ASHLEY MAWERE

ASHLEY MAWERE

A TEACHING FOR THE DISTANCE

Scream for war as men are born

Shout for peace as wives fall asleep

Suffering will be

A battlefield for the children to inherit.

Let those who remain

hold fast their swords

Let those who march

clench tight their shields

but my hands are weary to fight this war

A war whose faceless foe I care to question

A battle between men

yet women draw the plans for war

Teach me a lesson for the distance of life

As my friends fall to the noise of war

Tell me why blood soaks not these streets?

In the thick of the jungle they claim to fight

yet no one trembles in fear.

The proud and arrogant are first to fall

The ones once glorified are soon shunned with age

So if I’m to wage war teach me how to fight

Educate me so I too may survive

I who dares to question if nothing is true

I who cares to understand what is permitted

Should all creation seek to follow,

which liar is then deemed wise?

In the teachings of a father

help me gain understanding

In the nurturing  of a mother

Educate me to heed knowledge.

With birth pangs men gain life

With the last breath mothers give life

So breathe again ye orphan battling life

Hold fast a pen sharper than a sword

Clench from within the pages the shield of knowledge

Life is a battle not often won by might

A civil war between friends

A coalition between oil and water

Fighting to excel from your mistakes

So if I’m to succeed teach me how to chase success

Educate me so I may achieve my dreams.....

AT MIDNIGHT BY CANDLE LIGHT

Tip-toe in darkness.

On stilts of pain,

I escape the tears

Tip-toe by daylight.

In trenches of sorrow,

I conceal the grief

You call it hope

Well I question the heavens.

You call it faith

When will my hands touch the horizon?

If you tell me to trust

Why does the leaf fall?

Tell me more about dawn

At midnight by candle light.

Tell me about pain

Why does it seem to tickle?

Tell me about nightmares

Then what is reality?

Humbly i count my blessings,

Soon I’m comfortable sifting dung

In my part I prayed

Yet I feel betrayed.

My knees got painful

At midnight by candle light

THE LAST LIE ON MY LIPS

It's time I held my breath

It's time I pulled my hair

It's time I closed my eyes

Sitting where the walls dread to be smooth

Sitting with my gaze where the candle glows low

I sit cornered by the darkness of truth

It's time I held my breath

holding back my love for your presence

It's time I pulled my hair

lest my hands reach out and pull you closer

It's time I closed my eyes

and dreamt of loving you

Even where the walls dread to be smooth

I'll caress the creases till we sail so smooth

Even where the candle glows low

I’ll cuddle and be your warmth

I sit in darkness cornered by truth

I can't get out coz this isn’t true 

I'm holding my breath

because each breath will make her stay

I'm pulling my hair

better it be if I had never pulled her soul

With my eyes closed

I dread nightmares of breaking her heart

So I gaze where the candle glows low

thinking of how best to let her go

Not all walls were built to be smooth

friendship maybe but not my love for you

Cornered by the darkness of truth

tell me what runs between me and you

I whispered on a Monday

Not to touch her skin on a Tuesday

I had her smiling by Wednesday

To hold back the tears on Thursday

If she confesses love on Friday

I'm sorry; I can't build on a Saturday

Forgive me as I repent on Sunday

I promise not to do it again on Monday

DR TAPIWA ASHLEY MAWERE

DR TAPIWA ASHLEY MAWERE: In the Professional world Ashley Mawere is presented as a doctor who at the dawn of each day awakens in the hopes of being someone’s hero dressed with a stethoscope instead of the old fashioned cape. When the covers are rolled back and his layers exposed, we meet an individual who has walked various paths in his life. With a history in dancing , sport and high adrenaline activities , we see the essence of what inspires his poetry. He writes to relate , to walk in the shoes of others and to see the world from a unique perspective. He is of Zimbabwean origin and there he was born and bred. Fluent in Shona and English, he also has some understanding of other languages such as French and Zulu. Guided by  few words he believes in Truth , Ambition , Entity , Purpose and Standard as being the core principles that lead him down a path of honour and respect which he strives to share.