As is often the case in South Africa,a beautiful flower grows out of hard,dry ground.This volume,which arises out of the rough and dusty parts of KZN,has petals,colour,and sheen that will remain with you after reading it.

In this debut poetry collection,Shezzi deals with personal and public concerns.He harnesses free verse and unusual images,born out of his chequered and testing experiences,to convey what's in his heart,blood,bones and marrow.

At times the poems hold a somewhat charged conversation with someone from the spirit world.At other times still,one hears a weeping sound rising from the words.Infused with beats,sometimes they sing,as in the poem Five Birds On A Tree .

Two doves singing

A sparrow on mute

Three Indian Mynahs oogling in awe

The more interrogative poems—the ones that engage with a departed mother or the divine—begin with a feverant search for answers.In the end,the seeking character comes to his own conclusion : he must pivot from the qeustions and turn towards acting in the world with purpose and determination.

And thus,a key theme in the book is a personal struggle.One gets the sense that the writing of the poems is themselves a rebellion against passivity and a declaration to press ahead in the face of challenges.