Valued

Valued

You are the beauty that l see        

The modulation of my feet and the rapture of my heart.                 

You bring out the divine in me     

making me the finest wine of all times                                        

When you molded me

You chose four words to define me,

Beauty, brains, perseverance and hardwork

You played the tune on the piano that

seized, sizzled and grizzled my soul

I fear not no man, events or words

Because only you make my knees bow down 

l will not fear the pressures of time, youth and society

Because u created me for a greater purpose 

l am a girl with a spiritual father who loves me

Beyond the eyes of man and the tongues of my enemies

He lifts me higher and never down 

Realizing my worth and potential and telling me softly                      

l created you to be the Master of your universe

Written by Amanda Ranganawa

For the love of life - Deliver me a Man, Not a Boy

Deliver me a Man
By Amanda Ranganawa(2014)

Deliver me a Man
not a boy
lm not searching for little patters
down the hall
lm looking for feet up the stairs
Accompanied by a hoarse voice
full of authority and confidence

Deliver me a Man
not a boy
lm not searching for a whiner and complainer
who leans on me for his standing
lm looking for broad shoulder
that know how to lift their own burdens

And yet still still manage to lift me
                                                                protect me and provide for me
                                                                Deliver me a Man
                                                                Not a boy.

FOR THE LOVE OF YOU

MIRIAM MAKUNDIDZE

MOULD HIM

             

           Mould him Father God

Let him be strong enough to carry both our burdens

Wise enough to make worthwhile decisions

Humble enough to give a hand

           

            Mould him Jehovah

Let his touch be gentle      

His kiss be soft

His hug warm and strong enough to quieten my fears

           

           Mould him Messiah

Let his love for me be pure, true and everlasting

Let him respect, trust and honor me

Let him love me with all my imperfections

              

          Mould him Lamb of God

Let him be prayerful

Let him be THE MAN

            Mould him Holy Spirit

            Mould my husband

For the love of a new beginning

MY PAST IS OVER

As l look around and gather things for my journey
l realise that l havent reached my tally
As the trials and tribulations sweep me across the valley
l breathed heavily, in and out , as l reach for my Yahweh
My mind twisting and curling as l recall sadly
The events that captured , fascinated and ;
and left deep cuts into my heart

The definations and evaluations of sin that l calculated
Only managed to land me in theft, prostitution and murder
Drugs , alchahol , rapist and liar were my middle identities
All l knew back then was that l had to
jump fences, duck cops and shoot back to survive

ln my fast diversion and quick cornering of the lane, l had the church choir
singing salvation and how much he loved me
Or was it me they sang to or just for themselves?
l cursed the melodic voices for singing lies
and yet as we the sinners live they are supposed to be saved

l was running further and deeper with the
wind blowing my frail body like a plastic bag
My heart was giving in, my knees were crumpling
l needed rest and immediatey l found it
As l heard a loud, deadly and dreaded sound
And then there was silence and then darkness

They later told me that l woke up after a month
The Saints had found me and like the good Samaritan
had done all they could
with all their belief and might to save my life
They told me about the grace and kindness of Yahweh


And l cried, and cried, and cried
Because l had never known that he not only cared
but had feelings that swept across oceans
thoughts that rose to the heavens
dreams that conquered all nature
and love that exceeded humanity's
For me
There and there l looked at my Yahweh
And realised that l am saved
And my past is over

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO MY POETRY LOVERS

I LOVE HIM…

I prayed because l was in need

I prayed because l had him

I prayed so l could keep him,

Need him,

Have him love me.

He has the patience of a lover

The charm and gentleness of a Prince

He has the voice of a movie star,

The beauty of an angel

And the eyes of a man in love.

I love him because he loves me

He means so much to me

I pray for him more than l pray for myself

He is the greatest example of love

That l can ever give anyone

When he holds my hand,

Holds me tight,

Puts me on his chest,

I find it hard to breath.

I love him because he loved me first

I love him because he has the beautiful brown eyes of a man in love

I try, l have tried, tried so hard to forget him

But l have found it hard to forget him,

To leave him

Because l love him.

A SHORT STORY FOR MY READERS

RELEASED    

I was surprised. Shocked. Amused. And then Confused.

