Enemy Heights Turned Into Survival Heights Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

We thought we would get debris,
and found our heads on fire. It
is fire sweat that
ran down our faces.

While enemies stood on levels
above, they burnt fiery rocks
dipped in oil.

We saw hell running with a rage
that made cutting the grass inutile.
Soon there was nowhere to stand for
the land had been taken over.

Our leaders told us all to yell surrender
and we cried out a word we had been told
was never to be used. With
feet charred, hair and lashes gone,
we joined to share a life no longer our own.

When it was our turn we invented a land
where platforms could take one up
and down. We made pools around each level,
knowing whether winner or loser, the way up has to serve both.










































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