Finger burner

By Melusi Mnkandla

Finger BURNER

2011 An anthology of poems written by Melusi Mnkandla from the year 2007 onwards .He writes on contentious issues, his deep , brash and bold style will strike a chord on anyone who reads his works. Sometimes called “the Poet Who Doesn’t want to write”

published by Mdawini Creatives 2o12

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

The seeking searcher I search and seek Wistful words to write Wise ways to say I do love you I seat and scheme To do you right As I hope and pray You feel like I do My soul may sink And see no light If you’re away Wait: is all I do In sweetness I swim Or take flight Like a child at play When you smile at me too In silence I speak As I hold you tight For to save your stay I’ve got to When it sounds and seems That you might Be on your way To cry, I want to For I am sad and sick Each and every night Each and every day I’m without you 04/05/08

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Has he ever told you?

Has he ever told you how beautiful you are?

That you are the owner of African beauty?

And, as Africa is the world And the world is Africa That you are the most beautiful there ever there was?

No, I know what he tells you He says “You are the only brilliantly shining star out of a million stars” As he repeats again and again That common-place courtship phrase That was even used by the fathers of our fathers When they proposed to our grandmothers Has he ever told you Lady of great beatitude, Of how much you are worth?

I know he has And as he has, he is a liar For no man can ever state How much you are worth You are….. Priceless Has he ever told you, This pseudo lover of yours Of how much he loves you Oh Yes! I know he has And so, (as it hurts when I say he is a liar) He is the speaker of untruths For true love is always beyond measure True love cannot be sized into packages So how can he say How much he loves you And say he loves you truly ?

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla How does he say How much he does?

Has he once said to you The words “I love you� ?

Of course he has But has he ever pronounced the three words The way we pronounce them in poems of love : Sweetly-sounding , soul-soothing ,smoothly-sailing Spritely-seductive ,simply-sincere and sensually-seasoned With rhyme ,rhythm, rhetoric and reason ?

Has he ? Even children can guess NO! And may this not be found entirely insulting For this is meant to be excitingly in sighting Enticingly inviting And it is not on the basis of jealous That this piece of poetry stands upon Words of love must be spoken nicely Words of love must be chosen wisely (idea borrowed from Arthur Makowane) 12/05/08

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla Remembering Gideon We sat, cheeks on palms, on that pavilion Seeing nothing but we kept watching on As corrupt minds engineered on overshadowing oblivion Making us give shameless thieves and daylight robbers the dominion Realizing the mess we then gallop away like a stallion As we hope to reach the future promising horizon Across borders we march on and on Pulled by the suns vermillion Some remain un-pushed by the heat of the zone As their left hands steal from right pockets makers of millions The more money the less worthy is wealth but there is boast of billions Piled up in rapacity and soon we shall hear a talk of trillions

16/05/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla Dreams I close my eyes And I see un- figurable shapes Of various colors Dancing deep in darkness Slowly they join Restructuring into rings Which keep closing in, in gloom like ripples of murky waters And now these circular bands Transform into faces faces of happy people Smiling faces Which I cannot say What color they belong to For those perplexing colors Have rendered me color blind Now close your eyes And tell me if you see what I see I you feel what I feel If you dream my dream..

07/06/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla All braced up When I am dressed up like that I would have braced up my heart For that harsh city life As I leave behind my wife So when insatiable men Shower down like rain Please, mama, don't let the rain mess up my hut.

07/06/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla Plumtree road to Bulawayo Down in Plumtree by that road naked of tar is a sign post inscribed 'Bulawayo' in bold with an arrow fingering the heavens like the spear of spear bearers that sided the entrance into the homestead of the king King of the Matebele Mzilikazi Son of Matshobane That signpost has never ever Set foot in Bulawayo in all its existence nor its dreams but if you follow it for sure you shall reach KwaBulawayo the City of Kings 15/07/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

One day One day we shall smile in our blackness Never shall we cry in this darkness For nothing is without end These kingdoms of man These tyrants and their reign The people's pain the politics of the insane All will bow down to an end That which is endless is an omen, our people say Even omens and their followings also end, they were about to say When the ruthless leader's hand Cupped the people's mouth, trapping every word The sea swallowed the surprised sand And when it comes out it was reshaped One day the generation of African tyranny will pass by One day death will die...

