Meet the Voiceless by Chilufya

Chilufya Chileshe | March 21st, 2023 | poetry | No Comments

Poet Bio

The Anguished one
he is to be found every morning
at the traffic stop
the robot’s red to green colour pace
holds his daily fate
the discolour of his skin
smell of his breath
a testimony
to the faint memory of his last bath

The Wannabe Saviour one
snug in the confines of a slick automobile
a curious onlooker
with heart heavy
hands too clean to reach out and touch
the Auguished one’s nearly greying skin
their daily eye contact in the morning rush
gives voice to their shared
but diametrically opposed humanity

The Sleeping one
on the side-lines of the great highway
his days and nights roll on
in the city of gold
they say he can’t be fed
yet to ever-expanding politician midsections
and highway intersections
he wakes
if he had his voice he would say
the gleam off the walls
of ever higher raising towers mock him

The Initiated one
Eyes downcast she gyrates
to the beat of the drum
bearing the firm and supple evidence
of youth on her chest
burdened by her tribe’s (un)will to serve
to feed the amusement of a curious crowd
to live up to the endless must(s)
must dance
must obey
must respect
above all, must not speak.

Poet Bio

Chilufya is a woman born and raised on a beautiful continent. Chilufya writes poems as a celebration of human diversity and a useful outlet for frustration with the tribulations and rare triumphs of the world today. She lives in Lusaka, Zambia

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