThe scorpion stingVenomous viper’ fangsIn the answer the humilityShunning the ostentationThat trap evadingThat journalist askedToday I rememberHow do you want to be rememberedToday they trample your memoryThe strippers are at itStripping away your dignityToday your memory is up for saleThose schemes cannot succeed

MY SHARE

Just a piece of pure goldJust one piece of an uncut diamondWhat about a piece of platinumThat son of Africa in the diasporaHe wailed in that song of revolution‘Africa is the richest placeBut now is home to the poorest race’Impoverished by gluttonous EuropeImpoverished by the local crooks

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Leaving us fighting over the crumbsLeaving us with holes in the groundSee the big fight behind this humility

New African page 48 June 2006 number 452 Femi Akomolafe‘It is sad to see that while the Europeans who erected the borders on our continent are dismantling their own borders we in Africa are still holding tenaciously to our artificial inheritance’

TSUNAMI

That liquid snake struckSnatching children from parentsDevouring husbands and wivesLeaving nations in deep griefLeaving the world in mourningA trail of disaster in its wake

That liquid bomb explodedReducing buildings to rubbleThe years of toil gone in secondsPlunging people into destitutionThousands rendered homeless

Listen to the religious explanationsListen to the scientific explanationsIt is all mind blowing

GETTING THE CROWN

Up in the skyThe milky wayIn my mother’s kitchen hutBy the lively hearthThe spontaneous outpouringYour hopes, fears and dreamsThen I open upThen you also open upThe ways of my ancestorsThe ways of our fore fathersIn this age of one dimensionThese are the invaluable lessonsThese lessons of my spiritualityThe roots are deeply embedded

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SOLIDARITY

Listen African womanThe blood of your fore fathers wailsFor you have betrayed themDrop the white hoods and the white gownsThe symbols of the devil’s purityToday you prop that miscreantPounding to pulp the PalestiniansDenying them those fundamental rightsYou prop that illegitimate stateListen now African womanYour kith and kin in subjugationThere is a paltry price for your soulYou wine and dine with the devil

THE FUTURE IS NOW

Keep your mind’s eye openThat journey long beganThrough the past, present and futureThrough verse, stories shall be toldThrough the past the future we shall knowThe pages of potent poetry unlock the mysteriesPosterity shall know these trials and tribulationsThose orgies of senseless killingsThat desire to establish tribal hegemonyForever etched in our minds these stories areIn the verses are our songs of triumphThat refusal to wallow in despondencyVerses written in our rebellious bloodHear the potent push of prancing poetryInstilling the consciousness of self liberatorsIn the end light triumphs over darknessThese muffled voices shall shout triumphantlyNo more shall our memories be subversiveNo more shall our dreams be seditiousThis journey shall be longThis train shall never be derailed

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SPIRITUAL FOODThis wellThis fountainIt should never run dryLet the children drink

This treePlanted by the rivers of waterThe fruits it should bearThe children should not starve

See this barrennessThe devils running riotThe dangerous gamesTell the children the truth

EMACIATED SOULS

What demonic spirit is thisWhat devilish creature is thisHolding my people in its tentaclesWhat snare is this tightly holding themWhat is the root of this derangement

They cling to esoteric religionsDrinking dirty water by the road sidesExhibiting their shameful emaciated bodiesThese lost sheep no shepherd can redeemWhat is the root of this brain bleaching

What is the root of this death wishWhat is the root of this foul stenchGive me the answers now you fathersGive me the answers now you mothersHow many more should perish this way

SO WHO SHALL I FEAR

This stalemateNauseating stalemateAt daggers drawnHow long shall we be at it

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The clash of steelThe full blooded fightThe victors and villainsThe fight should endThe fight should continueThat is the essence of life

THIS TIME FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME

This ailing nation

This wailing widow

This desolationRampaging desperation

Today I prayJoin me in this prayer

Time for divine interventionThat time is nigh

NO LONGER UNDER THE MOUNDS

The excruciating painUnder the mounds of liesThe pastors’ liesThe politicians’ liesThe stench of it allThose shacks are products of liesThat dirty water we drinkWe, the victims of the liesThe vain attempts to warp the truthThe true stories are to be told nowThe cherished values are resilientNot one liar can hold back this timeNow is the truth’s time

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THE NOW TIME

The writing on the wallThe rabid dog was at itFull on their father’s foodBiting and biting the childrenRabies spreading without hindrance

