In her shoes - Asante Lucy Mtenje

In her shoes, those shoes,
those two sizes too big,
worn out “kanavasi”
she drags along to the dumpsters
to rummage through the wilting,
rusty banana and mango peels,
disregarding the stench and the flies
that hover around her long
after she has retired to “bed”.

The First call / Army of Termites - Alinane ‘Naphi’ Mphande

Slowly I watched it grow

From a speck to a row

Mesmerized I watched as they came

One, two, three, four, scores and scores of them

Meals for Men - Tamanda Kanjaye

Little Boy,

I know you’ve been fed a toxic meal 

Of toughening up and never caring 

Of taking every single blow

Without ever sharing.

African Thunderstorm - David Rubadiri

From the west

Clouds come hurrying with the wind

Turning sharply

Here and there

The earth does not get fat - Anonymous Ngoni tribesman

The earth does not get fat. It makes an end of those who wear the head plumes*

We shall die on the earth.

The earth does not get fat. It makes an end of those who act swiftly as heroes.

Shall we die on the earth?

Work of Art - Bernadette Chikapa

Do painters’ fingers tingle with that rush

When their thumb and index holds not the brush?

Do they too feel that longing deep inside

When their empty canvas hurts their pride?

Terrifying Perfection - Alpha Chizuzu

Your little hand clings on to my finger 

Yearning for comfort

Your eyes open wide, your vision still blurry

Your face, not fully formed

Africa - Albert Chitsanzo

Dangling the follies of crossfire

Casting the mystery of presidential elections

Reading Flyers - Mtendere Alice Kishindo

I demand,

Not ask,

I seek,

Yet, denied all that I find.

How silent are you? - Tabitha M'bawa

You come to take parents and relatives

Leaving the children

Crying

In endless sorrow.

Judgement - Timwa Lipenga

She stood before them
And was judged:

Infacto - Mtendere Alice Kishindo

Things that make me, others see
The things that don’t, embody me
In flimsy moments I lose my god
In righteous times he finds me
In constant prostration I lie
As age leers at me
Two, three more years
Come and get me before I die

Abyss of silence - William Khalipwina Mpina

As the voiceless voice breaks the quietness
In my silent heart in the abyss of stillness
Likewise the October heat rupturing
The whirlwind in the corridors rolling

Mis-using - Mtendere Alice Kishindo

Set myself on fire
Let the synthetic melt
The acrylic burn
And all this fat sizzle

I know I can - Esther Mbale

Growing up,
I accepted what society gave me
I accepted that women should lean on men
It was normal seeing a man beat his wife

Girls at Bwandilo, Lilongwe - Anonymous

Ladies of Bwandilo

They shameless signal you down
Clad in their min skirts
Min skirts endowed with long slits

Kampala Beggar - David Rubadiri

Dark twisted form
Of shreds and cunning
Crawling with an inward twinkle
At the agonies of Africa.

Still Born - Enoch Timpunza Mvula

She did not come just one night:
She did not come just one month.

Unsung Hero - Mwiza Mnyuma Sambo Mhango

"O God, bless our land of Malawi."
a prayer for a warm-hearted nation,

From: Beasts of Nalunga - Jack Mapanje

Now That September 11 Should Define Mr Western Civilisation ...
(for Sarah Maguire & Saadi Yousef)

I remember being summoned to the British Council Office
Once, back home; I’d got the Commonwealth Scholarship