Why I Called Phibi By Her Full Name

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…my mother sent me to school, her only child, before the age of 7 years like other children in South Africa, it was if in a hurry to re-collect herself as a childless woman. She said I was smart boy and ahead of my age, and in her words, ‘You’re wasting time at crèche,’ which meant money. But I was frail and little. And I walked like I was wet. In a genuine sense of this expression: my school uniform wore…

By Tshepo S. Molebatsi

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Small Heaven In A Suitcase

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This story traces a foreign national who comes in the country pretending to be a pastor while abusing young boys. It is a story about homophobia.

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…lies on a burning pyre, a heap of sweltering petrol-doused tyres, logs, two litres bottles, and plastic rubbles beneath his back. White sparks float in his vision but the mercy of unconsciousness doesn’t come. Not even the mercy of an abrupt death comes to save him from the torment. His throat…

By Keketso Mashigo

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Memory Loss A Blessing

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This story traces the life of a traditional healer tasked by her ancestors to find grief-healing…

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…month-long journey from Madjembeni—a small scenic village that flowed with fresh water. The water smelled of fish and pebbles in Bushbuckridge to the waterverse. It also smelled of cows and wild animals because that’s where they also…

By Keketso Mashigo

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Khira

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…the context of African cultures. As Khira, impose a western approach of solving a matter amicably in a Tswana…

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…referred to as kgotla in Tswana, was a place of final word. Where the chief and his councilmen solved the village matters — trivial matters as to whose son, stole whose livestock and unjustly at the whims of esoteric beliefs, which witch was caught naked on whose backyard, and on fairer occasions, to pray for rain…

By Tshepo S. Molebatsi

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How Long?

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This poem speaks of #globalwarming..."scorching heat of this arid desert" .... #overfishing... "this ocean we've bled dry" ... the constant cries for #peace throughout our world ... "how long before that Dove of Peace heals its broken wings" .... and #deforestation ... "in this burnt forest" ... #Amazon

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…shall we wander

through the scorching heat

of this arid desert,

yearning for a quenching drop

from the cooling cup of the oasis?


How long before

all the tears we cry

are enough,

to turn the tide

in this ocean we've bled dry?


And how long before

that Dove of Peace

heals its broken wings,

and finds…

By Adiela Akoo

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When World Unites

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 …world unite

Hatred will lose its humongous value

Selfishness will die in striking solitude

Our night will be addressed as daylight

For gloom never will cause us doom

Heaven will cast upon us, stares of jealousy

Celestial bodies will wish to resign their duties

Mama will roll her wrapper peacefully

While offering her offspring's mirthful smiles

Papa will crown his cap unperturbed

Walking the heart of town undisturbed

When world unite

No room will be allocated for chaos

No space, be given for weighing woes

We, in safety sip our sultry soup

And lay our heads in serene…

By Sehloho Piet Rampai

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Racism Powerplay

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Racism is bred by leaders who seek followers bringing division and confusion amongst the nations.

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…of peace require no leaders,

harmony and love make them all achievers,

side by side they live and work,

overflowing with happiness as an added perk.

There's always the few that crave for power,

for that they need the other to cower,

they turn the neighbours against each other,

introducing racism as the perfect cover.

When tribes and nations live in fear and confusion,

chaos and hatred becomes a daily infusion,

politics is a very dirty game,

causing the nations much sorrow and…

By Zararia Yul

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Voices→

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…sorrow and pain,
Her mind drifts away,
For she can't see the beauty of her nature,
With voices in her head unable to process, 
Those never ending fights with unseen sights,
She stands alone with darkness at her side,
Below the surface trembling like a dog,
Her fear is unspoken words,
Never leaving her side but oh how she wishes, 
With regrets and regards she lifts her hear head up, 
With pain and confusion she pulls back her shoulder,
With strength and courage she walks,
Always listening to the voices inside her head, 
Never would she stop singing the songs inside…

By Marina Vos

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