we saw them arriving
our arrival is known by them
they wrote their history and ours
they banished our religious practices
they bequeathed us their theirs
and confiscated our livestock and weapons
they then killed and enslaved our forebears
they are more knowledgeable about our existence
they own our land and its produce
they own the oceans and all that is within
they run the economy and rule the commerce
the jurisprudence is their birthright
they came before us
Nkululeko Zondi is a Community Caregiver at Beehive Social Solutions in Soweto, Johannesburg. He is an anthropology and psychology graduate from the University of South Africa as well as a qualified journalist who writes poetry and prose in both isiZulu and English; and has been published in numerous online literary publications such as Poetry Potion, AVBOB Poetry, Kalahari Review, among others. He has also been featured in poetry anthologies like ‘Dear South Africa’ (2015), ‘ lBetween the Silence: Poetry for Human Rights’ (2021), ‘Calabash Literary Magazine Vol. 3’ (2022), ‘Voice of Africa: A Call for Freedom’ (2022) and the 2022 ‘Sol Plaatje European Union’ Poetry Anthology. His work has appeared on various South African newspapers such as the ‘Mail & Guardian’, the ‘Star’, ‘Sowetan’, the ‘New Age’, ‘Citizen’ and the ‘Daily Maverick’. Zondi was a finalist in ‘AVBOB Poetry’s Eco-poetry’ mini-competition in April 2022 and again a finalist in ‘AVBOB Poetry’s Family First’ mini-competition in May 2022. In 2023, he was long listed for the ‘Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award and Anthology’.