Sad But True That The World Silences Children Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

Ever seen an adult afraid
To ask his mother who and
Where his father is? Then
You do not know a woman who
Thrives on.exploiting the
Ignorance of those she has
Begotten.

I live on an island surrounded
By strangers who do not know
Where they came from for they
Live the life of those girls
Abductees of Book Haram. Only
They are males taught to appease
And not fight to know who sired
Them.

The right to a name does create
A world where knowing who you are
When taught to children makes a better world for they get to walk
With dignity built into them by
Knowing they came to this world not
On a chariot that was chased from behind by the empty slate they carry
In the head.

It raises questions when one needs
To connect with persons
In space and time only to
Find darkness where there should be
A name even if it is one like
That of the warring clan of Isaac
Which spins in the harsh winds
Blown by the aunt I call Gertrude.

Her royal Highness sits and tells
History from her own oral record
Which cannot be questioned but still
Builds our clan as one that came and
Is going somewhere.

Erase the name of Isaac in the biographies oral written by my
Aunt who embellishes with poisonous
Mushrooming tales that grow on
African antheaps what would we have
If we had no past no matter how
Distorted.

Give the children wisdom by telling
Them truth no matter how poor the
Past they came from is. It is not
About what a father is or has but
About connecting truthfully with the
Past for everyone is conceived in
Love even when the struggles go into
That last minute where the seed pops
Up at the door of the egg and says
Receive this gift for that is all
Life has for you at this moment
Of reckoning. Where you may be compromised by the giver live the
Space open for the truth to enter
When it knocks at the door. For to
Shut it out does violate and victimise the innocent leaving you
Also at risk of being accused and
Being called a perpetrator by the
Soul on need.



For their mother