Articles by Ndaba Sibanda

Poem

Ndaba Sibanda is one of the most prolific poets to emerge from Zimbabwe.

With Power, Ignorance equals Death.

"Be the catalyst for positive change..."

"She would never ever feel foreign..."

Weary of endless protest...

A former National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) nominee, Ndaba's poems, essays and short stories have been published in Africa and the US.

Who is he? Why doesn't he have better clothes? Such a sad sight...or is it?

"...toward the magic of the snow..."

"...but the music is gone into inaudibility..."

Fed Up with this system...

"...Sucking peace out of the mind..."

...Kickbacks come first, The people come last...

A timely vision of rights and responsibility...

A timely poem for a world in shock...

And in what land was hardship better than what now transpires...?

"... One rumour was that he had a money-spitting snake he fed..."

"...They say your problems come from far. Far? Did people from far destroy your factories?.."

"...termites and maggots of corruption..."

Who in our world indeed would not prefer honesty over lies, and justice over tyranny...?

"...The poor people's silence..."

Because there are people in the world who worship money above all else...

"You have muddied the waters..."

"...Let's call this what it is..."

"...transformed their blindness into alertness..."

"...let a hunger for story-telling eat me up..."

"It is the wish and prayer of every patriotic African..."

"...Were they not in that mess because of his master's inanities?.."

"...It was more of an error than an era..."

"...The same flock with their archaic hymn..."

"...people's endless stories and problems..."

"...Of pretending, pushing and duping..."

"...The Bulawayans were livid about many, many peculiar issues..."

"...but you give me something painfully real!.."

"...Hence cranes are like the thighs of a tortoise..."

"...at all times she wondered whether his head wasn't full of wind..."

"...Land. Legislation? Constitution? Consultations?.."

"...This day is not a holiday, this day is a vigil to mourn..."

"...She lost trust in those who were supposed to protect her..."

Beginning a weekly poetic commentary by Ndaba Sibanda. Look around you and see where the words resonate...

"...professing one thing but practicing another..."

The uphill battle...

"...during the reign of the unseated strongman..."

"...a committed unifier -- yes, a committer of crimes -- NO..."

" It was their humble version of The Country Has Talent..."

"...not only the right cut but a saintly one too..."

"...Do you know how many houses could be bought..."

"...whether her calling him a mole made him one..."

"...it is a case of crooks out, cooks in?"

"I used to think people desired peace..."

"...How many notorious culprits, or outright criminals..."

"...Dawn stirred with its smiling rays..."

"...She had to go back home..."

"...basic commodities have kissed scarcity AGAIN..."

"...of course, the ruining party was represented..."

"what is stewardship without empathy..."

"Is it not time to cook real food..."

"...a bearing on investment and democracy..."

"That is what he told a man..."

"...If your ruler, to his or her discredit, has always run your nation like it's his or her privately-owned company..."

"...she delivered speeches that eulogised woman freedom stalwarts..."

"...I'm telling you this because I seek to open up doors..."

"...Bulawayo was a fabulous visitor attraction, used to be spotlessness' cousin and definition..."

"...Now with industrial pollution and corruption conquered and buried..."

"...In spite of their adversities, they always find solace in jokes..."

"...The height of hyperinflation happened in mid-November 2008..."

"...please stop, we're starving to death and weak and suffering..."

"...Operation Restore Legacy was one more act of crazy desperation..."

"...Is it supported by gold..."

"...as bigotry is foisted upon them like expired sedatives..."

"Straight she marched into their headquarters..."

"...a hurting truth is slanted toward obduracy..."

"...their goal was to get stinking rich..."

"They sang and shouted with joy as he paced about, whispering..."

"...they will revive THEIR nation..."

"...now the same souls have landed hard on the ground..."

"...sang and sang at a time unknown and wrong..."

"...put away those poverty-prone politicians' poisons..."

"it seems to be collapsing like a pack of crazy cards..."

"...she was a blessing to her patients..."

"...like a crayfish running forward and backward...

"a crusader who cuddled a skunk..."

"...That dehumanizes and destroys decency..."

"...Dishonesty breeds uncertainty..."

"...It's hale and hearty for the mind..."

Where, indeed?

"...cold plates know there is a grave problem..."

"...in an act of mudslinging sibling rivalry..."

"...It's heaven for the corrupt..."

"...sad graveyards of justice..."

"...As the flames of the land 'revolution' were doused..."

"...These destructive pests have no shame..."

"...He was no panAfricanist. Not at all..."

"...Where is the spirit of ubuntu, or humanity in Africa?.."

"...Had she stepped on the tail of a lion?..."

