Mphutlane lives in Durban, South Africa.

(**all copyright remains with the author)

“Written at an Aids Treatment Test in Durban”  (1/05/2011)
Yesterday
Clive spoke
Of God’s plan
His eternal spirit
Within all of us
The limitless possibilities
To see beyond today
For each of us
To reach beyond the self
To rediscover in us the breath of God
Realise we are not mere bodies but souls
Beings that live beyond the surrendering of flesh….
Mahoi talked about the healing touch
Of electromagnetic waves
The wonders of God through the human minds (and heart)
We too imagined the tomorrow of our dreams
Listening to the inspirational message
In the songs of our heartbeats
With claps and foot-stomps
We made lightening & thunder
We flew with butterflies
Danced with the grasshopper &
Hearkened to the voices
Of angels in the music & poetics of our stories.
With Zulu poetic lyrical
Narration of his love story
The emcee ranted against the
Materialistic cleavage brigade
That entrench the stereotype
That muscle and wallet makes a man
Or a woman is just body and blond
The Verulam Girls
Reclaimed their bodies
As theirs and no man’s property
They blasted stupid old lies
Like sex with babies is a cure
& sang songs of immortal love
Reminding all of us
If what’s in the heart is positive
No negativity in the world
Can stop us from being
More than what society
Allow us to be
For here in this circle
Of hope we create
A new humane society
Built on positive connections
Today Menzi will sing us
A poem of oneness
Harmony in diversity
The beauty of human relationship
Lessons from nature

"The Story Told" (2010)

++Author's note:  the poem illustrates the denialism that is fueled by stigma within the community, making people to resort to blaming witchcraft and everything else for the deaths of the victims of AIDS instead of facing the truth.  It also makes a statement about extra marital unprotected sexual intercourse as one of the major causes for the spread of HIV / AIDS.

June's baby died because
Infant meat wets the appetite
Of granny the wizard
Its' mother is actually not dead
The old witch never touches a broom
But her house and yard are sparkling clean
At the unholy hours of the night
You can hear her furniture dancing
A grass-cutter moaning on her lawn
June's husband was failed by his heart
Seeing his wife and child die
At the hands of his own mother
Punctured him to pint-size
As for his diminutive
Former voluminous mistress
She's dying from food poisoning
Everybody knows she started spewing blood
After eating food at June's husband's funeral
Her celebrity husband has lost weight
Due to being over stressed
By too many performances
And the invasion on his life
By the peeping Toms & prying cameras