You know how they say when you grow up in a burning house, you assume the whole world is on fire? Well, I didn’t grow up in a burning house. Instead, I grew up in a home where we hid the flames. We were all secretly burning inside, but…
My name is Zinhle Ndyike, and I’m from the Vaal Triangle, specifically in Meyerton/Highbury-Henley on Klip. I want to take a moment to share my story in the hope that it reaches those who have ever felt overlooked, belittled, or underestimated. I understand how isolating those feelings can be,…
I vividly recall the awe-inspiring wonder of my early years, when becoming an adult felt like the ultimate goal. I used to watch my parents, aunts, and uncles, convinced they had everything figured out, and I admired them with a mixture of reverence and envy. Life, however, had other…
If you had told me a decade ago that I’d become a voice of creative influence in Uganda—while raising two sons, surviving the chaos of post production, and working on studying human rights law in Japan—I probably would’ve laughed, spilled tea on your shoes, and gone back to sketching…
Dear relentless love,
Look at what you made me do; I’m a pretty unfiltered fool for you. Through the epic ups and downs, through the tides that came with the deathly storms that rose high above the clouds, through the countless moments that got broad smiles converted from vivid frowns,…
I hope you remember
the poem from your birthday.
Let’s set aside my reeking anxiety,
how I failed your audience,
how I couldn’t articulate,
and how shame sought me
with persistence.
What I’m trying to say is—
I hope you remember
how much I valued you,
to the depths where lava is found,
the core of the earth,
the core of…
Imagine this… a wide, clear blue African sky above you with the horizon that disappears behind the green hills and mountains, in a village filled with old, interesting stories passed down through generations. This is where I come from. My roots are fixed deep in the red most fertile…
The wheels rolling unstoppable as time passes by,
There in with different souls as passersby,
Each soul a beauty, a specialty in tow,
Leaving colors splattered where spirit glows.
The good old memories, their sweetness clear,
As fresh as an untainted atmosphere,
The chatters, bickers of love we embrace
Lived through seasons in time and space.
Chapters…