NDABA SIBANDA - POEMS

Sibanda is the author of Notes, Themes, Things And Other Things, The Gushungo Way, Sleeping Rivers, Love O’clock, The Dead Must Be Sobbing, Football of Fools, Cutting-edge Cache, Of the Saliva and the Tongue, When Inspiration Sings In Silence, The Way Forward, Sometimes Seasons Come With Unseasonal Harvests, As If They Minded:The Loudness Of Whispers, This Cannot Be Happening :Speaking Truth To Power, The Dangers  Of Child Marriages:Billions Of Dollars Lost In Earnings And Human Capital, The Ndaba Jamela and Collections and Poetry Pharmacy.  Sibanda's work has received Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. Some of his work has been translated into Serbian and German.

The Experimentalist Has Gone Too Far ​

​he says his style is prized and purposeful 
besides inventive writing helps us catch 
a break from monotony , from real life? he says 
hear hear –is he real or he has gone overboard? 
when did criminality pay off , good folks?
I called for his arrest with immediate effect
but his fans would have none of it as if he
hasn’t been raping the rules really wantonly   
in fact, his enthusiasts howled for my blood 
they claimed that they are weary of rigidity 
I asked him where he got his poetic licence from--
the one he hypes about, but he wouldn’t tell me!  
the poet finds pleasure in playing with language 
calling himself The Experimentalist, he wrenches
meaning, narration and syntax in unimagined  ways 
by the way, when I write wrench, he writes rench   
when I spot a misspelling, he sees an apt, arty spelling  
when I tell him it`s no longer funny, he calls me a fossil 
he brands his poetry a lawless dish of foreplay & wordplay
he says when convention died  innovation resurrected
peeps,it looks like  The Experimentalist`s insanity is sane,
hey ,excuse his hooey, the poet has a legion of enthusiasts
surprise,  editors  and publishers fall over themselves 
for his brand of works; wild, wild  works they call divine         
his punctuation is unconventional , his words are unruly 
he pushes boundaries , made- up  words and nonsense
‘ in a bid to keep the fire of absurdity, freedom & fun alive’
doesn’t his ballooning record of made-up words, parodies , 
paradoxes and oxymorons turn  perfect readers into morons?
hear hear ,he says  the difference is the same, reading should be fun!
he acknowledges that oil and water don’t blend at all but that didn’t  
stop him from coming  up with a portmanteau word: oiater; dear Lord! 
he relishes fosic, and this funny combination comes from music and food!
peeps, I give up, let him boil his oaiter and enjoy his fosic, and be ecstatic  
      

May, May Happiness Continue To Radiate   ​

​She had been hounded, headbutted by strife, 
Cheated by the moods, sparks & spins of life

Her challenges were many and various—spiritual, 
occupational, environmental, mental and  financial     

She was named May since that was her month
 of birth , but what evaded her life were funds   

It was in the month of May that she set out
on a life-changing path and gave it her bout 

She sought happiness, health and holisticism  
in spite of a hail of hellish winds and criticism  

It was a daring, deserved and dynamic stride
to wellness that saw her life enjoy a real ride 

Her life realized and relished a love for oneself,
hence she recovered her purpose in life, herself   
 
 
Hers was a life metamorphosed into meaningfulness,       
characterized  by regular exercises and liveliness  

and a balanced diet, a good sleep, a positive thought
and a holistic way to health that made her less distraught    

​I Marvel At Better-than -movies Action-packed Moves 

How do they do all this? Where are they from?-- I`ve no answers   
A virtual walk sees me stumble on a video that features dancers

Their dancing is so spirited & springy that I call it exertainment 
A portmanteau word derived from exercise and entertainment

Exercises keep our bodies in shape as they also boost our health 
We use planks, squats, single-leg deadlifts to raise the strength

Around the muscles as the body burns the calories: the road
To ultimate fitness is a routine that is well-ordered and bold  

When I watch the video of the dancing troupe, the energy
And finesse that it exudes ---not forgetting the synergy--

I see the quintessence of a theatre, what entertainment! 
I see a gymnasium, I swear there is sweat & commitment   

Let The House Be Worth Building  ​

​a worthy read is a life, a fondle 
whose cute  tenderness tantalizes 
the heart to flirt and fall with it
booklovers need that intercourse  
an interaction that is suspenseful 
a touch therapeutic , meaningful  
an affair lovely, loving & haunting 
let characters breathe and breed   
let them dictate, dance with depth 
an emotional connection with them 
can be a memorable and plausible
affair in spite of their blemishes as
metaphors marry time and place   
writing is like constructing a house
each word is like a brick that has to
be of the right size, shape and color
yes, it is more of quality than quantity 
and more of a process than a product
or so said a word nerd to an aspirant   

the first word is one`s first brick that
should be prudently positioned at one
end and tapped slightly and pleasantly 
to bed in, yet the next word is the second
brick that should be buttered up  with plaster
or mortar spread onto each end before being rightly
rested and adjoined to the first word, and when a poet
or an author is pleased with their work of art only  then can
they submit it to an editor, who in turn uses his or her editorial
expertise and experience as their trowel to put away extra putty,
as excess mortar has to be pushed out from below or in between bricks
       

​It Flows And Glows

​hoary, humming, it`s at it   
a manifestation to marvel at,
it turns my skin into a tailspin    
a sight  to devour and delight in, 
a scene to behold, to sing along to, 
my bathwater, thirst-quencher, dew   
I’m wowed by its whispers & lullabies
I listen to its meandering murmurs & melodies  
its surging, swaying, serenading serenities & sounds  
keep me exhilarated & entertained ; it carries wounds, 
seawater carts them all, silently shimmering  like ten moons 
I feel its flow, its flow is slow, I see its glow; I listen to its croons  
I adore the calmness of the cascading water, and how it glistens, 
life is a fountain of fresh water ,when it talks , cleanness  just listens!    

She Wore It

​Her demeanor endeared her
She sang simplicity, her fair fur
Her eloquent love for development
Saw her tackle topics dear and relevant 
She was always calm, careful and elegant 
When stating the crust of the matter, the elephant

​Why They Miss Auntie Sithe

​Auntie Sithe was on the verge leaving, 
To them she was fun, friendly and frank 
They would miss her, and her verbal antics 
One day after a lovely lunch she fired them up 
Into a spell of laughter, love and self-awareness,   
This is what she said to her nieces and nephews:
We`ve feasted on delicious isitshwala and baked beans
My weather reporter predicts increased cases of gassiness 
You`re all close to me but now it`s time to launch your missiles
From a safe distance, keep at bay until the whole shelling subsides! 

Isitshwala—thick maize flour porridge, sometimes it made from millet or sorghum flour.