Welcome to Ndaba Sibanda

Photograph by Cpl. Jad Sleiman, US Marine Corps

This evening I would like to post some prose and poetry by Ndaba Sibanda, a writer from Zimbabwe who is now based in Saudi Arabia.  Welcome!  Mr. Sibanda has something for everyone.

Friendly Wars

Ever since his appointment to the lofty position of defense minister, he seemed to be gripped by some phobia. Some residents claimed the irrational fear stemmed from the possibility that he did not know what he was expected to do. Others thought that he was a lucky coward who found himself having to oversee a strategic security portfolio which he did not deserve or understand.

Mr. Gubuzela `s political history was not well-known in the country except for the controversial claims he made each time he had an opportunity about his heroic past during the liberation war.  Not only were the citizens unconvinced about his war liberation credentials , they were also skeptical of his ability to turn around the national army into a truly professional , patriotic and non-partisan force that could be the envy of  the region, if not the continent . It had committed untold atrocities in the country and beyond national boundaries.

He was once labelled a “Wild Useless Claimant” by a no-nonsense newspaper when he claimed that all the country`s political and economic woes were visited upon the nation by the “stubborn” opposition leaders, the ruling party`s detractors and their Western allies.  What was a known fact was that he was a shameless bootlicker who heaped praises upon the ruining leadership with sickening frequency and subservience.   It was no secret  that was a Grade Two primary school dropout who had endeared himself to the leadership by worshipping them at every rally or meeting , and terrorizing any soul who challenged the big wig`s bigotry and destructive policies at every conceivable corner.

Then one day one foreign journalist decided to ask him one general question. “Sir, please shed light on what you are doing or intend doing as minister of defense to keep soldiers fit?”

He was clad in his civilian clothes in the form of dazzling yellow socks, white shoes, a red pair of baggy trousers, a green T-shirt, and a dark and blue, deeply cupped hat that seemed to bury his head and obstruct his view of the world. With exaggerated steadiness, he cleared his throat and said, “Soon l will start some friendly wars with neighboring countries”.

Malleable Prospect

let us reminisce

and romance

let us rekindle

those fires

of yesteryear

of heart and heat

let us boldly board

a recollection bus

of positive events

of past actions

let us live ‘n love

in the present

no matter

how different

because it is all

we can correct

and curve

into our future

Intoxicating Songs and Sights

I just like to stray into the forest each time l visit the countryside
How I like to immerse myself into its thickness and feel the
awesomeness of Mother Nature surge into my veins

The proximity to a life undiluted intoxicates my spirits
I heed the birds' advice as they sing their happy
harmonies in their charming and chirping ways

Their serenading expertly makes love to my eardrums
I can't tell you how the creepy reptiles wow me
to no end as they wiggle and jiggle in their
amazing fashion to their hazy habitats

I marvel at the beauty of vegetation
and condemn deforestation
in the strongest possible
terms

Bio 

Ndaba Sibanda  has also contributed to the following literary projects: It`s Time, Free Fall and Windows In The Sky. Ndaba’s  poems, essays and short stories have been featured in many and various  journals and magazines like: The Piker Press,  Bricolage, The Dying Goose, Lost Coast Review, Magazine ,Whispering Prairie Press, Saraba Magazine,allAfrica.com, Jungle Jim, Outside In Literary & Travel Magazine ,The Metric, Unlikely Stories, Santa Fe Writers Project - SFWP Journal, Elohi Gadugi  Journal, The Subterranean Quarterly, Miracle , Red Bird Chapbooks ,The Joker,  Florida Flash, Fjords Review, storySouth, Annapurna Magazine, Festival Of Language, quiet Shorts, The African Street Writer, Poetry Potion.com, Books Live , Whispers and  Poetrysoup .

Sibanda received a Starry Night ART School scholarship in 2015.

I'm surprised that it's taken me this long to post some music by Tommy Flanagan this season, but here it is.

Here is "Sunset and the Mockingbird": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jode48uf4bU&list=PLmwFuExypa6QHVmY0Q1NCjvEM-QVp4ie9

This is his version of "Too Late Now": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-C9o__375c&index=11&list=PLmwFuExypa6QHVmY0Q1NCjvEM-QVp4ie9

Flanagan also appeared on Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus.  Let's listen to "St. Thomas."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii4VBNXFZOo

I know I've posted a number of different versions of "Caravan," but here is Flanagan's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqOpMBhvsoc

I'll finish with his "Autumn Leaves," so fitting now:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgoNJj7zGsM