Bitter Sweet. a poem by Dakarai Mashava

Bitter Sweet
(For my granny Mbuya Kwenda on her 92nd birthday)

What a beautiful sight to behold
You atop the giant mountain of time
Looking back into time
Aeon upon aeon
Sucking in both happy and sad memories
Remembering the bountiful harvests that made you an envied farmer
Remembering too your people who fell by the wayside
Your face turns ashen as you remember three from your own womb that you outlived
Recalling how you risked life and limb to support war of liberation combatants
But now your limbs have been worn out by time
But the spirit is as strong as ever
The memories as sharp as a butcher's knife
As you slowly walk, gingerly raise your heavy feet
I see you lumbering on aided by the walking stick one of your nieces bought for you
I see you descending
I see you going downhill
Meanwhile the beautiful sunset is taking charge
I wonder how many more such sights your feeble body will behold
Is the sun now inevitably setting on you?

(**Two days after her 92nd birthday, my maternal grandmother died on- 18 April, 2022- Zimbabwe’s Independence Day).

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Dakarai Mashava is a poet based in Harare, Zimbabwe. His poems have appeared in various publications. A journalist by profession, Dakarai is currently an assistant editor at Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe -the publishers of the Daily News and Daily News on Sunday.

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