For Nkateko, poetry is food for the soul

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For the 23-year-old Nkateko Mayimele poetry is the food for her soul as much as it serves as a mode of expressing her innermost feelings.

She discovered poetry in 2012 while she was doing Grade 10, and the discovery came during English lessons.

“I fell in love with poetry and a wide range of literature at the same time,” she said. “I loved how the writers had the freedom to play with words while trying to get a reader to understand the stories they were telling.”

She got her first inspiration from the writings of William Shakespeare. “His sonnets became the highlights of my young life, and I realised I had it in me to write like a poet,” she said. “I don't think my poetry has a theme yet, but I have recently just begun to write and share my work with the public.”

Nkateko writes more about love, and politics of the mind and life. She holds the view that poetry is a verbal tool meant to heal the broken-hearted and revive love and life.

“If you are in love, poetry can be used to express to your lover exactly how you feel,” she said. “On the other hand, if you are going through some struggles, a stanza of poetry goes a long way to heal your broken heart.”

This performance poet has gained popularity in most parts of Vhembe and Capricorn District, and through her Facebook page, entitled Touch of Poetry, in which she shares her new poetry.

“Poetry means healing to me. When I write a poem and a person loves it, that person has fallen in love with my perception and a piece of me is left with them that gets to heal them,” she said. “If I say poetry means harmony, would I get accused of sounding simple or reducing poetry to plainness?”

Nkateko is working on compiling the best of her poetry into a manuscript, with an idea to getting it published in book format soon.

This poet was born in Giyani and grew up in Eisleben section of Ga-Ramokgopa. Those interested in her work can visit her Facebook page, Touch of Poetry.

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.