Freedom Poetry Competition winners

Yoshira Marbel, from South Africa, has won the inaugural Freedom Poetry Competition, co-organised by Poetry Bulawayo and ’amaBooks Publishers, with her poem Peace. In second place was Farai Mpofu, with Flying Away, followed by Tinashe Muchuri’s If You Allow Me Just a Moment, Christopher Mlalazi’s Elephant Grass and Bhekilizwe Dube’s Celestial Dreams. Both Farai Mpofu and Bhekilizwe Dube are better known for their short story writings, both having been published in several of the ’amaBooks short writings collections, and Tinashe Muchuri is well known as a performance poet. Christopher Mlalazi’s previous reputation is primarily as an award-winning playwright and prose writer.

There were 78 submissions to the competition, from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and from Europe. The results were announced during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair on March 22 2013.

Peace

Coarse sand

settles on skin

like faux fur

on soft hands

Zephyr of dust

pirouettes through the air

as mortars whistle in the distance

absorbing the sounds of hunger and despair

Worms festering

in outstretched bellies

care not for who owns whose land

In the fight for power and control

victory parades

surrender grandeur

amongst dead souls