hillbrow’s song and Other Poems

    by Zama Madinana

    hillbrow’s song

    we unzip our dirty minds
    to blast the thick & glistening
    thighs of hillbrow

    we salivate at the juicy
    sarah baartman’s
    & naomi campbell’s 
    of the night

    we loudly dance
    shaku shaku
    kwasa kwasa
    sigide sishaye ne ndlamu

    before the ladies of the night
    take us up to their rooms
    one by one
    one by one
    just to pay for a one-minute pee

    it doesn’t matter
    if you are a zulu or igbo
    afrika unite
    in the name of kuku here

    so, welcome to our hillbrow
    where decaying & filthy streets
    house homeless junkies
    in funky clothes

    & my brother from another mother
    breaks bread with cops
    will crime ever stop
    in this city?

     

    your fire, my brazilian lady

    i lie down next you
    with my starving lips
    trembling

    & the blue lagoons
    of your eyes
    tempting
    & alluring

    how
    do i escape the big
    pumpkins that sprout
    on your warm chest

    how do i escape
    from the beauty
    of your tenderness

    & how do i escape from
    the milky lane
    prison
    of your arms

    when fire
    burns beautifully
    between your thighs 

     

    gomora

     

    how do you kill
    a stench of a man burnt
    into ashes

    Zama Madinana is a South African poet, based in Johannesburg. His work has appeared in The Shallow Tales Review, Kalahari Review, , Efiko, Libretto, Brittle Paper, Olney, and other literary publications. Zama’s work focuses mainly on love, politics and social issues. In 2021, he won the third prize of the Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Award. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2022.His full-length poetry collection, ‘94 was published in June 2023. In addition to regular performances and readings in Johannesburg and across South Africa, he has performed his poetry in various countries including Botswana, Mozambique, and Lesotho.

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