The moment demanded decisionWas I to shrug shoulders indifferentlyWas I to sit down and count my lossesWas I not right to deliver the fatal blow

ANOTHER SOUL FOR SALE

Brother has it come to thatThat you lick arse for survivalThose lessons you ditchedEat the bread of the sweat of your browsYou have chosen that pathWalking along the path of shamelessnessThe price for your soul is paltryA few pieces of gold and silverSee your unbridled love for wealthSo brother you have turned traitorThat sacrosanct blood wailsYou walk on unperturbed at allThat dirty wealth blinds youThis misery you no longer seeSo you have prostituted your soulNow you have to see the light

KU KLAX KLAN AT IT

Behind the farce, the charadeBehind the convulsions and stiffnessbehind that body drained of lifeThe ku lax klan at itPerhaps tired of the blood of blacksNow sucking the blood of ArabsThe unbridled desire for hegemonyThe dangerous myth about weapons

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Imagined weapons of mass destructionThe desire to control the oil fields

See the baffling hypocrisyTrue, that man was no saintThe American shitstem is not saintly eitherThe vampires have to perish nowA mortal blow must be delivered nowBabylon must never know peaceLook there is the fiery inferno

PEACE TIME

For the blood stained trinketsThe blood of our dispossessed peopleThe dripping blood of the futureThe spirit of Nyathi is not deadFuriously napalm bombing our peopleTraitors there among usToday I question your justiceSee you cling to ill gotten privilegesTurning us into hewers of woodCondemning us to just drawers of waterBack sliders take leave of usThat fight for justice is still onThe natural consequence is peace

LINES FOR EMELO

Perhaps you drowned your sorrowsIn that deluge of tearsA whirlpool of thoughtsMy mind embattledDin of doubt about affection Cupid’s arrows of hot leadThat is the way of the worldIt is the story of beauty and the beast

NOT IN VAIN

Volcanic eruptions of hunger

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Violent storms of angerFoul stench of their self preservationErupting thoughts of rebellionOnce deemed seditious now to the foreThese thoughts-your thoughts, mine tooThese dreams once labelled treasonousDreams of a revolution back trackThe viciousness of a dying shitstemThe price to be paid is quite highHave I not told you before

CATACLYSM

Visions of an implosionVisions of an explosionAftermaths of total failureA looming cataclysmLook around and seeThat prophesied end is nighVictims of stolen victoriesThen it all seemed succulentThen you did not listenMessages abound against the deificationMessages against the personality cultMessages against the violenceMessages against those ‘isms’Then you did not listenSee now the casualties

FIRE IN THE MANSION

With all the trinketsWith all the glamour and the glitterThe thick wintry darknessIn the vast mansionThe thud of blows and kicksThe shocking domestic violenceIt is not all about wealthReverberations of happiness in shacks tooIn your plenty can be your wantStartling revelations in the mansionViolence became a panacea for problemsSocial misfits are unleashed onto societyThe bitter taste of this stinking wealth

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Threats of murder in the mansionThreats of suicide in the mansionThe trinkets have not guaranteed bliss

IN THE GOLDEN CAGE

A captive in the golden cageThat is what you areToday you pay the priceWhere is that easy lifeThat wealth hypnotized youBehind it all you do not see the filthToday it is all those tearsToday it is all that batteringThe silver and gold lost its lustreYou ran away from real loveBehind the lap of luxury this bruteYou ran after the soap bubbleIn the sweat of your brows lies liberty

ELBOWED OUT

Out of your life you elbowed meI tried to be your pillar of strengthYou mistook my benevolence for weaknessNow I walk without youDrown now in your tears of shameThe same dog that bit me yesterdayToday I give it a hefty kickThat story of your past was trueYou remain unrepentant to this dayThat unbridled love for moneyToday you still chase barren windsToday you chase after illusionsThey will toy with your silly mindThey will drive you into depressionLook who will have the last laughYou dig deep into your whoring mindThe love for wealth is your demise

TO EXILESA distant cockerel crows

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Listen exiles

The birds freely twitterThe crowing of more cockerels

It is dawn againCome back home

That dark hour is overCome back home exiles

THE SHATTERING OF A MYTH

Dreams of the glamour and glitterHarvests of illusionsDreams of a sweet tomorrowDeep in the watery abyssDreams fast turned into nightmaresNow in the bellies of vicious crocodilesThe chocking ashes in the hearthThe once warm hearth at homeAftermaths of the desire for self preservationThat rift between the gluttons and the hungryThe unimaginable looms in the horizonJudgement day draws nearerWhat was unthinkable takes centre stage

WE AND THEMI am not asking for almsFor I am no beggar

It is that story againThe story of ‘we’ and ‘them’

How dare you call yourself thatBrother, sister, father, mother?

