I threw a couple of amens
out of the window
when the house was warm
And my heart was alright
I couldn’t keep any man
My mother’s house
A sanctuary of women
who abandoned themselves
at the feet of their lovers
They looked like their struggles
And blessings in empty churches
Were beautiful so we looked at them
With our hearts hoping to keep them
At times everything falls apart
And nobody wants to break any further
Place me in a sacred way like your best china
I am a wounded mess collecting myself for Sunday lunch
when I shall be displayed for guests to marvel
at my gold trimmings and how I haven’t broken
mother says her grandmother’s china
travelled countries over
was passed on from generation to generation
to a woman when she married
It sits in her hands like the virtue of women
I wash it with care as I cradle my own body at times
Sinaso Mxakaza is 28-year-old South African writer. She started writing in 2008 inspired by her love for books. Her poems are about healing, change, and finding one’s voice in the world. Her works have been published in Poetry Potion, Ja Mag SA, Agbowo, Nthanda Review, Writers Space Africa, The Pangolin Review, Next Generation Speaks Global Youth Anthology, Africa, UK, and Ireland: Writing Politics and Knowledge Production Vol.1, and Best ‘New’ African Poets 2018. She was longlisted for the Sol Plaatje European Award and the first runner up in the Creative Freelance Writerz competition 2018.
