Uncensored
Sweet sixteen
She lays her head between her knees, and quietly weeps
An uncertain future is all she sees
Pills on her table seem like the only option
State of confusion, could it all be an illusion?
Red rivers of her body - have not flowed in several months
She thought it would prove her devotion
But it only led to carnal interaction, bodily contractions
Sweet sixteen
The baby, has a baby
She’s no longer a child
A child she must now bear
Eve of his seventeenth birthday
African boy, he’s never seen snow
But it’s lying on his table, in neat rows
They’re all sniffing it, so he joins in
Tomorrow he won’t remember where he’s been
A glimpse of ecstasy
The world as it should be, now he’s seen
Taken to impeccable heights
Dazed in his moment of narcotic intoxication
Many roads, he’s chosen his own
Eve of his seventeenth birthday
And his new life has just begun
Sniffing crack, with a small heroine smack
Defying all the rules
He’s fallen into a pit, and there’s no one to pull him out
Sucked in so deep, he can’t get out
He’d slit your throat, just to get his next hit
Barely eighteen
He doesn’t have a single dream
After high school, his future seems rather bleak
Financial situation weak
Corrupted young mind joined the local gang
He had to prove himself
He had to earn his crew’s respect
They gate-crashed a party
Grabbed a girl while no one was watching
Dragged her to the nearest river bed
Tore her shirt off and covered her face
Stuffed her mouth
They all gang raped her
He had to as well, to prove himself
She cried silently, too frail to fight back, her body still
He’s barely eighteen
They uncovered her face, to reveal their evening’s prize
He couldn’t breathe, more than surprised
Born of the same womb
Because he was staring into his little sister’s eyes
Cut.
About the author
Chivimbiso Gava is a wordsmith at heart, expressed through her delivery of poetry and short stories. She is an adamant believer that there is great power in words. Much of her creative writing is embedded in the "pedagogy of discomfort": it is her hope that when readers engage with her work, they will come to have a greater awareness of their own discomforts and meaningfully engage; in turn embarking on a journey of transformative learning about worlds they do not inhabit or choose to ignore.
Photo: Reid Naaykens
