A
Poem for Zimbabwe
i am the
only one
you are the only one.
the birds
and the rivers
sing to me,
they speak in your voice.
if i fall
silent
you will be silent too.
if i fall silent
your wounds will be named silence.
i am a piece
of you
and you are a piece of me.
the blood
in my veins is you.
listen to the rhythm
of the stream of my blood
and the echoes from the hills,
mixed with gentle ripples
of the waters in the fast stream.
but with
time
you will hear your voice
in the blue skies of my heart.
in the dark
clouds of my soul
you will hear a voice
that tells the story of your forgotten voices
of birds long dead
of elephants crippled by guns
of orphans you do not deserve.
©
2003, Chenjerai Hove
From: Blind
Moon
Publisher: Weaver
Press, Harare, 1985
ISBN: 1779220197
