WOMEN AT
WAR
Parched
lips
Sagging
hips
We haven't
aged
But we are
worn and old
Sighing day
in day out
Everyday
shadowed with doubt
We are
already grandmothers
Yet we have
never been mothers
Why should
you complain
Every
generation has had its battle
You have to
earn your mantle
Our
mother's mothers had to raise dozens
All on
their own
Their fathers
had gone to war
Back then
it was the Ian Smith soldiers
The ones
who raped and killed the mothers
The
comrades were harsh too
Our own
mothers
Were beaten
up by our fathers
Always
abused threatened
Raped
Given STIs
HIVs
Unwanted
babies
Family
planning came
Condoms
came
Never to be
used freely
Everything
tricky
Then the
born free generation came
Seemed like
a whole new different game
Equal
education opportunities
Better job
opportunities
Everything
set to change after marriage
Women still
in bondage
Raped in
those marriages too
How could
that be true
That a
husband would rape his wife
What is
rape
So here we
are in this present generation
Saying no
to forced penetration
Of our
minds
Our spirits
Our bodies
Our souls
Our dreams
But we grow
old
The world
is cold
*ALUTA
CONTINUA
The first
time I saw the demon possess you..
I should
have run and left you
Yet I stood
there...
I let you
hit me
Sense
didn’t hit me
I didn't
defend myself
I defended
you…
I made
excuses for you
You were
overcome with anger
You loved
me
And I loved
you
So, I
couldn't leave you
The swollen
lips
The bruised
eyes
Always
forgotten every time...
Especially
when you parted my thighs
So, I
embraced the demon in you
Accepted it
loved it like I loved you
Every time
it came to life ....
My body
stilled ready for its wrath ....
I never
dreamt i would still my body to its death
Senselessness
Written by
me
The abused
The broken
The dead
*A
Portuguese phrase meaning “the struggle continues”.
A BRAND-NEW
DAY
I am so
afraid of today
Just as I
was afraid of yesterday
So, I cover
my head
Where am I
going to get today's bread?
No money,
my pockets are empty
My
children's uniforms filthy, dirty
Their
bellies growling hunger, aplenty
Their
school lunch tins empty
If I start
wailing there'd be no stopping
So, I lay
still underneath the blanket my heart stopping
Then I hear
the pattering feet
My heart
misses a beat
My bedroom
door opens
My life
darkens
Why did the
sun rise?
How do I
keep the tears out of our eyes?
This is the
day that the Lord has made
In these,
are the burdens we have laid
A
Zimbabwean dawn!
Chioneso
Rutsito is a
vocalist/composer/songwriter/poet/instrumentalist/chef and a humanitarian. Her
first recording was "Stay" which she did with the band Mudzi(the
root) after having been discovered at the Book Cafe Open Mic in 2015. She then
went on to do a rendition of the folk song Nyarara with the Harare Jazz trio.
Later on, she penned and sang the radio hit Eddimore in 2016 which was produced
by Toga. She collaborated on another hit
with DJ Wedenga "No Plan B” and went on to storm the airwaves with yet
another hit "Kamini". She has proved to be a great storyteller. Currently, she is working on an album called
"Sarungano". Though she hasn't given a release date yet, it is
expected to be a chartbuster like her earlier hit songs.
Great poetry reflects exactly on how most women feel about themselves and the issues pertaining our day to day lives in Zimbabwe. Lovely work
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