18/07/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Idioms of our time Words , embassy of our words messengers of our hearts reflections of our minds yet they shall always be words Bring me closer to reality the student said to the teacher For words only couldn't fatten the mind Words and words and words cannot build the faith needed Words unescorted cannot construct hope In hearts of the devastated masses Words alone cannot comfort the new widow Words are like salt no matter how essential they are we cannot leave on them alone Give us the pictures also So we can see reality give us the texture and let us touch reality Show us the colors that appeal to our emotions And so let these be the idioms of our time...

22/07/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

The Deal Tear drops Blood drops LIfe drops Tributes to tyranny fear silence hunger benefits of belligerency and death is a done deal when leaders are chosen on murderous skills...

02/08/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Politicians war cry 'I died for this country!' the politician screamed in defence of his crookedness So this is what you died for?

This is what you suffered for?

Is that what you fought for?

If ever you fought? are these the gains ?

Is this the harvest?

This ,emptiness?

And so, shame to the hungry hunter Who, enticed by the smell of meat ran for a dead donkey 02/08/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Fraternity To the fraternity of the hungry masses To the underprivileged social classes To the families homeless To the learned and jobless To the victims of police harassment To the taxpayers neglected by the government To the voices banned to speak though minds are bound to think To the ones who are hungry as me, if there are ever any poor the way I be There is a rock where our lives are anchored And may this be remembered When there is hope The heart can never stop.... .

10/08/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Song From now on, then shall be no new songs to sing For we cannot sing new praises for the same old king Tire with the singer’s voice singing with pain Of singing the same song again and gain, Of singing the anthem of death That was also sang at her child's birth The drummer’s hands are tied Of beating to a tune no longer desired, Of producing a drumbeat so scaring A drum beat that haunts the dreaming and daring Poets shall shout insults as, deep as those from the mad For they have used every praising word Yes even a soldiers arm becomes hesitant After decades of saluting the same president.....

12/08/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

X You took the drug For a temporary escape from reality A hide-out from your troubles (You hide) behind your finger Now, don't let the scientist lie to you And say you intoxicated your brains No let the poets, tell you the truth You consciously inseminated A demon into your soul You invited madness Into your mind...

14/08/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

In between sheets Goodnight dear darling In your sleep may you worry about nothing For you are watched by the man above In your dreams may you be with those who love you And those who love you will dream being with you Experiencing those wonders that dreams can do Know my darling you are beautiful even in sleep For silent beauty is not only skin deep And when you wake up Remember ,after you have dressed up To express your love And impress your beloved Through out the day More like you did today 14/08/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Shopping They said to me As I entered their shop No! Don’t bring your bag Into our shop You! Black thief They said I should leave my bag in the parcel counter and they added BAG LEFT IN PARCEL COUNTER AT OWNER’S RISK So I said to the man behind the counter

No! I won’t leave my bag In your parcel counter You! Black thief 06/10/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Tarnished Images tarnished Poets imageries banished Our imaginations punished Yet we never vanished We the people’s flower that flourished Embracing the balls of your eyes Drowning the sores of your eyes We the people’s flower That flourished We, the underrated power Of the republic 06/10/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

The national cock When our nation was born The cock crowed Announcing the time to our people that late afternoon It is not long , people before darkness veils on us It is not , the cock said And now the dark is darkest We did not sleep and ignore our hunger Because of the voices from afar that kept us awake And so our hunger compels us To kill the cock and eat it Before it crows again To announce the coming of light Of a new day 21/12/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

I did not deflower you I did not deflower you For I did not desert you After picking a flower from you I watered you , I nurtured you And you will flower again And you will bear fruit For I did not deflower you I am here with you …still admiring Those who deflower Are those who grab a flower And disappear into the dark bush And when the flower withers in their hands They throw it away As if they never admired it 22/12/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

The death of elimination there are many who died without sickness there are many whose nature of death we shall never know our village drummers only speak of short illnesses and long sicknesses there are many whose death was designed by the tyrant as much as he dedicated them graves at the heroes acre there are many who died the death of disappearance the death of elimination 22/12/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Now Our ancestors who art underground Yet command the skies You have drank all our brew And forgot To send us the rain We do not blame you For you are now drunk With our only royal traditional brew And your spirits are drunk too They are like the summer winds Blowing aimlessly.

