the unspeakable terror of my daughter
realising I am not coming home tonight
or any other night. how others met you
in the air, some on the ground kneeling
and I, unsure but terrified nonetheless.
& in the posture of prayer you find me
asking why the senseless killings go on.
will you take me too, death? butterfly
that I am, sweet moth in technicolour,
maimed and begging at the fireplace.
Nkateko Masinga is a South African poet and 2019 Fellow of the Ebedi International Writers Residency. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2018 and her work has received support from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and the Swiss Arts Council. She is the Contributing Interviewer for Poetry at Africa In Dialogue, an online interview magazine that archives creative and critical insights with Africa’s leading storytellers. Her chapbook, THE HEART IS A CAGED ANIMAL, is forthcoming from Praxis Magazine Online.