blank page 

The page begs like a hungry man 
it calls for even the faintest memory 
a water colour hung in the middle of the brightest room 
slowly decaying into transparency 

it calls for the worst memory 
the dirty one that clings to the nailbed 
and stains everything you write 
until you recoil from the mess of your own touch. 

 - Olwethu Mxoli

Missing Women 

A woman was found 
body burned beyond recognition 
rotting in a closet 
hanging from a tree 

a woman was found dead 

women are always found dead 
their names fertilize social media feeds 
and bloom into hashtags 

every photograph is filtered with the ghost of her smile 
the entire country sighs over how pretty she was
the girl who was going to be a lawyer 
an accountant 
a mother 

no meal is complete without the retelling 
her death replayed at dinner tables 
across the country 

the internet gorges on her 
until it rips indignantly at the seams 
spilling its ugly regret 
into the street. 

 - Olwethu Mxoli