“uSakhile” and “Unspoken pains” by Siza Nkosi

Sakhiwe isizwe bo
Amadoda asebenzile
Imizi iqhephukile
Kuthiwa siphucukile
Ngoba nakhu ke uSakhile uvukile
Ungusomashishini elokshini
Imali ibuzwa kuye
Izingoma zonke ezintsha zidlalwa kwakhe
Imilenze ilahlile
Buza indlala uzothola izindaba
Uwuthi ngikuxoxele nal’ udaba

uSakhile kwakuyisilima
wayemubi futhi ehluphekile
eyimpimpi yaleyo minyaka
ethengisa iqiniso kwabanamanga
ebulala ngolimi lwakhe
maye izingane zabantu

wayenguyise wezingani zakhe
iqhawe kuwo wonke umphakathi
kodwa bonke bebengazi
intombazanyane yakhe kwase kungumfazi
emkhotha ngobudoda bakhe
ephula kwasa maphupho
emgibela
emgcindezela

ngizwa isikhalo somkakhe
imbokodo eyakhiwe ngezimbali ezimtomtofotofo
engabe izinyembezi zakhe ziwelaphi na

uyabekwa ke namuhla uSakhi
akukho ngisho kwani okuya ethunjini
uyiphilile yena impilo yakhe bandla

A nation has been built
Men have done their part
Homes are wrecked
In the name of progress
Sakhile has risen
A tycoon of the township
He smells of new money
Plays all the latest songs
Dances the part too
Trust poverty to reveal wonders
Come let me tell you a story

Sakhile was an idiot
He was ugly and poor too
Chief snitch of those times
Selling truth to liars
Butchered lives with his tongue
Mothers lost their young

He was a father of his children
A hero in the society
But no one knew
His little girl had become his wife
Flaunted his manhood in her presence
Shattering dreams
Mounting her
Pinning her down

I hear his wife’s cry
A rock made of lush flowers
I wonder where her tears fall

Sakhi is laid to rest today
No crumbs to feed the mourners
But he lived his life
Grant him that