"...I said cheerio to the consumption of meat and eggs..."

"...They twisted and turned with effortless grace and charm..."

"...To pretend that poverty is shrinking is stupidity ..."

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"...She excelled to the chagrin of loathers..."

"...Run as if you have torched the touchy tail Of a lion..."

"...Why fear a darkness without leopards?..."

"...the poor and powerless say what is getting worse is poverty..."

"...He propounded a bold trajectory, a climate revolution..."

"As the drunk teacher was saying..."

"That he was a towering figure was no debate..."

"...A life whose paths lead to ruin..."

"...This must be sweet, sweet medicine!..."

"...They drummed, drank, sang, danced..."

"...Let us be the proverbs: our lives are short..."

"...they battled with inhaling and exhaling..."

"...Detoxing was up and instructive..."

"...dogged denialists..."

"...Did I know that you are a new reality..."

"...what you get when you mix crap and spectacular..."

"...They danced their despairs away..."

"...Power dodges poverty, pity doesn't pay..."

"...During these turbulent times, salute a nurse!..."

Nature has a way...

"2020, she said, you had better know this..."

"...if you are not here just say 'absent'..."

"...government contracts to cut the unkempt hair of government officials!..."

"...Is there a plausible justification for that appalling level of stooping and descent..."

"...every day she yelled out names, words..."

"...fatherly roles are not chauvinist..."

"...of termites and serpents slithering into the backyard..."

"...the new normal is the abnormal..."

"if ever there was a beautiful brook, then she is the one..."

"...having languished in bondage for forty years..."

"...heavy with rain, they were ready and reckless..."

"...her passion of performing poetry..."

"Honey bird, honey bird, Nkoviyo's honey bird..."

"...rolling, rolling stones from hell..."

"...I got bored with staring out of the window..."

"...a rainbow of nationalities and a kaleidoscope of ethnicities..."

"...He laments over a love ship that carries a crushed friendship..."

"...Think of animated emoji reactions to a post..."

"...In the dark he drifted and strained his eyes..."

"...He looked over his shoulders daily...."

"Living for months without a drop of water..."

"...Ngiyeke kicked him where it hurts..."

"...A sense of justice said to them..."

"...a violation of rights, an exhibition..."

"...you're on your own after a score..."

"...Please beautiful bottom: he pleaded for mercy..."

"...They said he had a rare alertness..."

"... Exactly 7 days before the big day I danced all day long..."

"...the state of the world was a commotion..."

"...a nightclub of famine and fools..."

"...on the wall a painting of a dove..."

"...a year that has not only confused the entire humanity but has also confined it..."

"A coffee culture shines in splendor in Africa..."

"...Let laughter, love, sympathy and hope glow and grow..."

"...a theme of love in the air..."

"...a passion, a prophecy, a muse..."

"...the profoundest emotions they excavate from within..."

"...the potential buyer in the shop was like a creepy meteorite..."

"...not only a shield but also a great instructor..."

"...Some say it is a mystery, an adventure..."

"The heroic hostess talked about a dam..."

"...he says when convention died innovation resurrected..."

"...powerful but also prescient..."

"...accusations and arrests for exposing the corrupt and greedy..."

"...One of the biggest, bubbliest and brightest...

"...a sanctuary of saneness and freshness..."

"How do they do all this? Where are they from?.."

"...Mount Nyiragongo... As if it had been waiting for darkness..."

"...let me unlock your feats, your benefits..."

"...She was always calm, careful and elegant..."

"...Perfected perfectly by imperfections..."

"A wanted jail fleer, a window jumper..."

"...Seas acidifying, species on the brink..."

"...I spotted her wriggling around..."

"...One who would rather give money to charity than live a lavish lifestyle..."

"...they sought to interview for the position of office boy...

"...Where did the kissing lady live?..."

"Mutating, sneaking in, spreading..."

"...He has been named the nation's hottest footballer at the moment..."

"...he looked around and saw devastation, dismay, and death..."

"...To cruise to the moon, to Mars..."

"...She knows the importance of food production..."

"...They grow, grind and winnow crops..."

"...Words can reach a fever pitch in a brain!..."

"Bu helps chaps manage their chronic illnesses..."

"...a sense of freedom danced..."

"...it hoped to cajole a companion and be cosy a bit..."

"...To them she was fun, friendly, and frank..."

"...he told her something silly about his whereabouts..."

"...she denied with: no, no, I just feel very free..."

"...forests are home to 80% of land creatures..."

"...I saw icons and great thinkers. What remarkable talents!..."

"...she couldn't figure out who he was..."

"...why does a hyena laugh?..."

