A poem for Zimbabwe - Chenjerai Hove

i am the only one

you are the only one.

the birds and the rivers

sing to me,

they speak in your voice.

if i fall silent

you will be silent too.

if i fall silent

your wounds will be named silence.

i am a piece of you

and you are a piece of me.

the blood in my veins is you.

listen to the rhythm

of the stream of my blood

and the echoes from the hills,

mixed with gentle ripples

of the waters in the fast stream.

but with time

you will hear your voice

in the blue skies of my heart.

in the dark clouds of my soul

you will hear a voice

that tells the story of your forgotten voices

of birds long dead

of elephants crippled by guns

of orphans you do not deserve.

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Chenjerai Hove (1956 – 2015) Zimbabwe

Source: Poetry International