Flowers for the broken hearted
The ones whose souls are wandering between realms
Flowers for the ones whose innocence was taken away
The very ones who watch the perpetrators live their best life while they are stuck trying to find themselves in a not-so-understanding society
Flowers for all mothers who gave birth but had no baby to take home
The ones whose hearts were broken when they took the fall for how their bodies failed them
Flowers for all the children who are forced to become adults
For adults are busy acting like children
Flowers for the depressed
The ones who exist but are not living
Flowers for the dreams shuttered, the spirits broken
Flowers for the life lived and the triumphs along the way
Flowers for the light for it cannot be acknowledged outside of the presence of darkness
Flowers for the sinking society
Whose people are dying and their screams are not heard
Flowers for you, for no matter where you are in life…you are still here and you matter!!!!
PS: I wrote the poem at the “Airmail Letters to the Dead” writers’ workshop. The prompt was “flowers for”
Jane Mpholo is a multi-award winning theatre Practitioner and an Audience Development Specialist at the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) . She has been active on both the national and international platforms with collaborations with practitioners from the Netherlands, USA and Australia, to name a few. Jane is a senior judge for the World Monologue Games and World Monologue Film Festival. Her highlights as a writer include being chosen as one of the 5 top playwrights for the NATi Yong Sterre program for her script "The Dawn", making it to the top 20 playwrights list for the African Women Playwrights Festival of Plays for her script "The Naked Truth" (which she later turned into a short film) and having her script "Fragmented" on the program for Teksmark 2022. Her autobiographical show "Psalm 69" has proved to be timeless and has showcased on both the national and international platforms such as the Global leadership summit 2018. Jane is a panel member for the National Arts Council and is a former FS Provincial Liaison for the BASA Debut Program. She is a recent graduate for the BASA Cultural Producers Program, an initiative between British Council; BASA, Common Purpose and the Manchester International Festival. Her short film "Cleanse" which looks at the life of a woman under oppression as a domestic worker has won multiple international awards and aired on DSTV pop up channel 150 (Woordfees TV 2022). Jane is also one of the contributors for the Stemme/Voices monologues 2022, an initiative by the Suidoosterfees.
Jane practices as a professional actor (has over 40 theatrical shows under her belt), playwright, producer, dramaturge, facilitator, arts coach , speaker and mentor. She is passionate about inclusive education and creating a safe space for audiences to engage in discussions pertaining to the social ills of the world. She is a true advocate for human rights.
Amongst the many awards and recognitions....she is a three times Kyknet Fiesta Nominated artist and made it to the lists "Mail and Guardian Women Changing South Africa" and the "Sunday World Unsung Heroes 2022".
