Lebadi pelong ya ka ke la nkgekgenene
Ntshe fase magalagapeng a moya wa ka
Sekgopi se lekana le lephoto la lewatle

Go baba boka thola
Ya ka pelo e dutla madi
A tsorotla a sa emiše
Moya wa ka o kgopišegile
Ditokelo tša ka di gatakilwe
Bophelo bja ka bo hlafišitšwe

Tšitširipa ye gare ga dithaka tša yona
O kgethile go nkadiša legogwa
A kata ka nna boka tonki ya lehlaka

A mphatlola letheka
La motekatekana
Mošireletši a ke na
A iterela boithatelo ka nna
A mphaya thetho ka kgang
A mpipelela ka malwetšiO timeletše boka phoka mesong
A kwa thibathibang a sobelela
A tsena ka monga wa seloko!

Tsosheletso Chidi Bongwadi is a bilingual poet and novelist,
writing in English and Sepedi. She is currently a PhD candidate at
the University of Pretoria and holds a master’s degree in Creative
Writing from Rhodes University. In 2019, she was awarded the
Andrew Mellon Foundation Scholarship for Writers.

Bongwadi is the author of Dirurubele: Wandering Butterflies,
published in 2023. Her literary career began to flourish in 2016
when her short story was published by FLOW Communication at
the request of the Ekurhuleni Municipality. Her debut novel, The
Baby Is Born, was released in 2015 by Sharp Shoot Publisher. In
2019, her poetry appeared in Thyni Magazine, and she was also
commissioned by Avbob Poetry.

In early 2020, Aletta Motimele Publishers featured her short
story in the Sepedi anthology RE ALOŠITŠE. Her poetry gained
further recognition when it was featured in Hugh McMillan’s
Poems of Pestilence blog, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional pandemic-themed poems were selected as top
entries and published by Ratomill Publishers in their anthology
CORONA’CLES. In 2023, Bongwadi was appointed as the intern
Literature Curator for the 27th edition of the Time of the Writer
Festival, set to take place in 2024.