We,
each one of us.
lost in the translations that we seek,
exiled from the corners of a dilapidated township
in search of another township.
township looking like a graveyard
graveyard looking like a township.
township leaking something so strong like a civil war
my compass can point out where the toyi-toyi is.
a breathing living toyi-toyi
because it is silent.
guerrilla warfare of poets,
resistance fed with silence
fed with muted voices.
led by tongue-tied comrades
who cannot speak for themselves.
brewing an unspeakable torment because
It tortures your tongue;
it leaves you voiceless yet venomous.
We,
each one of us.
but none of us have walked this path before.
hypnotized by this gravel road,
traumatized by this gruesome pavement.
barefooted in an avenue of the less travelled,
many never made it to their motherland,
jar full of dialectics
mother-tongue smuggled to the diaspora.
exiled & erased
blotted out from the struggle.
We,
each one of us.
diagnosed with an exhaustion for resistance,
an erasure of black literature is ongoing,
in transit to a cemetery of libraries
a burial site of our ancestral anthologies.
We,
each one of us.
sing a eulogy from exile.
unsung songs of the struggle archived in a vinyl,
cd romantic and cassettes unearthed from a
township graveyard.
built & bulldozed like Sophiatown screaming
we won’t move.
scorned off the face of the earth
screams of help ringing like siren,
dreams get demolished too.
Kalahari Marrakesh (born Mothupi Kgatshe 1998) is a creative writer & visual historian working and living in Johannesburg, South Africa. His work tackles complex issues of human experiences ranging from pain, displacement, crime, poverty, violence, blackness, identity, and memory. Marrakesh holds a Diploma in Journalism from the IIE Rosebank College in Braamfontein (Johannesburg). He utilizes writing and image-making as two vital tools to better understand his world. As a creative, Marrakesh is fascinated by civilizations, particularly metropolises, big cities and thriving towns, their complexities and anxieties.