Tinashe Mushakavanhu
Zimbabwe
Tinashe Mushakavanhu
An academic and social activist through his writing, this poet offers a poignant poem with the melancholic tone and dislocated voice of an exile, yearning for a sense of belonging and comparing the reality of his current location to his dreams of home. This poem is reason for pause. Take a moment to journey with the poet, into sensations of longing and keen observation of his surroundings.
BIOGRAPHY
Tinashe Mushakavanhu is a young Zimbabwean poet born in 1983. He graduated with a First Class honors... More >
In the House of Exile
This town I have adoptedSnoops at me suspiciouslyVeiled in the colour of its skinBlind to my dark presenceOnly the green of natureBreathes out clean airI look homeward and see no angelsHeol Pentremeurig is too narrow a roadAs parked cars crowd the street of my lifePerhaps exile is only skin deepMemories of home time will confiscateThe deep-freeze of historyThis town I have adoptedCobbled streets, here, everywhereIs the masonry of centuries past andThe search draws me nowhereNear kindred spiritsIn this town I have adopted“I’m the incredulous sneertucked beneath bland smiles.”Published in State of the Nation: Contemporary Zimbabwean Poetry (2009)
