Vashti - Bhekumuzi Tshuma

I came to you with my heart,
As a loving shepherd,
An innocent lamb did I come;
Expressing my naked thoughts,
Yet you rejected me with your lips
Dammed me with your eye
And you cursed me with your heart;
Today I come to you with gifts of lyric,
A bracelet of deceit I use
A ring of flattery I have used
A bouquet of cacti I compliment,
I clothe you in a white garment of sarcasm
Much to your satisfaction,
With lying lips I ornate your neck,
For earrings
I sting your ears with honeyed words
No meaning beyond their expression -
Which you have been tickled by,
I crown you with a veil of irony,
With a scepter of duplicity I honour,
Yet you accept me:
Now am I wrong to call you vein
The moon came shining into my life
Like a beam of light in my heart
All darkness was exposed…
Darkness has descended
The expensive sky robbed
Of her precious jewelery:
The moon has gone on vacation
The stars are nowhere to be seen
The sun has retired to his summer villa
What remains of the once colourful sky:
Dark, Grey clouds every where

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Bhekumuzi Tshuma (20th century) Zimbabwe
Source: Poetry Bulawayo