Kwathu ndi ku Malawi

Leza. Chisumphi. Namalenga. Chauta. Chiuta. Mbona. Mphambe. Mangadzi. These were your names Before the time when you were prescribed Before something more common replaced you, Mulungu Ancient. Full of power and mystery These were the names for the times when we danced When your daughters, Makewana, offered prayers for the masses When the dust led us to you The rains were a response to you, evidence of you, the joy of you For you were not brought to us Not transported across the seas Not confounded to a single mind But have always been here Whispering in the wind We’ve seen your evidence in the skies Uta wa Leza For you’ve always shined We see your slow messengers Birimankhwe Carrying promises of hope for all kind The first prints of time found on mountains wide Dzalanyama Kaphirintiwa Where fire chased you from our side Now in the heavens where you reside Amayi Malawi, forever impacted by your hands of time You are the one we know,...

An alien. That’s what I felt like walking down the streets of LA. Someone who did not belong. Who was faking it. An imposter hidden behind sunglasses. Could everyone see right though? I felt heavy and dizzy surrounded by shining towers and noise. People pass quickly to my left and to my right constantly overtaking me. Have my own short, rapid steps and pace really relaxed that much? But there wasn’t time to analyze or break it down. I was there for business. Representing my organization and work here in Malawi. A kazembe of sorts. But the business tended to knock me over too. The conversations that lacked thorough introductions and greetings and went straight to the point. My brain couldn’t keep up. In the first minute of the meeting we were already discussing viral load testing uptake challenges. As I made it through the week towards the weekend, I kept a short list of all that struck me. That which use to be so normal that now surprised my soul. After all this time, can ...