18 April 2010

Snakes Will Follow You by Emmanuel Sigauke

I had been lying on a reed mat, reading Julius Caesar in the shade of our tsapi hut. As soon as Brutus stabbed Caesar, I had looked away from the page to avoid picturing the sight of blood. That's when I saw a baby snake slithering towards me. At first, I thought my eyes were tricking me, so I pretended like I had not seen anything. But there it was, calmly covering ground, getting closer and closer to the mat. I jumped and screamed, but covered my mouth as soon as I remembered I was a man. I glanced in the direction of the kitchen to check if Maiguru, my big brother's wife, had not heard me; then I stiffened and watched the advancing snake.



This story has been selected for the StoryTime anthology African Roar 2011, please go to the African Roar site for more info.



Snakes Will Follow You was written by Emmanuel Sigauke.

Copyright Emmanuel Sigauke 2010.



Emmanuel Sigauke grew up in Zimbabwe, where he studied English and Linguistics at the University of Zimbabwe.

He helped found the Zimbabwe Budding Writers Association, for which he served as National Secretary from 1992 to 1995.

He moved to California in 1996 and studied English at Sacramento State University. He teaches composition and writing at Cosumnes River College and is one of the editors of Cosumnes River Journal.

His poetry has appeared in various journals in Zimbabwe, Finland, United States and Ireland, and he is the editor of Munyori Poetry Journal. He is also a member of the Sacramento Poetry Board and a book reviewer for Poetry Now, a publication of the Sacramento Poetry Center.



3 comments:

Fred Chiagozie Nwonwu said...

Powerful! the story held me captive from begining to the end. Initially, I thought I knew what was about to happen, as the story sounded very familiar, then It changed, and the funny thing happened, I discovered I was still able to follow it and wasn't surprised by the slant.
This is a very African story, the sort those who still have links with their culture will readily identify with. Well done

Anonymous said...

Wow Professor, this reading was great. Nothing but greatness is to be expected from you. Leyedda

Fred Chiagozie Nwonwu said...

Powerful! the story held me captive from begining to the end. Initially, I thought I knew what was about to happen, as the story sounded very familiar, then It changed, and the funny thing happened, I discovered I was still able to follow it and wasn't surprised by the slant.
This is a very African story, the sort those who still have links with their culture will readily identify with. Well done

 
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