News of a death received from home
in the middle of a shift,
Your manager says, “you can’t go before the end of your shift,
after all, you are far away from home,” he rationalises.
They don’t realise because you are far away from home,
you grieve double.
Grieve that you can’t be there.
Grieve the loss of a loved one.
At the end of the shift,
you walk to your shared house
where a scraggle of your drinking buddies
and your housemates gather around a clutch of beer cans.
There is an awkward moment
as the women decide whether to wail
in the typical Zimbabwean style or…
Eventually they settle for handshakes and hugs.
‘Was she unwell?’ someone asks.
‘When is burial?’ another asks.
Another awkward silence.
Then someone drunkenly starts singing,
‘Hatina musha panyika,’
The others join in, the lead singer
forgets the lyrics,
He desperately looks around for help
from fellow mourners, none is forthcoming.
In that moment you wish
you had continued to go to your mother’s church
when you moved overseas.
Maybe their singing would soothe you
A few more still born attempts to sing hymns,
then silence.
The group leaves.
Alone in your room,
images of your mother scroll in your mind.
Your mind settles on the picture of her
in her red Methodist women’s uniform
that had the pride of place
on the mantelpiece in her living room.
Overwhelming grief comes over you
as you begin to weep quietly.
Tears stream down your cheeks.
You feel drained as you mourn
your mother in the loneliness of your room.
No one to share your grief.
No one to offer comfort.
Also by this poet:
- GRIEF in Issue 7
- Lament for a friend and a brother in Issue 7
- Grieving the death of a child in Issue 7
is a Zimbabwean short fiction writer currently living in the UK. He is a teacher of English, Accounting and Business Studies, and a budding poet. He writes poetry out of love for the genre and to create resources to teach unseen poetry skills. His other poetry has been self-published on social media. His short stories have been published in magazines, e-magazines and journals including the Edinburgh Review. He is currently teaching GCSE English and A Level English Literature in the United Kingdom while working on a collection of short stories.