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Chris Magadza

Transformation: History of Zimbabwe

Transformation: History of Zimbabwe

Transformation: History of Zimbabwe

We walked in the dark,
Clothed in darkness.
For a time like time immemorial
We walked, guided
Only by the night.
 
Then a breeze from
A distant life, a whispering
Rustle, and
The forest stared down on us
 
Between the trees and the starry sky
Faint shafts of light:
And the forest was behind us
Then a burst of light
Everywhere light
Warm light
 
We felt our life sap surge;
Now we knew us
With mountains of hope
Towering high
Into the boundless sky.
 
Then,
Drowning in powerless power
Enslaved in sovereignty
We forgot us;
Not knowing mother and son
Nor God and evil . . .
 
So
The light
Dissolved away.
There was no darkness
No night;
Yet no light.
No blindness . . .
But no sight;
Neither sky nor earth
But a voidless void
That sucked the emptiness
In our living carcases
Chris Magadza

Chris Magadza

(Zimbabwe, 1939)

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Transformation: History of Zimbabwe

We walked in the dark,
Clothed in darkness.
For a time like time immemorial
We walked, guided
Only by the night.
 
Then a breeze from
A distant life, a whispering
Rustle, and
The forest stared down on us
 
Between the trees and the starry sky
Faint shafts of light:
And the forest was behind us
Then a burst of light
Everywhere light
Warm light
 
We felt our life sap surge;
Now we knew us
With mountains of hope
Towering high
Into the boundless sky.
 
Then,
Drowning in powerless power
Enslaved in sovereignty
We forgot us;
Not knowing mother and son
Nor God and evil . . .
 
So
The light
Dissolved away.
There was no darkness
No night;
Yet no light.
No blindness . . .
But no sight;
Neither sky nor earth
But a voidless void
That sucked the emptiness
In our living carcases

Transformation: History of Zimbabwe

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