BANQOBILE VIRGINIA DAKAMELA - POEMS

Author Banqobile Virginia Dakamela hails from Bulawayo. She is the author of a short story that was published in an anthology which was studied at high schools and is a set book in a local university. She has written extensively and is in the process of publishing some of her novels.

​For better, for worse

​Sanitize, Maintain social a distance, Sneeze into your elbow
Did anyone stop to think 
Of that man working in the far off lands?
Lockdown!
He is holding a hammer 
The last nail needs to be hit
He is holding a syringe 
He can’t put it down
Lockdown! Final warning 
Mummy where is daddy?
 Quiet ,Princess, he will be here soon!
Inwardly she is conflicted 
What if he has the virus--
Am I prepared to die with him
Somebody is there a law for spouses ?
He is knocking on the door
Stand back! She says 
Open up darling , I missed you 
I have to sanitize you
Did you really miss me?
I missed you but please I need to call help line 
I need a home test kit
My husband might have Covid-19
Darling, can I get in?
Daddy is home,  mummy
Stay back!
Honey ,you said for better, for worse
Let me in
Put on the mask ,Wash your hands ,Remove your clothes
Wait, you coughed
Are you scared  l will infect you ?
But you said for better, for worse?

‘What Have You Brought Us’

​She chants from the pavements
She is not a beggar 
She is the queen of the black market 
Her head is adorned with a white doek
She has more currency than the world bank
She  is  more powerful than a graduate
The rate is dictated by her mood
They envy her trade 
They envy her dominion 
She has no office
The pavements are her office 
She is her own pay master
Her pay slip is engraved in her heart 
Her skin glows in the city sun 
Her bosom is round and warm where powerful currencies are shoved 
In her business there is no room for negotiations 
It's a take or leave it .

Ebony Black 

​I’m ebony black
Never been bleached.
Beautiful like a black petunia
I walk to the interview room leaving other hopefuls behind.
He barks ‘enter' 
I slide into his office, my resume in my sweaty palms
He frowns, I smile.
My African teeth crooked and pointed 
Escape from my lips
The holes in my nose big and gaping 
Suck the air in his office 
My hair kinky and neatly combed
Stands at attention.

He weighs me and guffaws ‘ No job’
I mumble a weak ‘ thank you’

Unspoken thoughts fight for freedom to be heard
My brother , you didn’t check my resume 
I have a masters, a bachelor's, wait, a diploma underneath all that
I have ten years experience 
I have an award and a certificate of excellence
I did voluntary work 
I helped an old lady cross a busy street
I rescued a snared puppy
I decrypted an intriguing password 
I worked twenty five hours a day
My black skin did not interfere 
My crooked teeth stayed well inside my lips
I have never bleached brother, but I can work forty eight hours a day if you want.

Getrude ​

​They do not call her Getrude for nothing:
Her ways are cunning
She waited until he settled.
Watched him commit to the woman
Felt less of a woman
Weaved a plan to unseat the woman
Shredded her dignity with midnight calls
Upset her with lost messages 
Ruffled her calm life by siring an innocent child 
To be used as an armour 
To fight her battles for recognition 
To have a perfect excuse to call in the middle of the night
To show up on his graveside 
To request a share of the inheritance 
To demand acceptance
In an open wound of deceit

Did she really have to do this to the poor soul?
But did he really have to defile his vows?
To take the man of cloth for granted
To devour his share but still rove hungrily 

He is gone now
She is gone now 

That innocent soul is left 
With an identity crisis and negative labelling 

Star-crossed Lover

​He loved me when no one would
He brought me wild fruit in a wooden plate
He squeezed the teats of the mother cow
whilst I opened my mouth under its bulging udder
Feeling the warm milk fill my mouth 
He aimed at a lone bird with his sling shot
and offered me its fire roasted meat on our date.
He glided with me on the slippery rocks of Tshangane River 
After an adventurous swim with the crocodiles 
He kept his eyes on the herd of cattle grazing on the plain
While his hand caressed my cheek 
We rolled in the dewy grass 
He smelt of cow dung and unprocessed milk
Of the wild umkhemeswane fruit 
And the bold sweat of toil in the green fields 
He respected my innocence 
Spoke of sending a delegation to my family
Of giving my father a herd of cattle 
Of siring strong little boys and girls 
Of a thousand moons passed in the most elegant pose
Of counting stars and singing along with the rain bird 
Of changing seasons, flowing rivers and crackling fire in winter 

​‘What Have You Brought Us’

​She chants from the pavements
She is not a beggar 
She is the queen of the black market 
Her head is adorned with a white doek
She has more currency than the World Bank
She is more powerful than a graduate
The rate is dictated by her mood
They envy her trade 
They envy her dominion 
She has no office
The pavements are her office 
She is her own pay master
Her pay slip is engraved in her heart 
Her skin glows in the city sun 
Her bosom is round and warm
where powerful currencies are shoved 
In her business there is no room for negotiations 
It's a take or leave it.