Mabisi: The pulpit poetess

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Tuesday May 14, 2013 00:00

She pours it out in rhythmical lines to her beloved king, shaping the river into her words. For up and coming poetess, Bakang Mabisi, poesy is not just a leisure pursuit, but has turned into her tool to make a difference in her peers' lives and anyone who cares to lend her an ear. 'I've since learnt that I am not just a poet but I am cut to impact people's lives, I don't just do poetry for fun,' says the poised 21-year old.She fell in love with verses when she was in Form Three, but back then it was a just a fun activity. She would occasionally recite poems during assembly at school.

'My poetry hardly had content but as I grew my poetry started changing into something that speaks to people.' A few years down the line, her poems just have a way of 'hitting home'. One such poem is one she did during the Unashamed Tour that saw Grammy nominee Lecrae Moore jetting into the country to perform. During a pre-tour event in Gaborone, she recited a few verses about how girls struggle with their image and end up throwing themselves at the 'wrong men'.She bucked up her fellow young lasses to go all-out to discover themselves and model their lives around biblical teachings.

'Many people come up to me and tell me they liked the poem.' But the good reviews were not enough for her, her heart's cry was something in their hearts would break after hearing the recital. And it was a major boost when she got that something that she so yearned for. 'One of my classmates who attended came up to me and told me it hit home for her. I was overjoyed I had made a difference in someone's life,' she says. But before that, her maiden 'appearance' in front of a crowd was in 2007 when she was a Form Three student at Tlogatloga CJSS. It was the school's anniversary.

'I was really nervous but once I started I went on a roll,' Mabisi recalls. Two years later, much more mature, she recited a solacing piece at her grandfather's funeral. 'I was 19 at the time and the poem was about how we lose hope when someone passes on but as believers we should not mourn as though we have no faith. It was comforting to the entire family,' she says.

While reciting that poem, she says, she kept her head above people's heads only to notice they were in tears when she lifted her eyes. Although she also began to cry, she reveals a weight was lifted off her shoulders as she felt she had executed some sort of assignment.But growing up, Mabisi, who hails from Mathangwane, was inspired by a poetess, TJ Dema.'She's actually Kalanga like me and that made me look up to her as a source of inspiration,' she says.  Initially, she had fallen in love with writing and found it much easier expressing herself through poetry. Add to that, the demure young peeress is well aware expressing herself does not come easy. She writes her own poems and has about 15 unpublished works at the moment. 'They are not just for keeps; I intend to go all out to preach His Gospel through poetry.'Mabisi admires American poetess Janet Kuypers of P4CM.

'Listening to Janet changed the way I deliver my poems; they used to be plain until I watched one of her poems.'But the American poetess did not only add value to her work. 'I stopped dating because of that one poem that I listened to by her. I know people think this is crazy - but I have since decided I am praying for a partner and waiting for him.' She adds: 'Emotions get tangled (in rushed relationships), you get attached and hurt each other.  I believe God made someone out there for me.' She grew up in Gaborone and stayed with both her parents.

'Having a mother and a father figure in my childhood helped me. My dad has impacted what I do in an amazing way; the passion for God I see in him ignites me to want to do more.' Mabisi is part of a group called Camistry and says that they are already establishing relations with local schools to interact and share their gifts with students.The youthful group does music, poetry and drama.  Although she will also feature in drama, the BAC student says her thrust remains poetry. Mabisi defines poetry as 'conversation in motion'. She finds her fulfilment in having discovered her passion and moving in pursuit of it.

Apart from poetry, Mabisi is an accounts and finance student at the Botswana Accountancy College (BAC).She says the biggest demise of any young person is merely imitating other people's actions instead of expressing their passions. 'A lot of times we think or feel we are living it up but a lot of what we are doing is imitating, we are mirroring other people's actions and think it is us living it up. I usually say 'when you know who God is and you fear Him that is the beginning of wisdom'.' And having found her forte, Mabisi is not looking back, as she strives to make a lasting impression in her generation.