When Forward sent me the manuscript of this collection of his poetry, he had this to say in the cover note of his email: "I started writing poetry for fun when I was at Makumbi Secondary School (Chinamhora) and continued so into my adult life. The few family members and friends who have read my works insist on publication." This immediately struck me as words from a writer who wrote his poetry not only for fun, but for putting his feelings, perceptions, and observations on paper for his own personal reasons. His objective had never been to publish his works for sharing with the outside world. And it only took a lot of persuasion for him to finally consent to publishing, way into his fifties.
Reading through this collection, one feels a characteristic tone and emotion running through all the pages. The poet pours out his inner feelings in such a way that one cannot doubt that he is closed in his own world, diving deep down with no concern of the opinions of the outside world. While this can partly explain the reluctance to publish his works, this also gives the poetry some crucial, positive element: sincerity.
While sincerity runs through the poems, the collection offers a broad range of themes. That range is the hallmark of an observant eye, an eye that sees the beautiful and the ugly in all the aspects of life. The poet even handles some issues which may be uncomfortable to some people. As he says:
Many hate their truth bared
So many settle for truth barred (Poem: "Mirror the Faithful.")
That's precisely what good, genuine poetry should be like. As the old saying goes, "Art is a mirror of society/of life." While the truth can be painful, it is always to the disadvantage of society when many settle for their truth to be barred. And yet the poet, the mirror of society, should not and must not abandon his duty. Hence, Forward pleads with the mirror in the closing lines of the above cited poem:
"Would you blush your penchant for truth
Dear Mirror?"
But one has to bear in mind that there always are howling winds out there, winds that blow both the good and the bad. The poet says:
"Have you ever stood in the wind
Howling winds hit your face
Till your tears are blue
The critic has greater licence
The poet shredded in silence"
This collection is testimony that a poet who has strong and deep roots will not be "shredded in silence", no matter how hard the howling winds hit.
Many words of gratitude are due to those who cajoled Forward to take another step forward with his writing. It would have been a massive miscarriage if these poems had remained in the poet's closet. This hidden talent, now unveiled, is another milestone in the Zimbabwean poetry landscape.
Chirikure Chirikure
