Leboso

“I have been asked to say one poem, I don’t know whether in Zulu or Sotho, but the poem is titled: Sis! Bayasinyanyisa.”

 When I was still finding it challenging to adapt to a very unfamiliar new environment. Where suddenly I was perceived as ’’the other’’. My memories would often take me to where I felt at home, outside home, where I belonged, and where I never had to defend my existence.

 I remember prior to buying this powerful poem, in 2012, I would have mostly blurry recollections of my time at Tlhomo Secondary School, between 1995 and 1996. Even though most not clearly, the fellow student I vividly remembered from my 2 years there was Leboso.  The most creative person I have ever met in my life. Almost daily, he fondly recited this poem by Mzwakhe Mbuli (from the album Change is Pain) to his classmates. If not in a mood he would sing his self-composed melodies, dance, and sometimes even pretend to be critically ill. A very energetic boy, the only time he dozed off was only during lessons.

 It was largely this poem that helped me have vivid recollections of my wonderful times at Tlhomo and perhaps, resurrecting and reassuring my existence, which only I can define.

 Thanks to Leboso.