Coming soon... Frank Malaba

Poetry in McGregor is delighted to welcome Frank Malaba to our village this year. A native of Zimbabwe, Frank has been a vocal advocate for Gay Rights in Africa. He was formerly a producer of Radio Today Outspoken, the only LGBTI Talk show in Africa. Frank is a courageous voice, and is admirably suited to our theme for 2016, Voices on Fire. We hope his voice will be widely heard this coming weekend!

Nameless… For now

My heart rains in smithereens like red confetti falling

From the crown of cumulonimbus heights.

Its shredded pieces fall in dizzy circles while

Trying to find the perfect landing on uneven ground.

My eyes are ajar like shutters to a vacant, soulless castle.

I’m not dead. I’m not alive. I’m existing.

A solid presence in an otherwise empty space.

But do not be fooled…
I am powerful.

Somewhere deep within this thick dark mass

Is a volcano ticking and awaiting

The perfect moment to exhale new lava.

Waiting to create continents of thought

Populated by change and reason.

I am a heart still beating after it has been cut out from the living.
I am the African Violet leaf that lives on

After being ripped from the mother plant.
I am the singing voice of an orphaned child.