Brutish Poem by Phiwokuhle Mpendulo Manana

Merely maggots paint the town red upon
Seeing a tortured brute
Vultures whistle their trumpets
At the spectacle of an antelope's foot in the grave,
Teasing its moribund quarry
Moves the leopard to rapture



But you are no maggot,
Neither a vulture nor a leopard.
You know boys are not allowed
To reckon their courage by the
Sum of snakes they decimate



A boy who does not slay the quarry
After seizing,but snobs through
The city with his prey chanting
A melancholy dirge,won't be liberated
From the scorching anger of the patriarchs.



The mother's anger sets the entire
Courtyard ablaze if her wee girl
Silences a chicken with a dull blade.



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Since I'm piercing the dust,
Why do you sprinkle vinegar
At my transitory gash?
From the moment I opened my mouth
You knew I had no space in your heart,
But you secure your maw.
With flying hope, I delivered myhigh-priced heart
Into your hands.
But slowly, carefully
You are smashing it
Like a husk.


You reckon your age
By the integer of hearts you've crushed,
And the gallons of tears you've milked