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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Your low voice_underneath
banner_of dust blast
Foot upon_the floor
The seat,the base,the bottom_
The lower spring_underneath
Your underbody_
Aching on the_ground
Underbelly_
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Standing on the edge, ke kgojana ntle fase,
A small prince watching the world spin past me.Ka thoko ka thoko, I walk the thin line,
Searching for a spark, a breakthrough, a sign.
But the road is unforgiving, mokgotha o a nkgoromeletša,
Pushing me into the dark where the shadows gather.
Down into khwiti ya go lahlega, the lost abyss,
A place where the path and the purpose dismiss.
Gongwe go fela go sele, I pray for the dawn,
Waiting for the heavy, stormy night to be gone.
But the quiet is heavy, the silence is loud,
Walking through the noise of an indifferent crowd.Khupamarama e tletse ka mpa, the secrets I hold,
Unspoken stories, truths left untold.
It’s a weight in the belly, a ache in the chest,
A restless soul that is searching for rest.
Now moepologelong ke ribame, I bow to the floor,
At the place of digging, I can’t take any more.
The labor is deep, the soil is cold,
But this isn't the end of the story foretold.
Look closely, bona, I break through the shroud,Eupša seriti se tlosetsa ka godimo—above the cloud!
My spirit is leaping, my aura will rise,
No longer defeated
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Ntlhatswe, o ntebale,
O nthlhokomologe.
O se fihle ge o boifa,
gape ke ikhiile
mo kganyogong ye.
Lwa le monagano wa gago
dula o nagana,
naganiša, gore o ipuše.
Cleanse me,
forget me,
ignore me.
Do not come if you fear,
For I have abstained
from this world.
Fight with your mind,
always thinking, meditate,
until you rule yourself.
Ucacise, ucansinge,
uchaze, ukhombise ukungazi kwakho.
Fikelela umoya womuntu
lapho kufihlwe khona amagugu.
Hlaloša gabotse,
nyakisisa, hlaloša,
o bontšhe go se tsebe ga gago.
Fihlelela moya wa motho
mo go utilwego mahumo.
Clarify, search thoroughly,
explain, and show
your ignorance.
Reach the human spirit
Where the treasures are hidden.
Cabanga ngakho:
Incwadi ivalwe
,idala esiyindida.
Nagana ka gona:
Puku e tswetšwe,
ya kgale sa malepetlo
.sa go thlola hlogo
Think about it:
A book closed,
ancient and a mystery.
that brings about
the human spirit
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
it gone, dissolved into thin air?
No, yet it falls short,
merely needed, quietly required.
Is it far beyond reach?
It is lost.
Uprooted, dislodged, cast aside,
vanished into the void, strayed far from home.
Scarcely present, desperately needed,
discarded to the winds.
Set down upon feet that are not its own,
abandoned entirely, left behind to wither.
Curled small, diminished by scarcity,
verging on non-existence,
softened by fragility and weakness.
Absent without leave,
lost along a twisted path,
pushed to the rear, left to trail behind,
taken outside and abandoned to the dark.
Absence upon absence—it is not here,
nowhere to be found beneath the skies,
unmarked in the records, unwritten in the log.
Yet once considered, once weighed as enough,
truly sufficient,
measured and perfectly complete.
It is found—it is met—
right here in this very space.
Yet he is gone, she is gone.
The waters have washed through; what was, has departed,
yearning for home, longing for where it belongs.
Never to return, never again,
borne away by shift, surrendered to abandonment,
forgotten and ignored.
One who never knew the path of learning,
no traveler on this road.
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
I drink the bright sky,
I climbed the road of colors,
I entered through the roof of the empty house of wind,
I then entered at the feet of a rock,
I pass by the feet of the glittering and ancient sea.
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Endless nights unfold above,
Moo mefala ya legodimo e swantšhang lerato la rena.
Where cosmic orbits picture our love.
Ka 1948, leswiswi le la kgale le ile la ikaganya,
In 1948, this ancient darkness aligned itself,
Mola Kgoši ya Dithorobero (King of Terrors) e sa fela e nyaka go tlemaganya
While the King of Terrors still sought to bind
Moya wa rena ka lethogo la go homola—
Our spirit with a silent curse—
Fela dinaledi tša ditšhakatšhaka (fireflies) tša mollo tša tšhuma kgauswi,
Yet stars of fireflies of fire ignited nearby,
Tša phutholla go hlatlamana gare ga bošego bjo bo kasetšeng,
Unfolding sequence in the middle of the quiet night,
Ponego ya gauta e e benyang ka botse,
A golden vision shining beautifully,
Ya dipalo le ea nnete,
Mathematical and true,
E ngwetšwego wena fela.
