CATHERINE MAGODO- MUTUKWAis a prolific and a multi award-winning Zimbabwean voice in the diaspora. Her verses are bold, pregnant with reason and they drip the honey of wise counsel. Her voice is motherly, as she rebukes fellow women to rise, to speak out and to raise the fist of resistance and thrash barbarism. The imagery abound beautifies her art of poesy.MUTUKWAis a literary combatant standing up bravely for the pains and glories of motherhood and womanhood. A legendary advocate of girl child. A literary sniper and her bullets are heft with truth, as they fire directly into the belly of male -chauvinism and scalds innards of of sexist demons. Her realism shrapnel whips fellow kindred sisters to resurrect from the doom of gloom of yester year slumber, to rise from tattered laurels and embrace the glory of resistance and the warm sunrays of resilience. A SISTERS KEEPER.PorCuPineQuill salutes the iconic chroniclerCATHERINE MAGODO-MUTUKWAby featuring her poetic insignia on our digital pages on this day of our God, the Almighty and Again we are humbled as we celebrate Africa Day with our literary Arts Legendary.ALUTA CONTINUA (Blurb by Mbizo CHIRASHA).
EMPTY (ForWomenWhoLostChildren)
She said,
I keep staring at this emptiness
where my ‘whole’ used to be
but
there’s a ‘hole’ now
remembering
the ‘everything’ that imposed
‘nothing’ on me…
nothing to hold and nothing to
behold
except for the memories…
from the day I laid my eyes on
him to the last day I laid him
to rest,
My silence buried him,
watching it all in muffled stillness,
I was too afraid of the words
I~I would say
the words that were burning hot
things inside of me,
the words that are still burning
without ending…
For now
allow me a moment of sadness
and grief
Its been a while but the weight
of his loss weighs heavily on me
It’s nestled in the creases of my
hollow heart,
searching for healing in the hidden
parts within me…
Maybe one day I will accept…but
for now I don’t want to forget.
FOR WOMEN ON THE VERGE …………….
Woman,
I’m searching for the
words
to put into your mouth
so that
you can find your voice
you’re so desperately seeking for,
am here,
to peel away the layers of made-up strength,
brittle to the touch,
to access the exhausted human within you
who can’t seem to keep up with the charade
so you can be gentle with yourself
Did you tell them?
Did you tell them about the many wars you
had to overcome this morning,
for your feet to touch the ground…
the effort it took to inhale and then exhale
when you would rather not …
about the dousing of a fire that once burnt
fiercely with intense conviction
when the heart was young and unscathed with
experience
about the crumbling down of boldness that you
keep trying to gather and
yet it keeps escaping with the fumes of
suffocated anger
Remember,
your anger does not need an explanation or
permission when you become un-stitched…
HOME…
The doors of my mind, there’re refusing
to open
to uncover the mystery that makes
one understand
this tragedy that has become life at
home,
My HOME is on fire, it is burning…
BURNING I tell you!
Allow me to air my frustration, while
I sit here at the edge of dashed hopes.
Deep in the valley of despondency
where my thoughts remain oppressed and
my opinions suppressed and
all these emotions unexpressed,
“Powerless” needs no translation
the words I carry deep inside there’re too
heavy, too heavy for pen and paper,
I can only petition our maker in the
eloquence of my silence.
An attempt to make sense of these agonies
has left so much unsaid
though I feel like shattering, simmering in
anger, struggling to conceal this mental anguish,
I begin to understand the value of my voice
to calm this storm…
CATHERINE MAGODO-MUTUKWA hails from an African city down in the southern hemisphere. She is a mother, a poet/writer, a counselor and an advocate for the girl-child and women. She’s very passionate about giving a voice to all those who struggle with the tongue which refuses to give them a language of feelings and expression.Catherine has a BA English and Communication Hons Degree and is the author of several books. She has been anthologized in a number of collections and some of her works are featured in various online magazines both locally and internationally.
PorCuPineQuill is authored and edited by Mbizo CHIRASHA
Freedom of Speech Fellow toPEN- Zentrum Deutschland,Germany.Alumni of theInternational Human Rights Arts Festivalin New-York, USA.Literary Arts Activism Diplomatie. Globally Certified Arts Mediums Curator and Influencer. Internationally Published Page and Spoken Word Poet. Writer in Residence. Arts for Human Rights Catalyst. Core Team Member of the Bezine Arts and Humanities Project. His illustrious poetry , hybrid writings , political commentary ,short fiction , book reviews and Arts Features are published in more than 400 spaces notably theMonk Arts and Soulin Magazine in United Kingdom. Atunis Poetry.com in Belgium.Demer press poetryseries in Netherlands.World Poetry Almanacin Mongolia.Poesia journalinSlovenia. Bezine Arts and Humanities Webzine in USA. The Poet a Day in Brooklyn ,USA. Litnet Writers Journal in South Africa. African Crayons in Nigeria. Poetry Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. Pulp-pit USA.the FictionalCafe international Journal, Texas USA. Best New African Poetry series in Zimbabwe, Zimbolicious Poetry Collections in Zimbabwe.Co-edited Street Voices International Publications with Andreas Weiland in Germany.Co-Edited Silent Voices Anthology, a Tribute to Chinua Achebe. Co-Edited the Corpses of Unity,solidarity collection to victimized Cameroonians with Nsah Mala. Curated and Edited the Zimbabwe We Want Poetry ,Inside Digraceland speaking poetic truth to the Mugabe regime and other bad regimes. He owns the Time of the Poet blog zine ,MIOMBOPUBLISHING that published the #GlobalCallforPeaceProjecttitled the Second of EARTH is Peace.A LETTER to the PRESIDENT his experimental resistance poetry collection was released in August 2019 by Mwanaka and Media Publishing.. Co- AuthoredWhispering Woes of Ganges and Zambeziwith Sweta Vikram in India. Good Morning President his first poetry collection was published in 2011 by Zimbabwean published based in United Kingdom, Diaspora Publishers.COVID 19 Satansdeadly fartis forthcoming. Chirasha is Founder and the ChiefEditor of Brave Voices Poetry Journal.