I WILL TELL IT TO MY WITCHDOCTOR by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali

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I will tell it all 

to the witchdoctor, 

as I sit on a mat 

of woven grass and beads; 

and dry monkey bones 

shrink my head and 

rattle the eardrums.

I will listen to his voice 

chanting incantations 

like a priest giving a blessing 

to a soul seeking solace.

I will ask him 

to boil a pot of herbs, 

and brew a love potion 

as strong as a mule's milk.

I will give it 

to the world

whose eyes are myopic with misery; 

and this world will wink a smile, 

and dandle me like a devoted mother, 

and smother me with affection 

I have never known before.