“I Am From” - Siki Dlanga

Adapted by Levi Romero; Inspired by “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon (as designed by ShelovesMagazine http://shelovesmagazine.com/2013/synchroblog-i-am-from/)

I am from my first broken tea cup

from the taste of sorghum and maize meal

I am from the home of boxing. We knocked the hell out of apartheid. 

I am from aloes and lilies and butterflies

The sweet-peach-tree from my childhood whose long gone limbs

 I remember as if they were my own.

I’m from the Madiba clan who existed long before Mandela did

from women with strong opinions and men who fight for justice

I’m from great storytellers and the best comedians

and from unpredictable lips and unexpected actions
I am from expected surprises

I’m from the confusion of having to answer for my mistakes and having to be obedient

I am from faith 

I am from daily prayers sung into the night
Caught by God and returned as sunshine in the morning

I’m from dedication to God 
I am from introduction to ancestors at birth 

I’m from Mount Ayliff and apartheid homelands

Pumpkins and roasted mealies

From MaRhadebe setting me on a straight and narrow from birth

Reprimanding me yet never confused about her love for me or her love for anyone for that matter
I am from style and creativity

I am from my mother’s iconic images that capture her beauty so perfectly that it can no longer capture my beauty

I am from stories

I am from stories, our greatest treasures. I am from stories.

I am from people who are books that speak. 
I am from stories. I am from unending dreams and endless hopes.

Paradise Waiting To Be Uncovered

Rustic 

Ancient 

Older than Mandela 

Nothing is changed

Gates are rusty

There is electricity and water 

So it isn't so bad they say

Look how much we have achieved

Together we can do more the ANC says

One hundred years of existence the party boasts

A party it was for the ANC for a

whole year 

Celebrating dead heroes

Their philosophy begging for resurrection

A monument is enough the party says

For now they drink and dine in fine wines

This community can tell you in person what happened in Marikana 

No raise followed 

Just death and life as normal

Continues as it had since Colonialism

Yet paradise waits here

Paradise waits to be seen and unveiled beneath the unfulfilled promises 

Paradise waits behind the cloud of lack of vision

Even children are ready for more