Mother, mother!
If only made possible for one
to witness their birth,
I would recall labour pains –
myself quaking inside your belly
and your thighs as river banks
as I gush into streams
long yearned for freedom
to touch the soil.
Mother, mother!
Believe me when I say
godly is the one who invented
a soulful masterpiece of its own kind
then obliged to keep it alive
irregardless of
how many times the wind blinks over
and how many times the walls collapse
while growing into pyraminds.
Allow me to clap hands
more than lightning fell for the ground
more than moanful hymns of lovers making love
more than squeaky shoes
and chanting trains
As to say
Mother, mother!
You’re divine martyrs the world should dance for,
whether in broken limbs
or numb skeletons
as to bow to your creative essence of life.
Nkwana Joshua Serutle is a poet and performer, who was born and raised outside Burgersfort in a small village called Ga-Kgwete. His work draws more attention on the streets and shifting paradigms on social issues. In 2017 he enrolled at Mzansi Poetry Academy to enhance his writing skills. Some of his highlights in 2017 include being on theTop 10 finalists for Leleme La Mme poetry competition. He won the CSP 2018 Open Slam King of the Mic. His poems had been published on Poetry Potion, Odd Magazine, Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Anthology Vol 8, MuseIndia, Avbob Poetry Competition and Africa Best “New” Poets Anthology 2018.