JUSTICE  MASAGANO

Ambassador - Malawi

I am a Malawian writer and a vernacular recording poet. I won the 2015 Nkhoma radio contest. I have published some of my poem and other vernacular works with our local newspapers between 2003-2013.

WE SHALL NEVER FORGET

A filthy flying monster disembarked from nowhere in the blink of an eye Doddering high above the atmosphere with taunting glide the gloomy picture painted Defecating thick missiles of torrents under Lying low at will to lay incontrollable siege The giant wings spinning faster like a propeller Misfiring naughty grenades of masked hailstorms recklessly Vomiting eye-blinding sparks of lethal lightings at the same time A one deadly platoon maneuver on a mission impossible to be conquered Ear-shattering sound of loud thunder the language of its guttural barking As it dispersed beyond massifs and streams uprooting trees and destroying crops Terminating bridges and bulldozing homes wantonly Multitudes sustaining cuts from scattering smithereens Damage sporadic as flooding rivers jostled with debris Drowning children and mothers among cackling chicken down the yearning caves of the sea Leaving rotten carcasses, corpses and pestilence ubiquitous The titan flag of victory raised to the pinnacled sublime To the survivors, death a closer companion, Of  March cyclone Idai a champion

THE COUNTRY WE LOVE

fill to the brim the pit of self-inflicted destruction

break loose from your strife and sorrow with hearkened ending

bandage the unhealing wounds of unrest gushing with myriad rivulets of rotten blood

cast the iniquity of the despised and starving masses into a dark dungeon of ridicule

pluck on the dead currents of your dark stars to illuminate and give hope to the heartbroken

utilise the looming dawn with unstiffled vigor to stop the torment of the agonised

brave the tempest and adjust your sails to whispering heights of sound visions and winged knowledge

inflate the deflated tyres of your titanic chariots and climb the tallest hills again, in quest of your tampered glory and visibility to the world eye

the Zimbabwe we love

blow zillion trumpets through valleys and rivers and mountains, calling the scattered hiding in the caves to return and build the fallen walls

the Zimbabwe we love

abolish your trembling and let the binding sweet counsel of charmers sing a new song of joy, in unison and triumph, buried past and reunion, paying a deaf ear to sugarcoated lies

we have infants to feed and raise

HEADWAY TOWARDS NEW DAWN

Resurrect from the hot glotto of lingering tension and insanity

shake off the venomous scruples of clouding ashes and dust of fear

quench out the flaming furnace of blingfolding fog of panic and confusion

demolish demarcations free, cease fire and sheath the daggers to rest

save motherland from collapsing into a total heap of perennial ruins

enough is enough the carpenter must hammer the last nail on the coffin

let us with reckless abandon dump the hatchet six feet deep down the dark interior

stand up all genuine patriots and raise your clench-fisted hand into the air

eat a humble pie all you higher echelons possessing the tight grip of power

bounce together as one in all humility with the common man

sit on a round table and cudgel hard your medulla oblangatas

to chart and redefine the course of new destiny with all measures of austerity

to revamp the sick economy from the intensive care unit of lawlessness

to pronounce end to bloodshed and intimidating terror

of burning and looting property hard-earned

to enact a strong willpower for the good record of future generation

when elephants smot glass suffers that much we know and often say

dreams dash and water split on the ground fine and right yes but still

we must hold our feet rooted to the ground and design new strides for heightened peace and freedom

for talk is cheap and consented effort a breather,

contagious anthem and warm handshake that defeans the racous sound and anger of rioting city

YOUR VISIONARY DREAMS ARE ENOUGH

Your visionary dreams are enough
To surf you through coughing oceans
To catapult and sail you through the rampages of cyclone Idai
To slice into half the savegery of the hibernating darkness
And burn the candles of hope along your path
To crush the black dirty walls
within the soul and destine you on the other side
Where glass is always greener and the shores golden
The prospects promising
Your dreams are so stronger and solid you can hold them in your palms
A magic stick that can separate the see with a single strike
A breath that can breath life into dry bones
A springboard to shoot you to cloud nine
Your dreams...
Just wake up and abandon the flagility of your kingsize bed
Before the scorching sun rise centimetres higher and burn the dew
Its's new dawn
Captivating rays filters through the apertures.
Cicadas orchestrate in the peaches trees
Beckoning to responsibility
Crows whispers in the holes of the cethedral dome
Right now you can hear passing skylarks through the sigh of their whipping wings
Flying to safety
Just be like them comrade, an early bird that grabs the grasshopper
Before spectres of procrastination suffocate a giant in you
And refuse to doze for a prize

WRECKAGE

mighty blue empire no longer mighty dies before the actual amargeddon,

replete with no signs of resurrection on judgement day

toddlers even with matted eyes attest to the scribbling on the wall

through the cries and vain protestations of the masses

joined together for common positive gain

Peace and freedom to earn, to catch the thief and burn

their fall goes to the butchering and strangulation of their own sons and daughters

whose crime they committed is lack of melanin behind the coat of their skin

whose souls weeping beneath bay for their dirty blood

and to whoever the cap fits must wear it in heartless shame and inhuman poise

as you clandestinely wait to pounce on your next prey and perform your satanic rituals

but when days count to the fortieth the sun shine at midnight and the treacherous suffer embarrassing exposure

suspicion forgotten, witches and wizards caught red handed

remember molecules and atoms posses the cosmos, dust absorb footprints and trees peeps through binoculars

surely no secret under the sun

Closet

SOUL MATE

we are the enlightened superb minds
immense epic gorgeous and untouchable
indepth fluffy fountains, icons of confort

we are lovebirds phenomenal
prowess tower oozing with an extraordinary glow
we are the captivating raisin and brimstone
yawning twinklelights on a dark moon
harsh feelings peeled, eyes focused

we are the gentle thick layer of a white overlapping veil
mastered seed evergerminating, ever growing, unprunned
a rain beaten rock roughened
empire unconquered, constellation intact

we are the rainbow on a black drizzle of clouds
jubilant sparrows celebrating a big catch on a lily island
Adam and Eve in Eden, unblemished
two butterflies on a dangling crystal ray
we are an echo bouncing to flaming thuds of silent ovation

we are the frenzy of tremor and shockwaves
a melancholic rhythm from envious souls
rocked with emptiness in their romantic ruins

We are the champions on a throne of affection
glaring from the distant horizon
granary loaded with infections joy and laughter

we are a bunch that never squeak
to prancing hoofs of barking wolfhounds
we are the most valued possession
unimpeachable dots in the mental cabins of the skilled and talented
a virtue every musician want to sing
a lyric every song writer want to attempt
a poem every word weaver want to web
a painting da vinci never meditated
a tapestry carved on a palace wall

we have journeyed from a distance, feet sunburnt
walking the thorny path still
spiralling, misty, nasty
vipers imminent but still rocking the world
a divine, unbreakable light from heaven