A Mental Resurrection Corridor Memoir

By Christian Lukusa

The pieces in this book were written way before the COVID-19
pandemic hit the world.

At a time when being a man was scripted and being a woman
was restricted.

When being a child meant the risk of being molested by an older
man in a midlife crisis.

When being an immigrant meant eating crumbs that fell from
the native’s table that you had helped set.

When being a mother meant teaching your sons to unlearn the
notions that boys are sexual predators whilst praying that your
daughters do not become the prey. Occasionally, being a mother
meant being a father too

This is the pandemic before the pandemic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Lukusa
• Release date: Sep 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005031718

Book preview

Preamble

I do not know how to feel about writing a book in a language I knew nothing about until the 8th grade. I have learnt that writing is my only way of speaking English without an accent. This anthology stands as a meeting point of humankind, regardless of race and gender. It is a fountain of torrential emotions that we experience in their beauty and ugliness, for through poetry we easily capture all the shades of life in their greyness, redness, blueness and whiteness. This book is a flickering flame in a cold universe, the wood fire that everyone will surround to keep warm. It comes at a time when the world is subjugated by a deeply rooted hostility. The poems and short stories in this book breathe a renaissance for the broken and a voice for the victim.

Introduction

There are more sick and broken people between school corridor walls than there have ever been in hospitals and churches.

I learnt more from school corridors than from classrooms. Corridor walls are historians, the history in between them; antics, pure and prototypical. They hold stories that are more practical and educational than the ones prescribed in our curriculums. And they have inspired me to write poems that entail stories you will not find on the pages of your local magazines, the ones labelled ‟unworthy‟. Stories that are below the surface, the important ones. The most important part of a tree is the part you do not see. And what good is a story if it has no roots? The world is rapidly turning into a liquid poison, quenching our thirst for justice and humanity. Take this as an antidote.

From the demonization of menstruation by society to the perils of traditional masculinity, this anthology is an indulgence in a complex, dynamic and diverse range of issues that threaten humanity.

Parents reading the poems in this book will draw insight on the 21st century struggles that the younger generation juggles with. Young adults reading this will reflect upon, relate to, and draw inspiration from the poems in this book.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to every girl that does not feel safe walking around the streets due to misogyny and every boy that has been told that crying is unmanly. Every child that has been discriminated against due to their skin colour, to every immigrant, every family, that has had to deal with the atrocious pain of rape, to every former and current student, to everyone who has lost a loved one and soldiered on, to everyone that has been molested and abused, to everyone that has been diagnosed with clinical depression, cancer or any other disease there is. To everyone that has been charmed by the seductive appeal of drugs, to everyone that has been broken and forgotten. To you I present, A MENTAL RESSURECTION.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost I would like to acknowledge my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for giving me the strength and courage to finish this project.

My parents for being the best parents that a child with a dream could ask for.

Miss Ashley Kalombay for featuring in the poem, ‟A conversation with 14-year-old Ashley".

Miss Caroline Moloto for the feature of her poem, Guardians of my Heart.

Mr Solomon Bakare for being a good samaritan at a defining moment of my life.

Miss Shea Tsietso for being a great mentor.

And most importantly, to you that will read this book. Thank you for believing in my craft and embarking on this graceful journey with me. I hope that it will be as therapeutic to you as it has been to me.

Table of Contents

Preamble

Introduction

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Chapter I

Tales of the Broken Boys and Wounded Girls Behind the Uniform

Teachers That Molest Students

Child Molestation