"Voyager Thabi had seen it all..."

"...allow me to unwrap your splendor which empowers me..."

"...I am beginning to wonder what 'rights' are...

"...He was the victims' one and only hope..."

"...a hush-hush slipped out..."

"...a perfect pollutant, a poverty of truth..."

"...embark on my crazy chronicles..."

"...we're faced with the chief ironies of our businesses..."

"...I've been taking this kind of trash for too long..."

"...The attendees were stunned..."

"...we rejoice when it croons with us..."

"...her pen patted her paper like a chum..."

"The usual way to celebrate Easter..."

"...Naming is as psychological as it is spiritual..."

"...a poor, petrifying, parched plainness..."

"...even scarier and riskier to humans..."

"...in a freeing, frank and fearless fashion..."

"my poem is an opposite, reverse, backward one..."

"...does their brotherhood diminish by virtue of borders..."

" Voyager Thabi had seen it all..."

"...not because it comes once per year..."

"...I don't get it, economists, please..."

"...the ambivalences of seeking spiritual guidance..."

Taken from the poet’s upcoming book titled, "The Birds That Never Learned To Fly: We Have No More Tears", poems touching on such issues as critical energy challenges bedeviling South Africa and Zimbabwe, mounting frustration and disgruntlement of the citizens, and the beauty of nature.

Taken from the poet’s upcoming book titled, "The Birds That Never Learned To Fly: We Have No More Tears", poems touching on such issues as critical energy challenges bedeviling South Africa and Zimbabwe, mounting frustration and disgruntlement of the citizens, and the beauty of nature.

"...what can be lovelier than its love?.."

"Not all politicians are leaders..."

"...What happened to that bold breeze..."

"...paper and leaves soared, sped in the wind..."

"...we see lessons, we learn and take ownership..."

"...the charade and lies that are paraded and propagated as the truth..."

"...you harped blame on detractors and the West..."

"A poet's vision transcends boundaries ..."

"...A heroine who champions free speech..."

"...They fight with every fibre of their being to remain in power..."

"...I'm here to pour furious facts forth..."

"...a dogged dog bred to be discerning and bold..."

"... Adopted as a man of conscience, he spoke for the voiceless..."

"...the mental health needs of the persons impacted by a genocide in Zimbabwe..."

"This poem explores the Zimbabwe government’s politics of prejudicial cruelties."

"This poem explores a writer’s ways of reinvention and rejuvenation."

"This poem explores a plea for an energy transition."

"...you are all tireless tigresses and torchbearers ..."

Sibanda is a Bulawayo-born poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer who has a passion for themes and topics around conservation, nature, development and justice.

"...is this question a waste of breath and time..."

"Riled residents say they are powerless...

"...This is serious business for the government. It’s no laughing matter..."

"...let us ease into the realm of technology..."

"...there was a global conspiracy theory..."

"...Think of unthinkable words prefixed with un-..."

"...The odor of neglect and scarcity..."

"...wildfires that were raging across that country in North America..."

"...I want to read poems about breakthroughs...."

Sibanda is a Zimbabwean-born poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer who has a passion for themes and topics around conservation, nature, development and justice. He believes that he is a poet in prose, and hence he has never looked back since building and marching into the very first poetry pharmacy in the world, where poetry … and poetry and poetics are the most tonic threesome prescriptions!

"...a forest not far from folks howled and flinched in fear..."

"...Forests were protected and expanded to allow for biota to create..."

"...Proverbs can be profound, paradoxical or oxymoronic..."

"...to unravel the mysteries of the moon and the sun..."

"...In tears and want, you start counting the years..."

"...feeling fooled by a diet of stinks..."

"...An ideal proposition and a process to propose and present a voice..."

"...At worst it always ended in teary, brutal bitterness..."

"...no soul or silver can take me out of you..."

"...Are the days of polluting vehicles numbered?"

"...Drought, you speak a bare language of betrayal and brutality..."

"...At their core there is a commonality..."

"...peerless pacesetters, South Africa’s men’s Rugby World Cup team..."

"...pivotal to all life on our delicate planet..."

"...A superfluous and ridiculous outlay by any measure..."

"...her harmonies breezed ease into the broken hearts..."

"...diverse readers were dared into being discerning, diligent, intelligent..."

"...What exactly is the import of civilization in the 21th century..."

"...getting through the year is a blessing..."

"...please put up a good fight..."

"...what’s your favorite dish?.."

"...that past of laxity and ashes..."

"...Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site..."

"...How is it not a genocide, Charumbira?..."

"... the taxonomy and anatomy of fruits and vegetables..."

