ART IS WHO I AM

A LETTER TO MY FATHER

I am delighted my dear Father,

Delighted to write you this letter

Though deep in my heart l know,

Know it may never reach you

So Father l have my fingers crossed

Praying and hoping the post-man will do me a favour

And deliver this letter to you

Father l wrote to say, to ask and to seek

Father you left my side before l had hatched,

You left before l could judge the world

My mind still too young to understand why two plus two makes four

Father l ask,

‘’Are you satisfied that you left a clueless, innocent child behind you’’

Reply in your next letter

This is a letter to you Father

To remind you that the chick has grown into a hen

I have grown into a young maiden

Full of questions and wonder

My heart beats fast in search of wisdom

And then l smile and think how it would have been nice

Nice to write to you and ask

‘’ Father am l now old enough to own a male “

How anxiously l would have waited for your reply

And what you would have wrote would have been my command

Father they say a lot about me

The male say lm proud ,

The females naive.

But l am not Father

All l know it that lam lost ,

Lost in a world l do not own

I seek for answers my dear Father

You are a man and have gone through a lot,

Now l ask

“How does one know they are in love and he in turn feels for her?”

I plead, try and reply.

It would have been lovely

To speak to you face to face

Shy l would have been but confidence l would have regained

For you are my Father

It’s a shame you and l can never meet

For we now belong in different worlds

Though apart we might be in flesh

In hearts and memories we will remain in each other

By Amanda Ranganawa

I wrote this poem whilst l was still doing my ‘’O’’ Level at Sakubva 1 High in Mutare. In memory of my late  Father. Currently lm an Honours in Theatre Arts Student at the University of.Zimbabwe