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Epitaph
Batsirai Easther Chigama
2007

Almost a father to us
And husband to our mother
A man who drowned himself
In "scuds" of sorrow
Burnt his lungs till he choked
Life out of his own.

The poet's intent
For years my family lived next door to a family whose father used to beat the mother when he came back from the tavern. It went on for many years and when we moved and I was all grown one day I was thinking if I had been one of his daughters and he died, what would I write on a grave for a father like that and I came up with that short poem.

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