Coming out of pain and ill-treatment l didn’t understand why the magnetic forces were so strong. I had always wished for a shoulder to lean on , a hand to wipe my tears and a heart to love me. So young, naive and still fresh from emotional and psychological abuse from the hands of my Grandmother. I found myself in the middle of the tar road with a young man declaring his love for me.

He said he could even die for me. At that moment l wanted so much to be cared for. He looked like my –could – be knight in shining armor. He wooed so strongly and convincingly, l found  myself  giving him a chance. A week passed and l wanted to run away from him. He cared too much , had me followed too much , spoke and introduced me to people as his wife too much , wanted to fondle me too much. I became afraid.

I felt caged. l wanted time to heal from my past and clear my head and feelings. I tried to explain but his were deaf ears.  Alas, all he wanted was a serious relationship. I started ducking and avoiding him. At those times l either failed or succeeded in doing so. We broke up so many times, l stopped counting.

Years passed and l realised l could never love him. He acted as if he loved me so strongly but each time he tried to force himself into my heart it closed further and further inside. I just couldn’t let him in. For three and a half years l tried. Tried so hard it almost drove me into insanity. I wanted to understand why he loved me so much or rather why he was so obsessed with me.

He knew everywhere l went on vacations. Knew every number l had and did all he could to jeopardise any new relationship l had. I grew a detestful dependency syndrome. Every time l felt empty and lonely, l ran back to him and he would more than willingly, gladly seize the opportunity to get me back. Each time that happened we would be happy for a day or two after that l would realise l could never love him.

He noticed. Suddenly, he wanted to hurt me. To punish me for not loving him. At first l couldn’t clearly recognise the tell-tell signs and so l ignored them. However, after constant sarcastic calls and texts l became unsettled. He pursued me harder, judged me more harshly, persisted on sleeping with me and followed my tracks like a hungry wolf. He wanted either to cause me physical harm or emotional pain. Between these two was his goal and he had to achieve it. I finally saw the plain writing on the wall the day he tried to drag me into his house. I was angry and felt violated but l thanked God l had overpowered him outside.

He came back to apologise, and again declare his undying love. He had created a gap between me and the only guy l had ever loved for the first time. During the absence of the guy l loved, he had came and played psychological games on me. Made me feel guilty for not returning his undying love. I felt guilty and undeserving of my current boyfriend. So l let him go. Weeks passed and my tormenter still reminded me of how l would never belong to anyone else except him.

I wanted to fight him, like l had always did for the past three and a half years but l was tired. I thank God l grew tired for in a way it rescued me. Released me. On the day of my birthday he came to see me, empty handed. He knew that him being the   current ‘’boyfriend’’ l would be hurt because l had just celebrated his birthday with him a month before. My birthday meant a lot to me but his presence even though it didn’t mean much to me, l hoped he had changed his possessive and negative attitude and we could move on. I wished. He came and pretended as if it was just like any ordinary Friday. All he talked about was how l should love him and do as he says concerning ‘’our relationship ‘’. I was hurt and wanted to put him in his right place.

Common sense told me to surrender. I texted him and told him he had won. Finally, he had managed to hurt my feelings. I gladly informed him in good detail. He must have felt so much joy for he never called back or texted again. l felt disappointed at myself for having allowed him into my life in the first place. Nonetheless, l was released; no more did l have to have him blackmail me into loving him. l was vindicated. Until...

By Amanda Ranganawa

A   2^nd   Year Honours in Theatre Student at the University of Zimbabwe

FOR THE LOVE OF MY FELLOW WOMEN

 PUZZLED

Life is funny
Even the devil can charm a beauty,
a song bird
by just a silly pick-up line
Mermaids fall for weeds of the sea
Simply because the weeds are good-looking

lke battered Tina Turner
Bobby damaged Whitney
Tell me what happens
How do we fall in love?
And stay in love with men that
smooth us,
rock us
And yet
pinch us,
strangle us,
suffocate , imprison and destroy us

Where do we go wrong?
Here's my prayer
Lord sit here, lets talk

Why are we the vulnerable ones?
Why are we the ones that are on the receiving end?
Our cheeks receive slaps
Our legs the kicks
Our stomachs the countless kicks
Our black eyes the mocking looks
Explain to me God
Why?.


*STOP WOMEN ABUSE!!!*