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Best Poems Written by Mpho Leteng

Below are the all-time best Mpho Leteng poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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Hurled Into the Depths

In Kachikau's winter night, I'm lost at sea
Cloaked in dark waves, where hope's last gleam flees
My wits are scared, no guiding light in sight
Alone, I wander, with no trust in sight

My heart, a presumptuous traitor, deceived
Hurling me into depths, where darkness is conceived
Psychologically lifeless, I've become a shell
Broken dreams behind, my path to hell

Death's crimson stain, my thoughts now marred
Soul bald, ashes of a mind, forever scarred
No cure for pain, my future's dire plight
A broken soul, in pulsing, endless night

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2012



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Alone In My Wakeful Sleep

In the quiet of the night, my thoughts wander,
Like shadows dancing in the moonlight,
Lost in a maze of uncertainty and fear,
I seek solace in the whispers of the night,
Hoping for a guiding light to appear.
Alone in my wakeful sleep I ponder,
The weight of existence heavy on my chest,
Yet in the darkness, there's a glimmer,
A flicker of hope that refuses to rest.
I am a traveler in this realm of dreams,
A wanderer in the vast expanse of my mind,
Searching for answers that may never come,
But still, I journey on, leaving doubt behind.
Alone in my wakeful sleep I wonder,
Embracing the unknown with open arms,
For in the depths of solitude, I find,
A strength that shields me from all harms.
So I'll continue to roam this inner landscape,
Exploring the depths of my being,
Alone yet not lonely, in my wakeful sleep,
Finding peace in the midst of this unseen freeing.

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2015

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Mourning light in shared despair

We laid hands on your empty corpse
We stretched hands to touch your soul
We cried sympathetically looking through your grave
We cursed the provocation that sounded your death knell
But again we are here and mourning
Crying for our beloved friend

In the depths of sorrow, we find solace
In the darkness, we seek the light
The memories of you linger in our hearts
A reminder of a life once bright

A fate worse than death, a loss profound
But in our grief, we are bound
Bound by love and shared despair
Bound by the memories we all bear

So we mourn, we weep, we remember
For in our hearts, you will live forever
A fate worse than death, we survived
But in our love, you will always thrive.

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2012

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Will you be

Your melody whispers, "Stay,"
Grazing me all the way deep to my depths' deep,
Breathing closely, closer into my blues, a clever wheeze.
Like a callow breeze, I feel it deeper in my soul,
Caressing my heart in every part, making me whole.
O, please, will you be my Kazungula bridge, so strong and true?
Will you be there for me when I need you, through and through?

When I need to feel you to the inner deepness, like Mambo's reggae strings,
That bit to my inner deepness, disputing my choice of wings.
Will you be my Seboba water rapids, rushing wild and free?
To hold me well-held in devious holders, undreamt of, yet to be.

In your gentle touch, I find my peaceful nest,
A refuge from life's turmoil, where love is at its best.
Your melody, a balm, soothes my troubled mind,
A symphony of love, that forever will be aligned.

Like a river's flow, your love will never cease,
A constant presence, that brings me to my knees.
In your embrace, I find my home, my heart's desire,
A love that's pure and true, that sets my soul on fire.

So, will you be my Kazungula bridge, my guiding light?
Will you be there for me, through the dark of night?
When I need to feel you, to the inner deepness of my soul,
Will you be my Seboba water rapids, making my heart whole?

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2015

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To My Late Grandma

In the telling told, the stories unfold
Of days long faded, in history's hold
Grandma, your presence, a memory gold
In our hearts engraved, for times untold

In Leteng's remnants, your essence we find
Folded carefully in our minds
Each tale, a treasure, to keep and bind
A legacy of love, forever entwined

We yearn to meet you in the beyond
Where black linings fade, and souls respond
United in spirit, by Modimo's bond
Together again, in peace we abscond

With fathers gone, we carry on
Through trials faced and battles won
Progress made, under the sun
Guided by love, our journey begun

Lefedile, Gabobintshiwe, and Uncle Benson
Their spirits soar, their legacy unbroken
Rest peacefully, in realms unspoken
Their light shines on, a token

Mogo stands tall, a man of might
Oree and I, embracing the light
Through storm and strife, we unite
Beneath dark clouds, seeking insight

The twins, now women, radiant and true
Mum's illness conquered, her strength renewed
Obiditswe and family, a bond so true
Together we stand, in love we grew

So much left unsaid, in the afterlife we'll talk
No barriers to keep us apart or block
Nightmares fade, as we embark
On a journey of reunion, in the eternal clock

We miss you, grandma, our hearts aflame
In the tapestry of life, you remain
A guiding light, in joy and pain
Until we meet again, we'll whisper your name

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2015



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Rest Peacefully O Dear Friend

(In loving memory of Thokozile)

A shadow fell, heavy and sudden, upon our quiet reflections,
Breaking the calm with an ache too profound to ignore.
It seeped into the deep recesses of our thoughts,
The weight of loss pressing hard upon our hearts.
Once a shining presence, the pleasantest among women,
Her radiant gates are now closed to us—
We may no longer see her face.
We loved her deeply, but the Divine loved her more,
And now, what He once gave, He has gently reclaimed.

