Andiswa Mvanyashe Poems

Intyantyabo ibintle namhla iyabuna
Uncumo beluqaqambile namhl'oku sisililo
Mhlawumbi bekufanele
Namhla umdlalo uyaphela
...

Layaphina ibhongo neqhayiya
Lokuzidla ngobuntombi bakho?
Zayaphi iinkomo zikayihlo?
Ingaba isibaya asiqhekezwanga na?
...

Is it the tears of a hungry child?
Abused, neglected, beaten and bruised?
Is the cry of a woman watching her child die?
Are these the tears of a woman watching her husband leaving her for a man?
...

Bayixikixile abakwaziyo

Bayihlafuna abanamazinyo
...

Rose that grows stronger than a tree
You carry food to the nations
You bring leaders and heroes in this world
Your dignity calms the storms
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My imaginations failed
I had hope from nothing
Our worlds were different
Our languages were different
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We give it all away
And are left emptied
We get beaten,
And left by the side of the road
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Even if they could take you away,
You'll never be too far.
When the sun shines,
I see you smiling
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I thought we were the same
We lived under one river
We shared happy moments and sad ones
We chatted till the sunset
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In the desert I live
No sound and no people
I realised something was missing
In the desert I live
...