Written for you only.
Ka boikemišetšo bjo bogolo re kgotlelela sefoka se,
With great determination we endure this challenge,
Re nyatša meriti kgahlanong le difahlego;
We defy shadows face to face;
Ga go na lehu la go straightforward le ka kobang go rata ga rena,
There is no simple death that can bend our will,
Re ipolela maemo a magodimo, re eme tšwiri.
We claim the heavenly realms, standing firm.
Gare ga lešoko le le kgodišang, seetša se thuba bodiba,
In persuasive grace, light breaks the deep,
Mme sa tsoša ditoro tše re di bolokileng—
And wakes the dreams we kept—
Moratwa waka yo motse, diphakeng tša dinaledi,
My beautiful beloved, in the spaces of the stars,
Botse bjo bo sa felego bo ka se ke ba hwa.
Eternal beauty will never die.
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Re agile tswalano ya segwera sa khutšo,
Bjale ke gare ga go kgetha—go fodiša pelo goba go go lebala.
Ke tšikitšano e boima ya tselabedi moyeng wa ka,
Ke leka go thabiša sekepe seo se rwelego maikutlo a ka.
Ke bothata bja go hloka tharollo, boemo bjo boima bja tsela,
Tselakgaoga ye e hlokang tšwelopele.
Nthwala o ntheše lefelong leo nka lebalang megokgo ye,
Ka gobane ke nlaba lerageng, ke hlobaela khutlong e fapanego.
Ke eme maharaneng a ditsela, ke hlokile leano,
Ke swere ka diatlha tše pedi ge legato la rena le kgaoga lefifing.
Nthwala o ntheše moo lethata le khutšago,
Pele molete wa lerato o mmeletša ka gare.
Ke nwelela lerageng le le tseneletšego, ke kweretšwa ke maemo,
Kgaogano e gare magareng, thulano ya batho ba ba sa dumelelaneng.
Ke tlamilwe ke tšhitiso e boima, efela ke leka go lokiša ka kgotlelelo,
Ke kwa kgatelelo ya lehuto, ke gofeletšwe meritini ya mothopo.
Ke tšhoganetšo ya ka pele, mmolai wa go se be le tšwelelo,
Ke wetše bothateng jo bo tseneletšego bja lerato.
Nthwala o ntheše lefelong leo nka lebalang megokgo ye,
Ka gobane ke nlaba lerageng, ke hlobaela khutlong e fapanego.
Ke eme maharaneng a ditsela, ke hlokile leano,
Ke swere ka diatlha tše pedi ge legato la rena le kgaoga lefifing.
Nthwala o ntheše moo lethata le khutšago,
Pele molete wa lerato o mmeletša ka gare.
Mawatla a bonolo a kile a mpefolela mošomo o boima,
Bjale kgato ye nnyane ke tšhošetšo ye e nthothomelšago.
Ke kgaotšo ya bothata, nako e bohlokwa le e fragile,
Lebaka le le kopana le phetšego lerageng la kgaogano.
Ditsela tše pedi tša go kopana lefifing...
Ke ema tsi...
Nthwala fela o ntheše lefelong leo...
Moo nka kgonang go lebala megokgo ye.
English translate
We built a bond on quiet kinship,
Now I’m torn between healing this heart or letting you fade.
Caught in a two-way storm, a heavy collision of the soul,
Struggling to steady the ship that carries what's left of me.
It’s a puzzle with no way home, the burden of a heavy road,
A shattered path where forward goes nowhere.
Take me to a place where I can forget these tears,
'Cause I’m drowning in the marsh, crying in an opposite corner.
Standing at the intersecting paths of fate, completely frozen,
Holding fast as our shared path unravels into the dark.
Take me where the noise turns quiet,
Before this pit of love swallows me whole.
I’m sinking in deep mud, mocked by every circumstance,
A rift straight down the center, two souls locked and refusing to yield.
Bound by a heavy rope, yet I keep mending the cracks with patient hands,
Feeling the tight grip of the knot, trapped in the shadows of the edge.
