Gingerbread man

Secretly, I crave immortality

Stuck in seemingly never ending bliss

In the cool breeze 

Of sweet summer springs 

But I am a gingerbread man 

Stuck in a chase to prevail

Running from the inevitable dawn

When my breathe shall fail

Will I crumble?

Or will I run forever 

Or will I be another rubble 

Tossed into the fire 

Her lovelessness

Her pearly eyes could not betray
what the November night could not contain
a heart empty, a gaze not passionately fiery

With a grace untold
she told of her emptiness,
of her lovelessness

With a smile i walked away

{for Nomcebo of Madelief}

Happy

(dedicated to the late Happy Sindane on the day of his funeral)

You were born into the ugly brutal world
where a rhino's horn was more than your worth

You were lost from the onset
A black mother was your curse
removed from previlledge at birth
too black and unhappy to be white

why did you get lost into our world?

A black life, rough and rugged
is all you inherited in your confusion
and The gloomy black ordour
overcame whatever scent of previllege

what then of your life?

A black life
A terrible life
A horrible death
Even the night couldnt embrace you

A little shade of white
A bit of softness in speech
A modesty in manners
You could have been white and spared.

Rose

(for Khanyi)

She was a Rose
Budding in the spring dawn
Her petals wrapt in sweet teary love droplets

She loved dearly
She loved blindly
And loved to death

And as they say:
Love was the motive for murder

Burn so bright(Tragedy)

To burn so bright and die young
What a tragedy, to rise to life's apex
And shine so bright u blind a star
Only to die in the prime of ur brightness

See a star in its rush of brightness
Shines so bright it kills itself
And vanish a spark-less gold dust
Never to shine again not even dimly

See flames in the rush of glory
They burn so bright
The fire dies with its flames
Consumed by its blaze

But what now of a burning inside?
Do you curb it's brightness and vigor
And hope it lasts longer
Or do we die young either way

What a tragedy to have defied nature
Burnt so bright u became hope
And just as we basked in ur warmth
You die, young.

Dambudzo Lives

(In memory of Dambudzo Marechera)

Death, stupid dearth
Have you seen Dambudzo's ghost
Lingering in the streets of Masvingo
Stupid Death what have you gained
In his grossly untimely death
Are you a victor now
That he is a memory
Slowly and painfully washing away
Tell me Mr Stupid Death
Stare me in the eye if you got wealthier
Robbing humanity of its expression

Mr Stupid Death, your time is up
For Dambudzo can never die
He lives in this lines
Preserved in the memory of time
But yours Mr Death is up!

Bemu

Bemu Ndi la mini?
Ndi songo buba
Ndi paulelwani?
Ndi songo lowa

Nne kani Ndi mmbengwa
Mbudzi ya gwembe
Ndi musandiwa
Nguvho ya pfene

Izwi nau lowa Ndi songo lowa

Black skin

This skin is a curse
It’s a burden of untold sins
It is borne not without prejudice

Under the shadow of this skin
My aspiration to be free expires
Forever lost in the mirage of youth

How do I think free?
When the shadow remains?
Maybe when I've done eternal time
I will ascent with a new skin

For who will free me
from the shadow of this skin

Cold

It seems u grow cold
As you grow old
Stuck with broken dreams
And a mute pursuit of happiness
There is not much to marvel
Your solitude is a blinding darkness
And friends grow fewer
As the coldness looms large

Is it the broken dreams?
Is it life's arid emptiness?
Is it the man within?
Grown suicidal self mutilating
Where did the warmth go?

Ode to an Old Dream

Old old old dream

When i, with blurry eyes

sought you from the depth of my heart

You vanished like a wind at dawn

Heartbroken i was left dispondent

On my own to pickup where u left

and make believe with whatever glitered

Old old old dream

A wrecking hope

a life shattering aspiration

Thats all you u were

And when i cared to face reality

I was on my own

Old old old dream

Now that i have woken to a new reality

A blissful reality

You emerge like a vision in the night

But dear old dream

The future has come

And i am old news to you