William Khalipwina Mpina is a Malawian poet, fiction writer, economist and teacher. Many of his works appear in literature magazines such as Expound and Nthanda review, and in nine anthologies. His books include Shadows of Death and other poems (2016), Namayeni (2009) and Njiru (2003).
Wild Thoughts
I always have wild thoughts
When I think about my past
Sparkling with crimson hell
Dying without soft hearts
Crying hello into my ears
My past, don’t tell me about it
I always hear echoes of asphyxiation
Pepper and sword blended together
Razor and knives rousing my eyes
Against me faces turned
My vision, bleak and blurred
Warming my end
I always sniff at my past with fury
A footstool of my fate
A cleft of hopelessness
Singing, freezing and pushing
Looking a far, not at the approaching fog
My past, a sweet harsh voyage
~
Malawi
Icy flames
Always cycling in a circle
And circling in a cycle
…in silence
Nobody knows
How long…
Only the gods