I have dwelt in skyscrapers,
Shining, lofty, alluring,
I have dwelt in plastic shacks,
Ever threatening and vulnerable,
In fancy suburbs,
High walls and blue pools,
Not forgetting ekasi life,
Of canned experience,
Where the comfort of home
Was driven away by heat and cold.
I have been a denizen of here and there.
Yet, my memory is where my umbilical cord is,
Buried under mud and stone,
Of cow dung plastered floors and walls.
Of the alluring aroma of thatch,
Of the huge fire at the centre,
Surrounded by familiar laughter,
Smoke puffing out of the golden crown
My heart is always drooling miles away,
For my grandpa’s old hut, my home.
Also by this poet:
Portia Ndhlovu is a graduate from the University of Zimbabwe. She majored in English and German languages. She is a Zimbabwean national currently based in South Africa who is passionate about Zimbabwean poetry, social realism, and issues affecting children. Portia has co-authored an academic article titled The Cases of missing fathers in Zimbabwe’s The Closure DNA show: reflecting on loose ends (ACADEMIA LETTERS, 2021).