The past sings in my present misery and I awaken to a
silhouette of your absence
I keep hearing the echoes of your breathless goodbye.
Words unsaid yet those words tame my intuition-and arise as
my conscience,
Whispers of an embrace that held tight to this heartbreak,
that brought warmth to my every cold desire.
The past is the past- but only ends when the present
arrives-
and still my heart remains where dust gathers and my mind
proceeds to new hope.
I'm wise enough to know that- I need to lose to gain and
when I gain I also lose.
So the bitter misfortune of fate plays at my feet
as I weep with the borders of what life is – and has made of
my path.
A path that only seeks it's destiny in a shameless end.
An end that hasn't begun but starts to finish before it
comes to a hault.
Because unlike life- eternal is a choice with love.
Oil River Peace
Miasma whispers in the ears of its Delta children
as they sway to the songs that caress their lips
The violent noise has become a barren burden
Faces of confusion and guilt - eclipse
The melancholy echoes are fuelled by a trade of disharmony
the air is polluted with intense uncertainty-
Enmity quenches the veins of their thoughts
webbed in the chains in which they've been caught.
Conflict and strife pursuades poverty to strike
embracing the fear that injustice requires to ignite.
Demanding shares where peace should be shared.
"Freedom" hides,captured- tearfully ensnared
darkhaired men battle in an oil war
What are they fighting for?
Stolen or not, wisdom is brave-
Conflict does nothing but empower rage,
rage that runs not only to your enemy, but yourself
Are you fighting love and peace for wealth?
Blood stained oils seep deep into the conscience of those
who remain-
that war they fought- nothing has changed.
Land of Oil-rivers- their home- their industry,
benefits leak into the palms of their enemy-
polluted by lands afar they've now made amends
One problem solved- God still has more blessings to send,
If only hearts turn-away from these ills
Toxicity, seemingly goes beyond oil spills-
First environment now its people-
Hope itself is ashamed and fearful.
A staircase of poison stretches from a fallen state
They slowly help peace close its gate
Reason has taught them to vandalize pipelines
Although this impinges on their own economic lifelines.
Why do your own children donate to hate?
Playing with the fires of a vindictive fate.
The poisoned air touches the frames of their rivers,
dark smoke ascends from their ancestor's cinders
flowing into the contours of their hearts-
the devil has toyed with their craft.
Shelled in shells alone-
Hear the graves moan-
they mourn- the end of cruelty
are we not human enough to fight with dignity.
The land is your own, the wealth too-
but war has no choice but to let you lose.
Until the children hold hands in unity-
to eradicate the stench of animosity-
and with "voice" to reason with reality
not with "tears" or "blood" brutality.
Peace is waiting at the doors of this delta-
Peace waits for its people to give it shelter.
Run and run-but no-one can hide-
Peace is chasing them-Peace will find
a place in their soul's to hide.
Peace is chasing them -they can not hide.
Miasma whispers in the ears of its Delta children
as they sway to the songs that caress their lips
The violent noise should now turn into tranquil burden
Where faces of love and peace – eclipse.
Mother Africa
I watch her tears stain her cheeks and I listen to her
cries.
I am her child – and cannot extinguish her flames
I watch her suffer from afar
I hear her weep- I feel her pain.
I see her gnarled fingers- but I’m numbed.
Fear resides in my weakness and I’m ashamed to cry.
Soaked in aching guilt – I weep
Drenched in endless shame –I hide.
Fate separated us- and I bleed. My love seems so heartless.
She toils to survive- without me and my arms continue to
distant themselves.
Shores flood both our sands- and I’m drenched in her tears-
Listen to her heartbeat-It’s losing strength.
Listen to her whispers – there’s no sound.
I am her child- and like a stranger- I rekindle the flames
that burn her.
Strong, so so strong – yet it breaks her
She still remains beautiful, graceful-
Blessed with diversity- Nigeria , Zimbabwe , Cameroon ,
Rwanda
Mozambique, Malawi , Tanzania and South-Africa,
It breaks me- and shatters every part in me.
Every sunset tears away at her heart- but she still toils.
If only I could return- If only – body and soul- could part-
In me- her life would be returned-
I watch her tears stain her cheeks
And I listen to her cries.
If the earth quivers at her absence-she shall rise-
But life seeks death in every soul, and death finds life in
its end.
If she awakes she loses all but nothing, but if she dies -we
weep-
her joy lingers in my thoughts- her child
I’ll embrace the moments we had – as though they were my
present- the moments -I will one day recall
Tearfully- yet feel content because when I had her- I loved
her with all I had.
Listen to her whispers – there’s no sound.
I am her child- and like a stranger-
I rekindle the flames that burn her.
I am her child – and can not extinguish these flames-that
burn her
I am only her child-
And till death joins us- her pain shall forever rest in me-
She will always be my mother-
She will always me my home-
Mama Africa.
Yolanda Lindsay
Mabuto was born in Gweru (Zimbabwe) on 13
February 1988. She began writing poetry at the age of 9. Now
aged 22 she still continues to make poetry the centre of her
happiness. Her writing is inspired by the life of others as
well as her own and it reflects the artistic craft of life's
pain and joy. She is also interested in prose (short
dramatic stories) and children stories and will continue to
broaden her writing interests as far as her wings will
allow. In addition to her poetry, she has already obtained a
BSc and is currently studying for an MSc in Biomedical
Science at Universiteit van Amsterdam.
