Sunday 28 April 2019

DEAR ROSE - RISE UP YOUNG WOMAN!


DEAR ROSE

Dear Rose, you were the rose that rose amongst
Thorns, against all odds
Beautiful and bold
Precious as gold
Until you were told; those sweet little lies that
Put your future on hold.
The once burning flames of hopes, dreams, and aspirations
Have since become ashes, and everything has withered like
The greens in winter. Just like beautiful petals of a flower that has
Been scorched by the ultra-violet rays of the sun... Everything you had
Has dried up like a shrivelled raisin in the sun.

Dear Rose, I wonder who took your pride away
Because your life seems to be getting worse each and every day,
And how you wish that things could turn out your way.
But at this point, it is pointless to point fingers at others in an
Attempt to keep the truth at bay.
How could you, open your heart to a stranger...or maybe he
Promised to turn your life around, so you thought maybe he would be a
Life-changer, a life-saviour but not suspecting any foul play
In his behaviour. See, we men deceive women more than anything else
And most men have long mastered the art of transforming the woman's heart
Into anything that they want it to be.
This is not a funny but it sounds like a joke to me, when I come to think of
The sequence of events most of which begin on a high note but eventually end
In deepest sorrow.

Dear Rose, the story of your life is none less a tragedy, and as I poetically
Narrate the ordeal that befell you, I feel like it all seems like just a tale and
One may wish to begin it with "once upon a time" which is a common begin
Phrase for most tales. Firstly, you opened your heart, then you opened your
Mouth to declare that you were more than happy to reciprocate his love for you.
And eventually,you opened that fragile feminine treasure box and you exhausted
All those sacred, precious minerals that God stored in your private treasure box;
A box which ought to be unlocked in wedlock. But look now, you ard nothing
Less than a de-flowered flower.

Dear Rose, the walls which were covering you have since developed some cracks and
In no time they will be crumbling down on your you. Young woman, if only you knew that
Your prince charming would one day expose your short-comimg in the area of self-control.
See, the once striking figure which used to be a centre of attraction to the opposite sex has
Since taken a bulging shape, oh what a shame you brought to yourself!

Dear Rose, your downfall was not falling pregnant, but your flaw was to fall for a man who
Wouldn't catch you when you fall... PREGNANT!
You told the whole world that he brightened up your days and always put a smile on your face.
But little did you know that those beams of light would one day turn too bright for your eyes to see his true colours. See, the irony of the story is that the beams of light you used to bask under In the blissful days are the very same beams of light that blinded you, but I don't blame you cause they say "love is blind", hence you got blinded by love.

BUT dear Rose, despite all that you've gone through,
There is still a glimmer of hope, this is not the end of the road,
For while there is life there is hope, so, hopefully your life will get better in time.
And please! Remember to take good care of yourself... Oh, and the baby too!
I wish you good luck in everything you do, and may God be with you,
Every step of your way.

Yours truly: Concerned Poet


Wednesday 24 April 2019

"HOMELESS HEROES" - A POET'S TRIBUTE TO GAME RANGERS

HOMELESS HEROES

Gun-toting terrifying trespassers, have
Invaded the protected territory of endangered
Species. They are merciless in their pursuit for
Game, and killing is their aim. They are an
Incarnate of callous vikings, very ruthless on nature
And the nature of their exploits is a piercing pain
To those who nurture our environment.

Time and again, poachers and pistols are
Captured by vigilant rangers, since these offenders
Are always treating them like strangers; yet rangers
guard against the invasion of the animal kingdom fortress. The wild
Is their home, they are like gods for they have mastered
The art of cohabiting with deadly beasts.

I call them the homeless heroes, because they sacrifice their comfort
For the good course of nature conservation.
I call them the watch-towers of biodiversity, daylight and night
Makes no difference to them, their job is unconventional and different
From your 9 to 5 monotony.
I call them preachers of peace, and I so much wish that poachers
Could repent and forsake their cancerous sin of perpetuating the extinction
Of our treasured beasts.

And yes! We salute the rangers,
For they are friends with wilderness and not strangers.
We salute the soldiers,
We salute the homeless heroes.

