A Poem for the Beginning of Spring ~ Malwazi Moholi

Love in Sadness

Written in September 2019


There are scars in place of serious wounds,
although, only after some time.
Some wounds take longer to heal,
while some cause more anguish, get distracted just to forget the anxiety.
Physical wounds would heal and leave a scar,
yet, emotional wounds reminisce and never really heal,
always holding back melancholic sounds
while painting a burning Cistus.

A "self-portrait," you said.
"Tomorrow, You will die," you said.
Even though you knew nothing of what you were saying,
you knew exactly how to inflict the pain you have always had.
Treating me as your own canvas,
painting pretty flowers of different colors on my flesh,
while trying to hide your lonely, painful secret.
I was a burning Cistus, waiting for someone to put out the fire and give me water.
The bruises you painted on my body eventually disappeared,
but my fear and anxiety for you lingered...
It lingered long after I burned in your eyes.

Time passed and watered my wounds,
nourished my heart and gave me the hope I needed to bloom again.
I grew to experience life with a different perspective,
from a burning Cistus to the surviving Rosemary.

From lost hope and despair
to an ounce of light and beauty within the valley of tears and shadows that I lived.

A Rosemary growing in place of a deep emotional wound.
A physical change to embrace my change in emotion.


© Malwazi Moholi

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Matriculant 2018
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We Have Entered the Night ~ Nhlakanipho Magasela

Crime, violence, abuse
The story of people's lives matter
Yet people seem to act as if it is normal
Now those things seem like history

No one with the courage to talk
Tales are told by the people who need to speak
His story is about the violence and abuse of a man
His life doesn't matter as people judged him

How can a woman abuse him?
He has told the tale as many have
At the end of the tunnel there is hope
A new life without the crime and abuse



©  Nhlakanipho Magasela

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Grade 11
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Ashes of Regretful Pain ~ Mangaliso Xaba

Looking back at the times that we had
Beginning to notice what I did to you was bad.
You have always been beside me
But I just didn’t take the time to see.
The guilty conscious seeps deep into my soul
As it is so dark and can be compared to coal.

I am dearly sorry, that it had to come to this.
To me, giving you a bruise just gave me peace,
I needed you to know who wears the pants in the house.
Every time I had to fold my fist, I forgot that you were my spouse.

I am dearly sorry, that it had to come to this.
I never meant to break your heart into pieces.
I wish I could have understood all your wishes,
Maybe I wouldn’t be standing here talking to your ashes.

I am dearly sorry, that it had to come to this.
I am truly going to miss you.
You did not deserve all the abuse.
May your soul rest in peace.


Mangaliso Mthandazi Xaba [Mangz Nation]

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Grade 11
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