"...all-female a-cappella quintet from Bulawayo, aptly named Nobuntu..."

"...Has it made you recover yourself and focus?..."

"...In Zim, the start of Feb saw the pitiless pulling down of the poor people’s houses..."

"...Please tell me more about your dream, darling..."

"...the works and legacies of real heroes speak for themselves..."

"...Critics say things are rushed in this frantic, fast-paced craze..."

"...One is unintended, the other is purposed..."

"You land on the backdrop of mad money laundering..."

"...How does one celebrate 44 years of lack of progress..."

"...eclipses that all beings, anywhere, anytime experience..."

"...It is our soul. Our present and future..."

"...Does it have or can it have a soul?..."

"...an abode that houses hopes and happiness..."

"...the echoes of African drums and ululations..."

"...For the majority, it has been a lumpy, lousy and thorny wobble..."

"... a new, darkish and dancing Friday night..."

I seek more and more band members for this key gig

"...he values playing a pivotal parental role..."

"...Where are Insizas waters..."

"...famished farms in Gwanda are howling, lowing..."

"...At the centre of learning and teaching is the learner..."

"...famous for his astonishing talent and innovative approach..."

"...Poetry can be a painful protest..."

"...Songs are therapies for the soul..."

"...A mentor to many. An iconic, lovely lady..."

"...The snoring was sudden and deep!..."

"...see Africa in her purity, totality and dignity..."

"...terrifying criminals are usurping the local people’s lands..."

"...Solar energy is life..."

"...a vivid picture in the mind of the reader..."

"When vice, sleaze and greed sneeze..."

"...Please let there be light at the end of that tired tunnel..."

"...Your polish is peaceful. Steady, you stand at life’s crossroads...."

"...ideas and visions that the late and living heroes and legends sought to bring into life..."

"...Please pass this word around about our world..."

"... For now, the ominous mosquito can brag..."

"...illegal miners were ensnared inside a mine in Stilfontein...

"...Is this not your passion?..."

"...Happiness and health are twins..."

"...pray and put away all 2024’s slumps and sorrows..."

"...a timely feat by all means..."

"...I will write till nature is rightly nurtured..."

"...some digital platforms are awash with disinformation..."

"...The bard’s pen built a bond..."

"The two tall and talkative teenagers were debating..."

"...You’re often seen as a symbol of plenty..."

"...Ours is an adventurous, nomadic sea life ..."

"...bitter truths and enshrines that have been ignored for too long..."

"...freedom of speech, media, and artistic expression..."

"...it’s time to have the future double-booked..."

"...an interspecific interface between a human and a feral feathered friend..."

"Life is dynamic and diverse..."

"...A see-through that is often unseen..."

"...presented his license and wished himself good luck..."

"...Timbuktu’s treasure trove of early scrolls..."

"...Shouldn’t a home be as homely and convivial as the hug of hospitality?..."

"...the world’s first middle-ear
transplant using 3D-printed bones..."

"...parading the loot is cheap, chilling and ill..."

"Let’s take a tour..."

"...why do you deceive yourself...?"

"...Bold and brilliant, Lovemore Tshuma is our cultural icon..."

"...I hear the calm 'pattering' these days..."

"...honeycombs are staple in a honeyguide’s diet..."

Short

And who can say where he is, or where he will eventually find himself?

Apocalyptic prose from a prophet of liberation...

And when there is nothing left to impoverish, what then?...

Spring makes some writers silly...

"...at heart, they embody care and love..."

Essay

The Piker Press celebrates its 12th anniversary this week. With Ndaba Sibanda, we exhort all writers to free the stories within them.

Instruction in the use of sentences can be demonstrated this way...

How shall we learn to see the meaning of the world, the universe around us?

"Dudula is a splinter group from a segment in the Put South Africans First movement which executed and promoted anti-immigrant sentiment and campaigns on social media networks."

Ndaba Sibanda speaks about his latest book.

"...What does the acronym SADC stand for, anyone?..."

"...Life, though it’s yours, has to impact others in one way or the other..."

Opinion

Author and poet Ndaba Sibanda reviews Marianne Szlyk's book of poetry, "I Dream of Empathy."

"...Deception dines with pride and lies and absurdities..."

"The UK has a new prime minister…"

Sibanda reviews "Trouble for Sale" by Maina Wahome.

Zimbabwe has launched a new currency backed by gold...

Nonfiction

An inspiring, true story...

Prose

"...Bekele visualizes a better world for all..."

"...a state of emergency has been declared in Peru..."

"... Are the current leaders of these parities principled or visionary?..."

"...This nightmarish regime has failed grimly...."