We do not blame you For in our lands nothing is free nor fair nor true Nothing passes by without pretense 23/12/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Lost fellow when you are lost the songs of the birds become sounds of mysticism when you are lost, the trees look alike and the grass grows uniform when paths meet you have to make a decision but your mind is in frustration when you are lost in the bush locust jump from under every step so you think they are leading you the right way BUT YOU ARE LOST 29/12/2008

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Silence Silence Is a flag Mounted on a dry tree In the savanna Silence is a season That comes when you and me have fallen Into love of hatreds 10/06/2009

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

This world In this world leaving a mark Is what we are living for Mine shall be in your mind Mine shall also be in your heart Where I don’t mind Whether its good or bad 10/06/2009

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Paradox This is not poetry Stress –this is not poetry These are avenues in my mind These are streets in the brain These are structures built in my head Skyscrapers of my world These are the roads I walk on everyday An artist doesn’t live on earth An artist lives in his own world Contained in his head An artiste feeds on his thoughts An artist Kisses his heart 10/06/2009

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Township skies Its vibrant shebeens And silent Tuckshops Except for a few Blessed with portable radios Revenue halls Annoying to the eye Libraries over spilling With written lies Its life in motion An inner explosion Only readable From the township sky 02/04/2010

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Told you so I told you I love you But that was not true I wish I could shrink and shiver In your absence I wish I could crave and quiver In your presence Go down my knees For your mild- hard heartedness And search my hearts keys To open up for your sweet tenderness Like I love her I wish I could love you And like you do me Oh yes I know you do So I wish she could too 09/07/2011

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Why die?

Like a priceless painting hanging On the Gallery walls There she is Caged by herself A diamond Not to be touched She says she cannot be And can only be Savoured by eyes Lord she is like A needle in my heart Itching And yet forbidding This very heart from beating She says she doesn’t care Even if I die So why should I? 02/07/2011

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

In da club I am chattering with ladies Trying to make new friends Wondering if maybe I will make good friends But in clubs a man’s luck Is controlled by a man’s pocket So in there For the better part of the night I am seated all alone Trying to sip on my only begotten pint Till the coming of dawn For after sunrise I won’t care for a home But I’ll crave and sniff for a job 07/2011

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Petal thoughts Petal thoughts Begot Metal deeds And the people’s project Was stolen I counted the tears I shed Through the drought I numbered the rain drops That fell and died on me This rainy season.

07/2011

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

Bastards A bastard Discredited, disregarded Born out of wedlock Born of a steamy bed- lock Born and left Like a dog that dies away from home Left unburied Behold the end is near!

Screamed the pastor See the signs of the last days The wars all over The earthquakes the pandemics The bastards becoming a majority The floods ,the plagues These are the last days Behold!

Given the birth of an omen But sometimes illegitimates do rise By the moonlight As mother says goodnight to her “true child�

They do rise 07/2011

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

We promise Rock it Roll it In the bush Away from the moustache man Eager to arrest Light it up This is the pure corner of the world When plants created by God Are discarded by men Uprooted and cast away Bush doctor Nurture them We will visit you again And again for a smoke We promise to fight for freedom 07/2011

[a collection of poems]

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Finger Burner by Melusi Mnkandla

[a collection of poems]

Melusi Mnkandla is a Poet , Author and Playwright based in Bulawayo , Zimbabwe .His style represent the youth of today whose attitude and problems are expressed in all of his works.

“Finger Burner” derived from the stump of a dagga roll that burns the finger of a smoker who wants to drag the last smoke from the extinguishing stump.

Published by

Mdawini Creatives ™, for free on-line distribution

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