Decade of Bullets
Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou–
See a procession of young mothers
chattering their way from water
fountains in grenade-torn sandals and blood-laced bras.
Somalia, Somalia, Somalia–
See the moon disappearing in a mass of gun
smoke splitting the stars from the skin of night.
Rwanda, Rwanda, Rwanda–
this is a wound from which the pus of grief flows,
meandering through masses
of rock into the valley of lost freedom.
Timbuktu, Timbuktu, Timbuktu–
I hear a rush of footsteps of sorrow,
rugged peasants carrying their compounds to
far away valleys of flowers.
A previous iteration of this poem was published in One Ghana, One Voice.
Mbizo Chirasha is the author of A Letter to the President (Zimbabwe) and the co-author of several books, such as Whispering Woes of Ganges and Zambezi (India/USA), Metaphors of the Rainbow (Malawi), and Second Name of Earth is Peace (USA). Chirasha is also the co-editor of Street Voices Poetry Collection (a Germany Africa poetry anthology), the co-editor of the anthology Corpses of Unity (France/Cameroon/Kenya), the Associate Editor of Diasporia(n) Online, the Chief Editor of Time of the Poet Republic, the Founding Editor of WomaWords Literary Press, and a publisher of Brave Voices Poetry, among others. Chirasha’s work has been featured in publications such as FemAsia Magazine, Wrath-Bearing Tree, Ofi Press, World Poetry Almanac, Sentinel UK, Africa Crayons, PulpitMagazine, Poetry Pacific, Zimbolicious, Best New Poets, and Poetry Bulawayo.
Artwork by Yassir Alomari
Yassir Al Omari is a Jordanian artist with a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Yarmouk University. His work concerns topics of Arab culture and human rights. He currently works for both YARA, a youth empowerment initiative, and Walk Free, an international human rights group focused on eliminating modern slavery. Al Omari participated in Jordan Fashion Week in 2019 and has also hosted a workshop in China for officials of Jordanian cultural organizations.