The sky bleeds blue into yellow
while the village falls asleep —
A sense of urgency
as the sun fades.
The fire could not be tamed,
but hot stones have now turned cold.
Kids play
Babies cry
brittle branches of charred oak
tender leaves that dissolve into nothing.
A singed, barren land that once raged with passionate flames
now home to nothing but sooty air and the echoes of long-forgotten names.
Smoke fills the air:
the blood is on your hands.
Blood on our land,
the tribal quarrels of men guilty of our division.
From the depths of the bottomless pit
to a future perhaps even more troublesome.
Descending into chaos from atop the hill of the jackal,
Kings and queens turned corrupt.
Man has betrayed us once again.
This land, a dangerous jungle
A jungle we call home.
Nyika ino, inengozi
Nyika ino, nhasi, haisi holy
iSango ratinoti
Kumusha.
Shuwa
Svinurayi Gonera, AKA Shuwa, is a 19-year-old Cape Townian writer and singer. He began writing short stories and novels in primary school before stumbling into the world of poetry later in high school. Mr Sharief Petersen and Royston Pieterse, two of his teachers, took a significant interest in cultivating his talent and in Grade 1l, he won his first poetry competition. In his matric year, two of his pieces were selected for inclusion in the Cedar House School youth publication entitled Little Book of Big Voices.
‘ISango’ is also the name of Shuwa's beautiful single, which is available to listen to on Spotify. Follow Shuwa on Instagram @_shuwa_.
