Here is another poem that you might have missed.
He whispered so
the bathroom walls carry the scent
of decaying argwood and burnt sage/
the perfume of a lover who
plants kisses on your forehead in disdain/
and leaves you on your knees, sobbing,
for another whose foreign name
makes your tongue curl/
you watch the cracked work of art that you are
in the mirror he gifted you last valentine's/
wishing you had her skin, her teeth,
her love for antiques and deeper seas/
the marble floor cradles your body
while you mourn a love that never was/
cursing yourself. He whispered so/
Uma-Thandeka Muhwati is a college student from Harare, Zimbabwe. She spends her free time writing and reading. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in The Journal for African Youth Literature and Odd Magazine.