Cold fire

Cities are ablaze,
ablaze with shame,
babies born into skin
made wrong, sore
keening for their
mothers, sisters of
liberty done crying,
wring our woes
to their rhythm.

Cities are ablaze,
ablaze with shame,
throats ripped in
broad daylight on
a busy city street,
sisters of liberty
done crying,
wring our woes
to their rhythm.

Cities are ablaze
ablaze with shame,
old man on the
ground, bleeding in
a dearth of humans,
sisters of liberty
done crying,
wring our woes
to their rhythm.

Cities are ablaze,
ablaze with shame,
eyes closed to that
unbearable frost
not wanting to see,
sisters of liberty
done crying,
wring our woes
to their rhythm.

Cities are ablaze
ablaze with shame,
raw embers that will
die no more, fire in
her belly that won’t
let go, sisters of
liberty done crying,
wring our woes
to their rhythm.

Thérèse is a South African poet, who resides in Cape Town and has published a series of poems on Litnet of which two were longlisted and one shortlisted to appear in a Louis Leipoldt biography. Another two poems were published in Carapace poetry magazine. She wrote a column for Renaissance magazine, and published opinion pieces, as well as book reviews in the Cape Times and on Litnet. In 2018 her flash fiction piece was published in literary magazine Type/Cast. She also published poetry on AVBOB’s poetry website.

Photography by Kurt Viers.