The Sunday Mail
In “What Love Is”, Molapong explores and expounds on the dynamics of love using clever wordplay that keeps the reader’s imagination rotating on an axis of discovery.
Because no person can experience everything that happens in every society across the world, literature exists to bridge that gap.
Reading books from other parts of the world is an eye-opening experience.
For me, that is how I got to experience Namibia through Keamogetsi Molapong’s poetry in the anthology “The Scars on My Skin.”
The poetry covers a wide range of issues that include love, tragedy, corruption, greed, poverty and politics among other things; speaking volumes about Namibian society in particular and Africa at large.
This book displays Molapong’s ability to transcend various topical issues without losing any momentum up to the last of the 51 poems.
From the political domains of Namibia’s Parliamentary democracy, to romantic love pieces, the collection oozes with brilliant artistic expression.
In one instance, the writer uses the same style and wording in two different poems which do not have the same themes.
In “What Love Is”, Molapong explores and expounds on the dynamics of love using clever wordplay that keeps the reader’s imagination rotating on an axis of discovery.
“Would love be, what love should, could be, yet love is what love would not be, should, could not be,” he says.
In “What Power Is”, the poet uses the same twists as in “What Love Is” but this time around discussing power.
“Would power be, what power should, could be, yet power is what power would not be, should, could not be,” writes Molapong.
The two poems might not be connected thematically, but the writer stirs the same effect in both.
In “The Sharp End of Poetry”, he says, “I write to right what I think is wrong. I write with passion for, I write from my heart, I formulate words with my mind and, I ink it down with my hands.”
In “Not Approved”, Molapong takes his narrative to another level, showing that he does not write to please anyone and does not require approval or acceptance to lay bare his thoughts.
“My idea is not to impress but to depress you all, I don’t mind the thinking, the talking, the plotting, for this is my story and I decide what has to be said, I dictate the words that spear your comfort and greed.”