But we... We frown upon the poachers,
For they are a fungus in the beautiful garden
Of biodiversity

By: Ntokozo Mdluli

Tuesday 23 April 2019

REALITY CHECK


My body and soul married by breath, I fear
Pain as he files a divorce in the court of death.
Justice craved but never served, I feel
everything around me cold,  just as ice and what
Should be my vision is a blinding white.

The dark melody of hell hummed by an orchestra of demons is deafening my silent scream. What shall man do to ignite his darkened soul??? Can illusions illumine darkness...can they really overthrow the kingdom of reality?

Maybe, just maybe our lives are eternal cycles,
Geography has told us the earth is a ball, maybe that's why the devil is having a ball, mercilessly
Messing with our lives. So, we go and go in circles, synchronizing our planet as it rotates on its axis.

And in the end, fate will rip us apart with its sharp axes, for when illusion binds your life
Reality will cut you like a knife!!!

THE CONDUCTOR


I WISH I HAD A DISABILITY


Last week poet, Ntokozo "The Conductor" Mdluli performed this original poem titled "I wish I had a Disability" at the Martin Luther King commemoration hosted by the U.S. Embassy. This poem is very moving, educational and makes one reflect. With The Conductor's permission, I would like to share this poem with you:

“I WISH I HAD A DISABILITY”
I wish I had a disability, a disability in discriminating those that society deems as disabled.
Words are deeper than the letters that make them,
Words become worse if you break them; down into segments we
sometimes call statements. They say through words we get connected,
but they forget that sometimes through words we may be disconnected.

Society causes anxiety in many innocent souls out there; using stigmatory
Words like ‘the blind, the deaf, and the crippled’…
Not knowing it is actually their souls that we cripple,
each time we  mention these soul-crippling words which make our brothers and sisters’ situation seem worse, yet
Nobody is ABLE to DISABLE that which the CREATOR has ENABLED.

Time and time again, we make them believe that God made them to be  incomplete, and we let it sink in their
Hearts that for every missing part in their lives,
they have God to blame,
As we persistently call them lame,
…not knowing that it is actually our attitude that
Makes things remain the same.  
It is a shame
to God, each time we give
His masterpiece an ugly shape, painting  black the glorious image of God as we utter
The kind of words which are not kind to humankind, and that is why
I wish I had a disability, a disability in discriminating those that society deems as disabled.

It is a pity people judge by physical appearance but they fail to
Look beyond what meets the eye, because there is a difference between
The eye that looks and the eye that sees…if only we could cease to
Judge and let God be the judge, just let Him be in charge so He can handicap
Each and every single hand holding a grudge against The One who’s in charge
For all that we are.
See, sometimes I wish I had a disability, a disability in discriminating those that society deems as disabled.

Sometimes I wish I was handicapped, handicapped from holding
Grudges against others.
Sometimes I wish I was lame so my feet would not take me to places
My conscience hates.
Sometimes I wish I was deaf so my ears could not hear the intoxicating
Words that pollute our minds and poison our souls.
Sometimes I wish I was blind so my eyes could not be blinded by the
Enticing things that the world presents before our eyes to sabotage
Our future…yes ! sometimes,
I just wish I had a disability.
How I pray that we all realize our own personal disabilities before we start labelling others; and the greatest disability of humankind is the failure to do what is right when everybody else is wrong.
And as a matter of fact, nobody is disabled…it is just that OUR ABILITIES ARE NOT THE SAME!!!

Composed and Written by: Ntokozo ‘’The Conductor’’ Mdluli
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NTOKOZO MDLULI aka 'THE CONDUCTOR'














THE JUNGLE STRUGGLE

Mother Nature, it is so disturbing to
Witness the cruelty of your sons and daughters,
Day in day out your endangered are slaughtered.

Your fortresses have turned into battlegrounds because of
Trespassers who are bent on obliterating the remnants of wildlife,
And indeed, it is a wild life since both game and rangers are not
Safe from these brutal killers.

“We do it for the money” they say, blatantly disregarding the
TASK at hand, all they want is the TUSK they sell...another elephant
Taken to the ground, and future generations might never get to see the
Big five.

But we have to applaud the great works of those who protect the hunted,
We shouldn’t take them for granted.
In fact, we should give them a high five...and we know it is Game Parks
But constantly keeping an eye on game is no game at all.

