"Zambezi" by Sihle Ntuli

Zambezi
after the Hugh Masekela song “Been Such a Long Time Gone”

in a song of a journey through the Nile
a young man yearning to cross over, 
& while ibhuto was steadily moving towards home    
only to meet the hollow tip of a soldier’s bullet.

on the record was a strong desire to cross over
climaxing on the riverbanks of the Zambezi, 
interlude to tarmac roads of Limpopo hiding a bullet
leading into the slow fade out of an afro jazz song.

& amid the aura left behind near the Zambezi,
emerging spirit resembling that of umkhulu
only to disappear at the dying moments of a song
that resonated with me       down to its final breath.

where echoes left on walls continued to sound like umkhulu
staring at the wall          uncertain if it was really him,
filling up with regret at the departure of his breath
into the neverending story of an unfulfilled knowing.

Sihle Ntuli

Sihle Ntuli is a poet and classicist from Durban, South Africa, who has been featured in SAND Journal, Transition Magazine, and Indiana Review. He is the author of the chapbook Rumblin’ (uHlanga, 2020).

Headshot: Niamh Walsh-Forster

Photo Credit: Staff