TWO POEMS

By Rethabile Masilo

GNALAFOSTOHK

Ho moholoane oa ka

Tebello begot the child and stood near

Death for it -- a boy she at once made man

Before he had known how to conquer fear

By himself, warrior of a lonely clan.

He followed certain roads the long way here,

Living among castes where the African

Spirit endures, the rush of angry tear

Turning mere soldier into veteran.

And as he went forth in dreams of his own,

Learning how to cope in quest of good

For together with life he was alone,

What prospects he received, at heaven’s whim,

Became his with no hopes misunderstood,

All of the rhythm having entered him.

BIRDS OF ILL

They’ll follow any being carried away

by the winds of tumult, these ominous

things that hang in flight till a creature dies

at length.

               And is it in the life of us

to turn against these pinions of demise?

Renegades born under a dying day

they’ll follow any being across the land-

scape of survival.

                         But are we not all

children under this house -- different organs

to the same spirit?

                           Pressed against the wall

and menaced by the shadow of wingspans,

is it in the life of us to withstand?

Gnarled under hunger, demented eyes holes,

they have put that lading upon our souls

END

Rethabile Masilo was born in Lesotho in southern Africa. A multi-lingual poetic citizen of the world, Masilo has lived in South Africa, Kenya, the USA, and currently resides in Paris, France. His poems have appeared in the magazines Orbis (England) and Setsoto (Lesotho) as well as Canopic Jar #1 (print version) and Canopic Jar #11.