A Travel Guide For the Broken

We were fractured

The scattered fragments from broken homelands 

Transient bodies ,dislocated and displaced

With borderless imaginations we discarded the familiar for worlds unknown

Forced to become adept in contorting limbs to fit in confined spaces

Which constituted a further breaking

We traversed inhospitable lands in search of new homes

And the warmth of other suns

But we had mastered anew the practise of celestial navigation

And reminded ourselves that we are the amalgamation of stardust and dreams

And its dreams that we attempt to to resurrect through magic black as the universe

So we stitched ourselves together

Connecting shards like jigsaws

Gilding ourselves through the ancient art of Kintsugi 

And turned our brokenness into beauty

We learned to use words as salve and music as medicine

As we journeyed

We codified the lessons amassed through tribulations and trials

And lovingly preserved them for posterity

Through rhyme and song, and poems encased in time signatures

In the spirit of the griots honouring the oral traditions of our forebears

Over time these would become

A travel guide for the broken

A travel guide for the broken

A travel guide for the broken

A travel guide

For the broken

We often reduce the concept of home to a geographical location

Or four walls and a roof

Yet home is also this flesh you temporarily reside in

So make yourself at home and be comfortable in your skin

Make your regrets as few as humanly possible

For example, do not burn bridges

The smoke may cloud your eyes and blur your vision

As my people say, natsa kwaunobva, kwauonenda husiku

Take with you only that which is indispensable

Like hope, hunhu, and whichever faith speaks to you

Resist being yoked to the expectations of others

You are unique as fingerprints leaving marks on the fabric of time

May your path be of your own choosing

Be unapologetic of the space you occupy

You have every right to be here

You are an integral piece of the cosmos

No more or less important than any other

Now, go boldly in the direction where your dreams would lead

Walk in the light

Find your tribe

And be kind 

To yourself, and to your fellow travellers on this rock

Hurtling through a universe whose limits are as unfathomable as your own

Famba zvakanaka

Famba zvakanaka

Famba zvakanaka

Famba zvakanaka

Famba zvakanaka