Dearly beloved, shall you bid your farewells to me,
As I board the express train for doom.
Wave your goodbyes for it might soothe you in these times,
A momentary gaze though these pathetic windows I’ve been afforded,
And what shall I see?
Perhaps a gazillion blank faces,
Scattered throughout the horizon just as fragmented glass does,
Only in the sense that, mine is shattered,
Surely I must ask,
Changu chii nhai Amai?
Floating in a world in which women have lost substance,
Forever resurfacing on the shores of abuse,
Could it be that we have tossed away our rights of essence,
What capacity have they given to an ordinary piece of paper,
That it now has the legitimacy to hover around us like an angry bee,
Casting malicious glances on our every move,
Yet if we speak, what shall become of it,
Shall it be swallowed up and put away in some cell,
By day’s end we will be identified as being the scoundrel elements of society,
Changu chii nhai Amai?
Surely my children will live to see tomorrow,
For what parent would I be if I were to leave them a legacy of atrocities,
Bound by shackles of racism,
Ornamented by braces of corruption,
Sekwanele!
Hence as I shout once more but this time I do it on the brink of a raging war,
My return is the only guarantee you have as to ascertain my prevalence,
Parinopera zuva, ndawana changu Amai!
Munashe Matumbi is an A Level student at the USAP Community School in Goromonzi, studying under a Liberal Arts combination. Prior to the start of 2019, he did not know what poetry was and through a friend’s help he wrote his debut poem. This was published through Kindle Direct Publishing. Every year, Munashe re-reads all seven books in the Harry Potter series as he is a super fan. Outside the literature tent, he is an enthusiastic gardener in his home town of Marshlands in Norton. He hopes to obtain a degree in Veterinary Medicine.