I am a tribal mask in a sea of face coverings,
Carved to bury the screams of the recent dead.
There were rumors of something in the air,
And only the dead remember the shedding of its molten face.
They died unlike flies, which at least died eating.
We heard their ancestors’ names crash to the ground,
And none could go any closer
to pick their tribal nose rings
from the debris.
Mbonisi Zikhali comes from Makokoba, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He is a spoken-word artist, story-teller, youth mentor and grassroots community organizer. His stage name is Zomkhonto, which happens to be his bloodline’s totem. He is currently based in Canada.