Too soon, far too soon, she has departed,
Leaving us to reckon with the sharpness of reality’s edge.
The bitter taste of absence lingers on our tongues,
Yet, amidst the sorrow, we choose to remember her:
Not in the stillness of death, but in the fullness of life.

She was a friend, a colleague, a trusted companion.
A sister who stood steadfast, a mother who nurtured with grace.
Her laughter echoed like sunlight through darkened halls,
Her kindness, a balm for weary souls.

Now she steps ahead, walking the eternal path,
A journey all mortals are destined to take.
But even as she moves forward, her spirit lingers here,
Alive in every memory, every moment she touched.

We called her by a name so dear: Dodo.
Forever, that name will bloom in our hearts.
Thokozile, your light will never fade.
May you rest peacefully, embraced by endless love,
Your legacy etched into the lives you transformed.

Rest in peace, beloved friend.

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2015

Details | Mpho Leteng Poem

Kachikau

I took my first steps,
barefoot on the cracked earth,
the whispers of ancestors woven
into the fabric of our days.

Under the watchful eyes of Mma Ishmael,
her hands, calloused yet tender,
shaping our dreams like clay,
teaching us the rhythm of resilience,
how to dance in the rain,
how to find joy in the simplest of things.

Dikaelo, with laughter like a river,
flowing through our hearts,
her stories painted with the colors of our land,
carving paths through the thickets of youth,
guiding us with a compass of love,
reminding us that even in rust,
there lies beauty,
a testament to endurance.

Kachikau, a patchwork quilt of memories,
where the laughter of children echoes
against the backdrop of dusty roads,
where every corner tells a tale,
each grain of sand a witness
to the lives that have danced
under her vast, open sky.

Though the village wears its age
like a badge of honor,
we see beyond the rust,
beyond the faded paint and weary walls,
to the heart that beats in every home,
to the spirit that rises with the sun,
filling our lungs with the scent of earth,
with the promise of tomorrow.

Here, we learned the language of the land,
the secrets of the baobab trees,
the song of the wind that carries
the laughter of our forebears,
reminding us that we belong,
that this is our sanctuary,
our haven,
our peace

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2013

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Echoes of a phantom love

In the whirlwind of your presence,  
I was spun through the mangle of your gaze,  
Interrogated by your grilling smiles  
Each question a probing dagger in my mind.  

And when you turned to walk away,  
My heart hung heavy with the weight of a green willow,  
Its branches reaching out in sorrow  
For the love that nearly took root within me.  

I poured my soul into the cup of your being,  
Almost loved you beyond the bounds of reason,  
But you slipped through my fingers like sand,  
Leaving me to drown in a vale of tears.  

I struggle now against the tide of my thoughts,  
Each wave crashing down with the memory of your touch,  
But why did you come at all,  
If only to fade into the mist of my dreams?  

I reached for you with all my might,  
Eyes betraying the lies of your absence,  
For you were never truly there,  
A figment of a heart's desperate imagination.  

You never existed, yet your absence reverberates  
Through the hollow chambers of my soul,  
And I am left to wander in the shadows  
Of a love that was never truly mine.

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2012

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Until the Day Go Dead and Shadows Flee

I will clench my pen to my heart where fair minds are slothful to reach;
I will breed my psychosis to conceivable saneness,
Beyond the inaptness of convincing man or anything they could teach!

I will clench my pen to my heart to heal my contravened poems,
Until the gauge of perceptive beat the world to my hefty tongue
To put my name in writing like incises of poetry in unregimented times!

I will do this and all this because I can only be me but none else,
I will, “until the day go dead and shadows flee.”
Until the end of time!

I will hit it off from my cerebral lea to bleed my thoughts free
In and out of time until the day go dead and shadows flee
With unsettled fades like the concept of Elizabethan writer’s spree!

I will rail kachikau to unflustered bounds,
Where in prayer, peace, poetry and common grounds!
We slam our knotted pates until dawn deceases down to day
Where everything I wrote would stay!

But someday I shall be no more to contain your tears when you cry for my withered creeds,
So learn, understand and acknowledge a little bit of me!
Now, before day go dead and shadows flee!

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2015

Details | Mpho Leteng Poem

All That Remains

They deliver me
Swathed in fiber pages and hired into a fair case,
As my body reposes like a sack of raised morsels,
I effortlessly fit the “box!”
And not even a bit lingers out,
In its annex death swept me clean
Like a waged drought
As mine sing in despair
The weepiest hymns of my knowing;
And their eyes out in sour tears as systems
Handle down the confinement into the pit
They deliver my simple bones
Into graves of one kind,
Setting every practice they (will) mind
But I smile in my further place,
Though I have none skin nor face,
I have no wit nor tears;
But I smile still in my further place
For my soul is all that remains.

Copyright © Mpho Leteng | Year Posted 2015

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