2016 Junior Authors Poetry Contest Winner Category 1
Terrance Mawanga, Age 20, Zimbabwe
Eternal Lamentation
Cascading through the frothing thickness of reality
Dragging an avalanche of tainted dreams
Through the purposeless vein of a dejected rhythm
Immersed in a dissident state of persistent melancholy
I soar reflexively through this torturous maze
Perambulating into the depth of a night’s harshness
Then the most delicate clicking sound
Breaks mellifluously through the vociferous stillness
Immediately luring my deeper sensory faculties
Into a burst of lethargic; hypnosis-inspired elation
Her phenomenal effulgence drawing me into her irresistible spell
A body that epitomizes sublime perfection
Her eyes inviting my being’s wholeness to hers
Inducing that urge to stare and never to cease to stare
That moment and that moment alone
Symbiotically decimates the rigidity of the semblance of the strangeness
That languidly lies between our clearly disturbed, unfamiliar souls
Ripping through the quagmire of both our painful reminiscences
As we share our despairs passionately in that shouting silence
Advancing, I beg for the solace of her warm embrace
A quiver permeates into the escalating form of a sublime illumination
Perspiration oozing, I leap athletically into swift motion
Punctuated by episodic, gluttonous inhalations of abused air
Edging even closer, her cologne excites my nostrils
But she walks past as nothingness escapes from my mouth
Allowing her to gracefully continue on, unhindered
And I know then, that never
Will I ever, see her again.
*
Terrance Mawanga
Growing up is filled with many unforgettable moments. In the wake of what I perceived to be a missed opportunity, I journeyed into a world of mystery, regret and was emotionally drained. Finally, I penned a piece describing in a somewhat abstract manner, the forgone melancholy. It managed to rejuvenate the bonds of my broken soul and lift me to a wonderful hope.
