I Lost a Poem

Matiwana's handwritten poems started while he was in prison in Port Elizabeth. They were deeply felt lyrics, mostly love poems, with haiku-like surprises in their shifts of tone. Matiwana was released from prison, but he was soon back again. During the 20 months that he was awaiting trial, he continued writing poems, almost daily. In August 2003, after an appeal to readers of donga, bail was raised and Matiwana, now a devout Muslim, was released - at least until his tril. The poems in his first book cover a range of subjects - love, prison, poverty, religion - always with this poet's unique delicacy.