“five times we sang” by Uma-Thandeka Muhwati

five times we sang

1.
the songs of sunday;
harmony filled an ailing nation,
rejuvenating the dreams of a brighter day
and to the slow sounds of hope and rebirth, we danced/
in the hanging gardens of damascus

2.
the songs of sunday;
winds from the north blew past our sun burnt backs
whispering words of rebellion and freedom to our ear,
in the fields of cotton we ploughed and picked/
in plantations of the deep south

3.
the songs of sunday;
we mumbled a prayer with a tongue, bitter ,
for his spirit lingering between the clouds and earth
wishing for a miracle and for his life to matter/
in the dark corridors of st. anne’s

4.
the songs of sunday;
on the porch we sat and blew gasper smoke
into the sombre, life less night skies
seeking a peace, that is only afforded by bullets/
in the depths of solitude

5.
we wrote words of poetry and love letters
wrapped them in melody for the little girls
who never grew up and are still trapped/
in the attic somewhere near our souls





Uma-Thandeka Muhwati is a 23-year-old college student from Harare, Zimbabwe. She enjoys writing and reading in her free time. Her work has been previously published in Odd Magazine, One Hand Clapping Magazine and recently, in the second issue of The Journal of African Youth Literature.