It's a sudden rush of need, a lethal snare with no escape,
Submerged in trouble, drowning in bitter broth.
Take me to a place where I can forget these tears,
'Cause I’m drowning in the marsh, crying in an opposite corner.
Standing at the intersecting paths of fate, completely frozen,
Holding fast as our shared path unravels into the dark.
Take me where the noise turns quiet,
Before this pit of love swallows me whole.
Once, a gentle whisper of sea winds could lighten the burden on my shoulders,
Now every small step feels like a minor scar that still makes me tremble.
It's a tight bottleneck of hardship, a delicate, fragile moment—
Just a fleeting reason, a single moment lost in the thick, inescapable mud.
Two paths crossing in the dark...
I stand completely still...
Just take me to that place...
Where I can finally forget these tears. wa Ditsela tša go Kgaoga
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Mogogi wa mogodu —
The guide has led us to ntwa ya tsogo.
Moferefere ya sesole!
Popomfsa… go kwa khutso?
No.
Kgotso is here.
Boemo bjo bo sa suthego:
It will not move.
It cannot break.
Thlokego ya merusu —
That is the goal.
Poloko ya ntwa must be the end.
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Re tsere tselana ya morong, ra tlogela mohlala wa mmila,
Legato e le maoto mobung, seforo motsila.
Tsa ya go khaoletsa mohlala, e le wa kgato,
Tsona dikhupetso tsa tselana, mowa o seetsa kganya ka lethoko la spoor.
We set off on the hunter's narrow path, leaving clear tracks behind,
Our footsteps pressed deep into the soil, carving a trench in the dust.
Step after steady step, our stride defined the way,
While the wind swept across the track, making the dust glisten along our spoor.
"Resetse morago, o se sale morago,
Mogwera, ke go etele pele, me o ntatele morago.
Motswalle, mmogo re sehlophana sa batsomi,
A re e sware tselana, re tlogele mohlala."
"Stay close behind, do not stray," I called out,
"My friend, I will lead the way, and you follow my steps.
Together, my companion, we are a band of hunters,
Let us hold fast to this trail and leave our mark."
A re hlatlose, re hlahlele, o sale morago,
Re lebe go yo tsoma, re tlogele mohlala wa tsela ya go boyela morago gape.
Tsela ke mokoka wa masaledi, monkgo wa rena ke sehopotso,
Mohlala wa kgatiso wa moriti wa go yo tsoma, go nyaka o lebelela.
Let us push upward, reload our spirits, and follow the trace,
We venture out to hunt, leaving a path to guide us safely home.
For a trail is a backbone woven from memories, our scent lingering as a reminder,
Every footprint is a shadow cast by the hunt, demanding our watchful eye.
O leka go tsela kitimisa, o etelela pejana ka go hlahla,
O lebe mokhobi, o siile mothaka o metse motseleng.
Mohlala senaka, sesupo sa masalesa, sephiri sa mawatla,
Motswalle waka wa go ya nageng, a itatela ka go lora.
I urged the pace forward, guiding us toward the riverbend,
Leaving behind the tall grass rooted along the track.
The trail held its secrets—the call of the horn, the sign of remnants, the quiet mysteries of the wild,
My companion dreamed of the hunt as he ventured into the bush.
Re tsoma, o hloela, o lebala maoto,
Bjale mosese wa gagwe o be o hula fase,
O leka go phagama, o ikela godimo.
Yena o be a nsetse morago nako e telele.
We hunted as he scouted ahead, forgetting the weight of his own feet,
His cloak brushed the dusty ground,
As he strained to rise higher, reaching toward the ridges above.
He had walked beside me and followed my lead for a long time.
Mme he, mogwera wa rena a thoma go sala morago,
A awpela gannyane, a gata gannyane,
Me a feta ka tsela e fosagetsego.
But then, our friend began to drift back,
He faltered slightly, taking a slow, hesitant step,
And wandered off onto the wrong path.
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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Asher Matome Chipu Poem
Mogogi wa mogodu —
The guide has led us to ntwa ya tsogo.
Moferefere ya sesole!
Popomfsa… go kwa khutso?
No.
Kgotso is here.
Boemo bjo bo sa suthego:
It will not move.
It cannot break.
Thlokego ya merusu —
That is the goal.
Poloko ya ntwa must be the end.
Copyright © Asher matome Chipu | Year Posted 2026
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