Let us take the rhino by horn and face reality. Crops are nurtured and then
Harvested, likewise, the horn can be harvested and it can grow again.
But these poachers are only inflicting pain…shooting to kill and giving
Vultures a treat.
An elephant today, and a rhino tomorrow,
Life in the wild seems to bring so much sorrow.

Mother Mother Nature, it is very devastating to witness the cruelty of your
Sons and daugthers.
Day in day out your endangered are slaughtered.
But what can we do…if till today, the laws are not altered?

Composed and written by Ntokozo “The Conductor” Mdluli of Ludzeludze.
Specially written for Big Game Parks (Kingdom of Eswatini)
Date: 17/11/2018

Monday 22 April 2019

WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF? written by Ntokozo Mdluli

I may not be a politically inclined person but I think I have noticed some commonality among certain political figures in Africa. I recently watched a live interview which featured EFF leader Julius Malema on the TV programme called UNFILTERED on SABC 3, and there were certain elements in the EFF manifesto which I think harmonize the values of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. Mugabe and Malema are by far the only living African political leaders who have been brave enough to take the bull by its horn. They have been unapologetic in their quest for land expropriation and redistribution. One may not entirely agree with their leadership or rather political approaches, but they are an inspiration to many Africans out there.

Mugabe survived sanctions from the Westerners and remained consistent in his political convictions. Even in international forums, he was never intimidated by any 'super-power' present. Instead, he strongly defended his leadership strategies and continually reminded white people that Africa belongs to Africans. At one point, he even blatantly told the former British prime minister Tony Blair that: "Africans are not interested in even the smallest piece of Great Britain's land". We have also seen him challenging Donald Trump, advising the American president to blow his 'trumpet' in a musical way towards the values of unity, peace and cooperation. Although Mugabe's defiance against Western influence has come with very devastating repercussions on Zimbabwe and its citizens, he has never changed tune about what he truly believes in. He may no longer be president but many Africans will always respect him for his bravery and ideologies which have subliminally shaped the political landscape of some African countries.

Currently, South Africans are vigorously debating the topical issue of land expropriation without compensation. Julius Malema is the sole propagator of this idea which has somehow brought excitement to the black majority and bitterness to the white minority. According to Malema, a country can only be rendered democratic if the economic ground is level. He further asserts that South Africans cannot say South Africa belongs to them yet they have nothing concrete to prove it. Therefore, giving back the land to its indigenous owners has been one of the key elements in the EFF manifesto, and it is arguably the one course that facilitated the popularity of the EFF.

However, I still have unanswered questions regarding the land issue, despite the countless speeches and live interviews Malema has been featured in. Malema is an eloquent leader and has a strong political acumen, an attribute which has frustrated even the well established journalists in the prominent media houses. But I personally think there are some grey areas in their manifesto, particularly with regards to the land issue. According to Malema, the land will not just be seized from its current owners and given to black South Africans. He says the land will be taken and given to the government to administer it. The process entails approaching the land council and telling them you need the land either for personal or business/agricultural use. There is no need to demonstrate anything or bring state-approved business plans for one to qualify. However, after being given the green light to use the land, those who have applied will be given a certain period of time to start making use of the land. The EFF does not want people to just come forward and say they need land if they will leave it idle for a prolonged period of time.

But the big question is; how will the EFF ensure that the land is redistributed fairly among its diverse citizens? What will happen to black people who need the land to start a business yet they have no means to procure capital? Will the EFF give them the land and fund their projects as well? Will the black people only enjoy temporary 'ownership' of land, since prolonged idleness of the land will be a violation of the agreement? What will happen if the same individuals who currently own vast land in South Africa resurface to claim back the land, citing incapability of black people to run the farms? We know that a lot of South Africans live below poverty line and some lack the necessary skills required in the industrial sector. So, what will happen when many whites make applications to utilize the state-owned land, and even overtake the black people in establishing industries? They have the means, and they have always had better opportunities compared to the black people. Will the established black farmers in South Africa be treated like the white farmers, or they will be spared on basis of being indigenous owners of the land? Lastly, I am still not sure about the EFF's definition of 'BLACK'. Do  they define 'black' in accordance with Steve Biko in his writings on Black Consciousness, or they have their peculiar definition of BLACK?
"Trusting too much is like setting up a trap to hunt down your own expectations" The Conductor