Poetry - Freedom T.V. Nyamubaya

One person said,

you are not a poet,

but forgot that,

poetry is an art and –

Art is meaningful rhythm.

Now what is rhythm

If I may ask?

Some say it’s marching syllables,

Others say it’s marching sounds,

But tell me how you marry the two.

We fought Shakespeare on the battlefield

Blacks fought the Boers with their spears

These are marching syllables

And is art to some,

But how can I marry the two?

How about a different rhythm?

People die in the ghettoes,

From police raids and army shots.

Workers suffocate under coal mines,

Digging the coal they can’t afford to buy

For cooking daily to feed themselves.

Poetic stuff this.

Then let’s agree to disagree –

Art serves.

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Freedom T.V. Nyamubaya (1960–2015) Zimbabwe

Source: International Writers Programme, University of Iowa