The knife, the tree and the boy

The knife, the tree and the boy
(By David Mungoshi)

The October sun
High and hot

I heard it whispered in the wind
By the bending trees –
The cicada’s song
That with rain must come life

The year’s end brought
The end of a road

Would I ever see the old familiar place again?
Despairing, I carved my name
In the tearful tree trunk –
And the knife shook with agitation.


*(This is my favourite of David Mungoshi’s poems. He is a prominent Zimbabwean author and poet. Lion Press of UK, have just published David’s amazing novel called ‘The Fading Sun’ which I will review here very soon)