Tsholofelo Lexie Morake

Sinqobile Sibiya
Feb 20, 2018
3 min read

Poet

Well I'm from the East Rand in Springs, spent my entire life as what they call an "East Side kid" proudly so.

I'm seventeen years old soon to turn 18, born February 29th 2000 so I don't exactly have a birthday which always fascinates people.

Introduce yourself with a short poem.

"I'm seventeen years old and I still can't figure out what exactly he meant when he said...I don't do Black girls ....but he's Black, I still can't find it in myself to forklift the jigsaw he laid at the cusp of my existence..."You don't do Black girls?...what do you mean" I asked him..."

That's the intro to one of my favourite pieces titled Black Girl meets Black Boy those who've heard it will give you a glimpse of who I am, but I honestly believe that I cannot state who I am, because I feel as though a description of who I truly am, wouldn't be enough to paint the picture or tell the story of "I".

What stories does your natural hair tell about you or young women in general?

It is said that a black woman's hair is her crown, perhaps even her most prized possession and my afro is exactly that. There is a lot of stigma about why we choose to embrace our natural hair even amongst ourselve as black women , I simply made a choice when I was thirteen to let go of my relaxed hair and grow it naturally, I also feel as though the women in my life have always embraced natural hair, dreadlocks and afros, were the manifestation of me being comfortable with my natural state,they'd always given off such a graceful yet powerful "vibe", for the lack of better terms, about their hair but they have always encouraged versatility.

What movement do you feel you'd be moved to start amongst your peers?

If I were to ignite a movement amongst my peers, it would be all about self-love and self-awareness, I feel as though so much is happening amongst us because we're searching for external forces to validate ourselves and our love for ourselves as well.

Five letter poem about scars?

And scars to me project FIRE...It's not poetry but here's why...

F- fear, a fear of rejection and neglect.

I- impatience, we want instant gratification and that's a way out in a sense.

R- reflection, we lack to see the world with us in it, as opposed to it without us.

E- existence, we're cowards to our own existence at times.

This is because I've dealt with the whole process of suicide and depression, leading to the scars I wear on my wrists, which are badges of survival. But in order to survive I had to face the FIRE.

Personally, I want to understand, why do poets have a certain expression, a certain accent and tone when they recite their poem?

Reciting poetry is all about story telling, with that mentioned, there's importance in depicting what we see as clearly as we can to those listening, it's purely for the "effect" hence the expressions and the tone.

A belief you feel is contrary or different to most people around you?

My spirituality...it's one thing most people around me chose to either agree or disagree with. "Spiritual Freedom" comes shaded in many opinions and mine as well differs from the norm amongst the black community. However, that too may be a touchy subject.

Do you consider yourself a wanderer, if so, what fulfilment is there for you when you 'wander' or travel?

Yes I do, there's knowledge received, as a writer I live off of experience and opinions and so forth.

Would you say you're an extrovert or an introvert?

I'm an extrovert most of the time but everybody has their days ofcourse.

Would you consider going into media, working in the media industry?

Yes, perhaps Radio and Television, which I'll most likely do.