​we don’t have homes anymore

wrapped in a dark cloud
angry floods
have swept away our peace & solace
 
buried alive in mudslides
of devastation
 
we don’t have homes anymore
 
a church is not a home
there’s a torrent
of fear
here
 
a school is not a home
there’s a social turmoil
here
 
a community hall is not a home
there’s a mutilation
of dignity
here
 
we don’t have homes anymore
to take these coffins to
 
we don’t have umsamo anymore
to take these spirits to
 
all erased & swallowed up
by swelled rivers

elegy for  life esidimeni

the river of life
runs dry
a lonely cry
falls on a cobweb
of silence
& justice
is aborted
to save a politician
but the truth dwells
in the bowels
of corruption
 
ngugi
it is the devil
escaping
the cross
in a country where the loss
of black life
is cheaper
than fong kong

Zama Madinana is a South African poet based in Johannesburg. His work has appeared in Stanzas, Botsotso, Carapace, Poetry Potion, The Thinker, Sunday World, New Coin and other literary publications. His work focuses mainly on love, politics and social issues. In 2021, he won the third prize of the Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Award. He is the author of a poetry chapbook Water & Lights.