You threw my name on a dirty floor
With the phrase “you disgust me”
Not a single thought
That I could possibly be the water
That should cleanse your sins
Now a burst of a placenta
A whole lineage at risk of drowning
You let our crystal memories
Swim in your spit
Sweet words have turned sour
Not even a fly can kiss them now
You still continue in my invisibility
That I have built around you
To look no further than the room
Filled with the love we both left
You find my lonely shadow there
Still hopeful
That the square has become more a circle now
Smooth and honest
It revolves and returns
But no the corners are still as sharp as they have been
Competitive, which one is sharper and effective in these times
Than the other
We forgot to pack our whole lineages from each other
I have been longing for the awakening of this day
I have come back, to collect myself from you
From the umbilical of your feminine
So I may fully return home
Written by Luleka Mhlanzi – Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Luleka Mhlanzi (29), author of Confiscated Identity is a multi-award-winning South African published and performing poet, actress, creative writer and a youth facilitator from Pietermaritzburg. She is an agent for change and her footprint is spotted in various African youth change programs. As a poet, she has written, read and performed for most national and international festivals including Poetry Africa (2022/2019), 7th Annual African Women Writer’s Symposium, and Poets You Should Know (Kenya). Most of her poems have been published in several national and international poetry anthologies including the Right To Speak South African Poets Catalogue, Austin International Poetry Anthology (USA), New Coin South African Poetry Anthology and more. Mhlanzi commissioned her poem, “A Letter To Nature” for the C40 Climate Leadership Group in 2021. Mhlanzi was invited to the Daily Thetha SABC1 studios as both a guest speaker and performer under a theme: Hair and Symbolism in the African Context. As an actress, Luleka starred in a global and award-winning short film, The Beast, directed by Samantha Nell (SA) and Michael Wahrmann (Brazil). Among her accolades are the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young 2021 award, a Sunday World Unsung Heroes Award 2022 and two international nominations; the Women Of Inspiration Award 2022 (Canada) and the Slam Awards International 2022 (Mali) nominated by Belgium.
MY PATCHY-ASS MEMOIR PODCAST
Trying to tell a whole-ass story based on writing prompts. Specifically, a podcast about editing writing-prompt responses and patching them together to build one incredible story about bad choices. Really bad choices.
45 Magazine Poetry Journal 