Poem
Ignatius T. Mabasa
When I die
When I dieI don’t want a funeral
With tall speeches
Falling like yellow leaves
Punctuated by
Rehearsed sniffs and coughs
I don’t want faked tears
Borrowed lines and lies
So shiny and straight like railway lines.
When I die
Just bury me
Dispatch me.
Put me in the ground.
© Translation: 2006, Ignatius T. Mabasa
Kana ndafa
Kana ndafa
Kana ndafaHandidi mariro
Anotaurwa zvakazorwa huchi
Zvichimononoka setsvina
Zvichikuhumuka semazhizha
Aneta kurembera pamuti.
Handidi zvinotaurwa zvichirungwa
Nekupfikura kwechitsotsi, kune skiri
Handidi misodzi yemate
Netumashoko twakakweretwa
Kunhamo dzeburial society
Tumashoko twakati twasu
Tuchipenya kunge njanji.
Imi, kana ndafa
Ndivigei
Maruva enyu handianzwi kunhuwirira
Nziyo dzenyu handidzinzwi pasi pevhu
© 2006, Ignatius T. Mabasa
Poems
Poems of Ignatius T. Mabasa
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When I die
When I dieI don’t want a funeral
With tall speeches
Falling like yellow leaves
Punctuated by
Rehearsed sniffs and coughs
I don’t want faked tears
Borrowed lines and lies
So shiny and straight like railway lines.
When I die
Just bury me
Dispatch me.
Put me in the ground.
© 2006, Ignatius T. Mabasa
When I die
When I dieI don’t want a funeral
With tall speeches
Falling like yellow leaves
Punctuated by
Rehearsed sniffs and coughs
I don’t want faked tears
Borrowed lines and lies
So shiny and straight like railway lines.
When I die
Just bury me
Dispatch me.
Put me in the ground.
© 2006, Ignatius T. Mabasa
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