Gifted learner expresses herself through poetry

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Seventeenyear-old Zimbini
Njiva draws inspiration from the wise sayings of her elder brother
whom, she says, continually encourages her. The Gr. 11 learner of Letsatsing Combined School in West Driefontein is not too young to express herself and she uses poetry to speak her mind. She became
interested in poetry when she was in Gr. 7, influenced by her friends who were writing their own poems. “Being a poet starts with putting a pen to a book,” she says. “I would often find it difficult to talk but poetry helped me to open up and allowed me to express my feelings.” Inspired by her favourite poet, Helen Steiner Rice, who writes religious and inspirational poetry. and with the solid
support of both of her parents, she plans to become a recognised poet before long. Zambini uses her poems to tell untold stories. “My poetry is mostly about our daily experiences, love and pain,” she
says passionately. Elected as one of the top five learners in her class, she usually recites her poetry in front of classmates. She encourages parents to let their children make their own decisions about their career paths and hopes her work will show people that it is not the
end of the world. She can be contacted through Facebook: Makotorestudio’s