SOUTH AFRICA-BASED Zimbabwean poet Mighty Mahembe has revealed that growing up his ambitions was to join the military, but he ended up doing poetry, hence the monicker General Fire Colloso. BY KENNEDY NYAVAYA Many followers of showbiz might be familiar with the names General Fire Colloso, Mukwasha Murombo or Baba Junior, which are Mahembe’s signatures at the end of his poems that have taken the social media by storm. All the above titles do not reflect the 24-year-old poet’s conduct in real life as he is yet to marry or even sire a child. Through his Facebook page General Fire Colloso, Mahembe has been posting his poetry skits that are laden with social, economic and political commentary. Some of Mahembe’s poetry skits such as Hauroorwe, Mukwasha Murombo, Shamu Inemunyu and Kudenga Kuchanorohwa Munhu have won the hearts of many as evidenced by their trending on different social media platforms. In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style, the Masvingo-bred poet said: “I started reciting poems in 2010 when I was still in school although I was not serious then as I had no plans to pursue it when I grew up. I, however, got encouragement from people when I recorded and uploaded my poem titled Mukwasha Murombo on social media,” he said. While General Fire Colloso believes poetry has been looked down upon by society, his witticism and unique articulation has, however, lured many hearts to the art form. “Spoken word is not something which has been taken seriously all along. It is an art many thought could only be read in books. I can see now that people understand that they can listen to poetry and I do not know if it is because of the way I recite it,” he said. “At first people were not interested in listening to my poems, but for now I am happy that I am getting more followership on my Facebook page with many people frequently visiting it to access the works.” He said his themes were inspired by people’s daily experiences. “There is nothing out of the ordinary like getting words from dreams. Our everyday life is what gives us content that we write,” he said. “The problems I have faced so far are so many and some of them are from family members because no one thought poetry was a serious career path. So sometimes they ask if I could try something better and it gets hard for me,” he said. “My biggest hope is that the poetry industry grows in Zimbabwe and that it can be recognised just like people recognise music and other art forms. I also want to be able to put food on the table through my poetry work.” Mahembe said things were promising as he had been booked for performances at birthday parties and other events. He hopes that one day, when it becomes profitable, he would be able to quit his current job to pursue a full-time career in poetry.