My food from your trash canFighting for survival against stray dogs

You pound my dreams with your hummerCall it brabas or barabbas

Look now cellphone farmerYour soap bubble silos are empty

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Powered by empty belliesA revolution this is

CALLING FOR DIVINE INTERVENTION

Give them a beating Lord

For your divine interventionThis is my prayer

The myth of their invincibilityShatter and scatter them

Teach them those lessons of oldPharaoh learnt them well

Give them a beating Lord

Your power is plain to seeThere in the earthquakesThere in the volcanoesThere in the howling windsThere in the cyclonesNow let them feel it

Give them a beating Lord

CYCLONE GLUTTONFrom the turbulent ocean of opportunistsCyclone glutton has struck

In its wake a trail of destructionPlain for all to see

The stench of ill gotten wealthShameless bragging about it

Multitudes of the hungryThe emaciated children of forgotten folk

Vanishing trucks of scarce grainOnly the small fish bear the brunt

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The violent waves of despairThe rich have the match boxes houses

Still in the explosive reservesWhile the gluttons have all the land

Smote to smithereensThat altruism we cherished

Cyclone glutton has struckLeaving us like dazed hens

Like chicks in its steel clawsThe present and future seek escape

ANOTHER SCRAMBLE

Back then it was in BerlinUnashamedly sharing the lootLegitimising the protracted rapeThose chains of old still onNew colonizers on the sceneWill it be Beijing this time?

DEAD LEAVES

Memories of youThere on the dung heapThe stench of itStoutly refusing to go awayThe fragments hereA constant reminderThat long gone blissSummer wind of the futureBlow away dead leaves of yesterday

SHADE OF POET’S WORDSDeafened by the dinThe din of filthy richesAnd the crippling arrogance

Then you did not listen

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This ant voice was thereUnder the philistine jack boots

This scorching sunThe shade of these wordsThe poet still speaks

This seeming invincibilityKing owl has no hornsThat lesson was never learnt

TASTE OF HARMONYThis serenityThe mirthfulness

This warmthCinders in the hearth

Thorns overshadowedThe petals in sight

Softly falling rainNo thunder and lightning

This harmonyThe sweet melodies

This serenityThis serenity

PROFESSIONAL QUEUERSThe sad tale of shortagesSome real, others imaginedA new profession on the riseThe professional ‘queuers’Here for mealie-mealThere for passportsFor razor blades evenTheir sleep starved bodiesTell tale signs in their eyesTheir thread bare clothesThe professional ‘queuers’

I WILL PACK MY BAGS

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The search is onForging my identitySmote by centuries of repressionLightning struck by blind acceptanceBlind acceptance of apostasyListen to this iconoclastic bomb blast:

I will pack my bags and leaveIf totem proves divisiveIf surname proves iniquitousIf clan creates ominous riftsIf tribe proves retrogressiveIf nationalism is inhumanityI will pack my bags and leaveThese costly murderous identitiesThis iconoclastic bomb blast

ZIMBABWE TODAY, TOMORROW

In the vortex of the stormThe thunder clapsFlashes of lightningLives under threatThat is where we are

Longing for calmSoftly falling rainThe soothing effectUnder the lullabyThe life bright within

THOSE WORKSThe dog eared pagesThe pain on the pagesSad tales of repressionThe undying hopeTales of resilienceThe exiles at homeThe exiles abroadThe cryptic worksWorks in the cocoonToday deemed seditiousThose songs yet to be sungSilently recited poemsSculptures now in back yardsPaintings in dusty drawers

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The impending implosionThe impending explosionThe cob webs removedA fresh dawn erupts

PROFOUND LOVE

Snippets of itThis tremendous love

Love for my peopleThis ailing nation

I have told my rootsThe supreme sacrifice

Mum says it’s a wasteDad agrees too

The people I loveWallowing in poverty

The fight I am inThis righteous fight

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