Month: January 2014

Celebration of tears: a poem

On By blessingsonahillIn All posts, PoetryLeave a comment

We were running among the trees before they first came
Swimming in the water before their first fleet,
Dancing in red soils with heat beating down on our backs before they first came

Tied a noose around our necks, they did
Stole from us, poisoned, they did
Then they decided we were not human

We were hunting game among the bushlands before they came
Swimming, on foot, the wind at out feet
Dancing on the waves, drums beating like heart rhythms, thought us insane

Killed us for greed, they did
Took our children from us, they did
Fed us hate, preaching a God of love

Now we hold on to yesterday’s pain, we are lame
Broken by the ills of another man’s heart
The wounds fester, we are crippled, unable to succeed in their world

Raped our women, they did
Took even burial grounds, they did
Broke our backs and hearts, they did

Now they expect that I rejoice
On the day of their fleets landing, unaware
Of the strings of bitterness, they just don’t care, why should I?

Finally admitted us human, they did
Admitting their wrongs, they did
Said sorry and tried to make amends, they have

But is it really amends if they refuse to acknowledge our lands
Still celebrate that which breaks our hearts?
Can unity exist where wounds still exist, razors cutting?

Maybe in me choosing to forgive, healing can start
For me, my children, the next generation,
Telling them the stories of our past like old.

Teach them forgiveness, I will
Teach them to never be oppressors, I have
Taught them the power of hope.

 

Pictures of You

On By blessingsonahillIn All posts, PoetryLeave a comment

With you I am a poet, author, artist,
Regardless of who sees what I pen out or
Sketch to paper or who hears what I whisper to the wind…
Without you, I’m a writer with writer’s block.

Words lose their magic, my love for poetry dies,
My imagination fades, I cease to
Enjoy turning pages to enjoy others’ art.
I am unable to create pieces of art that

Leave me inspired, wondering how
That happened, where the words came from or
Where pictures came from or where the simplest of flowers took its form.
Unable to enjoy the company of your creation,

I die and wither like a beautiful rose
Deserted in a desert of my choosing. Unless
I can enjoy the rays of your Son
And draw or paint pictures of you, I am no artist

Written 11/01/2014- 12/01/2014 (about midnight)

Happy new year

On By blessingsonahillIn All postsLeave a comment

Happy new year people! I wonder how many of us celebrate he new year for a reason. I personally love new years because it’s a time to reflect on the previous year and see what you achieved and didn’t achieve and more than that, it’s a new start. I don’t personally set new years resolutions but do set goals…somewhat, and new year is one of those times when you can “initiate clean slate protocol” and start afresh, “forgetting what is behind and looking to what is ahead”.

2013 saw the shattering of dreams and confidence for me, when I got a job that only lasted six weeks and then a series of rejection letters that have left me feeling unemployable, and a friendship that has been left irreparably damaged. But more than that 2013 has been a time of great blessing where I have had my confidence rebuilt as I improved my abilities as a cytologist despite having been told cytology was not for me. I got to be a bridesmaid for the first time, got to take part in two programs that have greatly improved my skills in spoken word. My brother started dating the future Mrs Phiri and we can all look forward to two lovely families coming together. God provided for me to go home and spend time with my family and friends and attend a beautiful wedding and see a grown man cry because he loves the woman he was marrying that much. God gave me the opportunity to see the beauty of being a vision carrier and what happens when we miss what those before us dreamt of achieving and to see how I have failed in many ways, to carry my parent’s dreams and visions.

I’ve seen God move in my life and that of my family and even though lately I don’t feel Him close, I know that He is still moving. Just yesterday what started as a movie simple movie marathon turned into a crying session as I watched Front of the class, then Gifted hands and finally Unconditional. I found myself feeling like I am wasting my life and feeling thirsty for change again. I hope that 2014 will be the year of many opportunities for all of us to start putting people before wealth, before the bottom line and before ourselves. That we will work to lift others up even if it just means buying a homeless person a bottle of water. Friendship doesn’t require that you know a person, sometimes it requires just a little kindness.