She is the prayer
that clings to the tip of my tongue,
with claws of iron,
like a tongue piercing; the one
I hold deep inside
for fear that if I were to say her name
out LOUD she might dissipate
into the atmosphere
like the incense that burns
and smokes out
right outside this confessional
Retshepisitswe ‘Tshepi’ Makhatha has been published in Poetry Potion’s 10th print edition titled ‘This Woman Is… He has also had his poems published in The Kalahari Review, Ons Klyntji and Praxis Magazine online. His 2-minute play was shortlisted by the SA Short II Committee and read at the National Arts Festival held in Grahamstown in 2017.