top of page
CAPTURED IN WORDS
BY LORRAINE JOHNSON
Search
[69] A Story
It was a day in the village of Mecoripo—a village in the district of Namuno in Mozambique's southwest region of Cabo Delgado—an ordinary...
Jul 29, 20212 min read
[68] The Oil of Tradition
In 1992 the road from the city of Tete to the town of Chitima—located in Cabora Bassa district (as previously known under colonial times)...
Jul 25, 20212 min read
[67] Light And Heavy
They entered into the circle in the same way as the Ndhokodo group—in groups of two. But this time there was a man on the drums, two...
Jul 22, 20211 min read
[66] Reason In The Journey
It was the eighth time she had passed by my red, earthen home, her bucket filled with that discolored water which innocently flowed...
Jul 18, 20211 min read
[65] Where Must One Stand
Everyday the wind whistles through the lives of children and elders who walk the city streets of Maputo. And on this one day, not long...
Jul 15, 20211 min read
[64] Slip You Away
There was no light And in the darkness Your spirit tried to soar I heard it Through your fingers You started And then you stopped One,...
Jul 11, 20211 min read
[63] To Find You
I've come to listen to the rustling of the palms High up the coconut tree I've come to listen to them talk With a hope to hear your voice...
Jul 8, 20211 min read
[62] The One That Lasts
To catch identity— and frame it on a wall, then move through time listening closely for new calls. To wander forward— with different...
Jul 4, 20211 min read
[61] In The Lines
The knots in the wood tell tales left unsaid— of living a life that follows the bends, while feeding the earth it continually tends. It...
Jul 1, 20211 min read
[60] Into The Dream
Leave me by the breezy door, the barking dog, the turning waves clinging to the ocean's floor, and crickets singing and distant calls, as...
Jun 27, 20211 min read
[59] Fully Present
Each day, he would show up at our office—optimistically tucked away in a corner of Mozambique's capital, Maputo. We invited him to dream,...
Jun 24, 20212 min read
[58] Appearing As One
If all the world was blind, would we finally see? Would we all just be? Would there be a different peace? And in this darkness, where the...
Jun 20, 20211 min read
[57] A Path Back
In solitude I do sit, in the cool of a summer breeze as the wind gently carries the trees and my thoughts gently carry me to places where...
Jun 17, 20211 min read
[56] Showing Up At The Door
It was 1999 when we arrived on the day—our first day—with dreams of plenty and hearts full open. The wood carver was there—an old man who...
Jun 13, 20211 min read
[55] Beyond
Only the moon lay in the sky and a few hours lay between our goodbye. I have met your soul and you mine but many words we have yet to...
Jun 10, 20211 min read
[54] And She Was Gone
She was there when I got on the train. Her short, cropped, black hair held in place by a long but wide strip of cloth which rested across...
Jun 6, 20211 min read
[53] When Night Becomes Day
It was time to go, I peeled away, walked down the steps and you faded to grey. Into the day—I went, lit by the fires of the night,...
Jun 3, 20211 min read
[52] With Feet In One Place
I travel back in time with feet in one place to find meaning in those that I passed—seen and unseen. Some have not—and some know not—the...
Jun 1, 20211 min read
[51] It's A Day
It's Sunday in the village of Maphiri, located just outside of Angonia's district capital, Vila Ulónguè, in the northwestern province of...
May 30, 20211 min read
[50] You Came To Go
And in the hue of a night, the drum played —it played from its resting place, upon the soul of my simple, seeking self. And in the light...
May 27, 20211 min read
[49] Shift Slightly
Ancient and sentient, they stay, and sit beside us These echos of wisdom and knowing—exhale deeply from the ancestral trees standing...
May 23, 20211 min read
[48] A Little Drop Of Spirit
Abilio Lovane lived in the small village of Mpadwe on the outskirts of the city of Tete. On the day I met him, he was to play his...
May 20, 20211 min read
[47] Look Forward, You Must
There I was with the blue of indigo, copper wire woven to perfection, and the Niger River's winding bed in the distance, in the Malian...
May 16, 20212 min read
[46] And I Will See You Tomorrow
The bird arrives—just at the right time alone but full, as the murmurs of the earth urges— this way, that way. You, unknowing, standing...
May 13, 20211 min read
bottom of page