50.50

"They have killed Sizakele”

A poem by Jessica Horn. Part of a series of poems by African feminist writers for 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence.

Jessica Horn

10 December 2012

For Sizakele Sigasa, AIDS and lesbian activist, murdered with
Salome Massoa, 7 July 2007, Soweto
Where is she
in this land of crushed stone?
Where is she
as morning dresses the day
in the dirtied lace of tired gospels
Where is she
our sister Sizakele
in this brittle dawn?
White powdered faces
ululate against an unremarkable sky
as bullets tip the minute hand
...one, two, three...
collarbones crumble
...four, ﬁve, six...
Here where sun chases starlight
here in heartbreak’s wilderness
here she is
embroidering morning dew
beading our memories
in the red and rainbows of militancy
Here in this theatre of slaughter
she is clearing a round of clay earth
intoning a litany
calling for a witness
You say: it is not our tradition
She says: is this your tradition
to rip the pulse from my chest
to deny a mother the dignity of dying ﬁrst?
You say: in the name of the father and the son
She says: in the name of my sisters
slain in meaningless massacres
for loving their own skin
A people do not survive
monsoons of oppression
only to savage their own kin.

Read other articles in the series, 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence 2012.

Related articles

Published in: 50.50
The Green of Her Soul

Written by: Korto Williams All articles by: Korto Williams
Published in: 50.50
The Minister and Me

Written by: Isabella Matambanadzo All articles by: Isabella Matambanadzo
Published in: 50.50
Conversations about home (at a deportation centre)

Written by: Warsan Shire All articles by: Warsan Shire
Published in: 50.50
A Revolutionary woman

Written by: Marwa Sharafeldin All articles by: Marwa Sharafeldin
Published in: 50.50
He Bullies

Written by: Virginia Phiri All articles by: Virginia Phiri
Published in: 50.50
Today she is not here

Written by: Gabeba Baderoon All articles by: Gabeba Baderoon
Published in: 50.50
Your Mother’s First Kiss

Written by: Warsan Shire All articles by: Warsan Shire
Published in: 50.50
Mother of Mohamed and Maria, Daughters of Mrs Baheya (Egypt)

Written by: Marwa Sharafeldin All articles by: Marwa Sharafeldin

Comments

We encourage anyone to comment, please consult the oD commenting guidelines if you have any questions.

Related

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. Please check individual images for licensing details.