As Long As by Ndaba Sibanda

She had the liberty

to live where she thought

the sun, her sun

radiated rays of fun,

where she would not

tomorrow sorrow

of having wandered

off into an infinite dimness,

or into a house whose roof was full

holes and hurt instead of happiness.

She had the right to migrate

like a seasonal bird in winter,

to soar and sing her best songs,

to like the firmament she wanted,

to live an abundant life she desired,

for we live once, we merit the best.

She had the autonomy to serenade

a deeper tune with a life of its own,

to sing a melody of love she favored,

to form and frequent the best nest

she was enamored of and comfy with.

She had the freedom to be a bird,

to fly and cheep high in the sky,

to sing a sundrenched song she desired

and danced to with a voice of vitality,

to sing as long as that voice was hers,

for cynical voices have no cadence,

as long as she took responsibility,

for liability is an heir of maturity,

yes as long as that life was hers,

for it has to be lived and loved,

yes as long as her wise wings

did not act up and spin off

and see her happy heart

hurtle down a highway

of hurt or heartache!

Sibanda is a Bulawayo-born poet, novelist and nonfiction writer who has authored twenty-eight published books of various genres and persuasions and coauthored more than 100 published books. Some of Ndaba`s works are found or forthcoming in Page & Spine, Piker Press , SCARLET LEAF REVIEW , Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Pangolin Review, Kalahari Review ,Botsotso, The Ofi Press Magazine, Hawaii Pacific Review, Deltona Howl, The song is, JONAH magazine, The Polk Street Review, Poetry Potion, Saraba Magazine, The Borfski Press, East Coast Literary Review and Whispering Prairie Press. Sibanda has received the following nominations: the national arts merit awards (NAMA), the Mary Ballard Poetry Chapbook Prize, the Best of the Net Prose and the Pushcart Prize. He is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee.