Vereeniging-based journalist Tebogo Mokwena has shared pieces of himself through his recently published poetry collection, From the Grave to the Cross.

The book is a collection of 96 poems that Mokwena wrote over a decade while struggling with loss and grief.
Mokwena invites audiences to share in his journey; he believes those going through hard times will find pieces of their own experiences in his work.

“At the heart of the book is a story of transformation. The poems will take audiences on a journey from loss and endings, through doubt, to renewal and new life.”

Beyond the pen, Mokwena is a happily married father of three boys, including twins. He describes his wife as his anchor and someone who has always kept him going. He is a Christian, an active church member, and an avid gamer.

Mokwena’s traumatic childhood has had a profound impact on his writing. At the age of 10, he lost his parents to a murder-suicide.
“I went through a very traumatic experience as a child. I lost my parents in 2000, when I was 10: my father shot my mother and then himself. I started writing poetry in 2003 because I was going through so much pain. I tried to find a way to express it and to understand what was wrong with me.

“The poetry stayed with me as much as the pain did. I wrote about how I struggled with Christianity, with belief and faith, and how I eventually questioned God’s existence altogether and became an atheist.”

Mokwena says poetry has always been his outlet.

“It has always been where I express my complex thoughts and feelings, and where I articulate my pain. I’ve written many poems about the loss of my childhood, the loss of my parents, and the pain of having to find my own way through the world.”

Through the book and a long healing journey, Mokwena has been given a chance to live.

“Starting over means having the chance to chase dreams I didn’t believe I would. It means remembering everything I set out to achieve, all the goals and desires that have brought me to this point.

“The key thread of this book is that I went from being an atheist to being an agnostic, from complete disbelief to a period of doubt, and finally to becoming a full-blown Christian.”

Through the collection, Mokwena hopes that audiences will understand that it’s okay to have questions about faith.

“It’s okay to go through a time when you’re not as strong in your faith, when you doubt, or when your faith feels small.”

“This book is the result of all those years of hard work, of thinking, doubting, and questioning whether I should do it at all. Now I’m very happy that I did.”

Mokwena says he has two poems closest to his heart: Quota generation, a poem about how modern members of the working class are caught in a place of targets and KPIs that cloud their vision, and The Virgin came to me, inspired by a vision, a supernatural experience in which the Virgin Mary came and encouraged him to pray the Hail Mary, one of the most important and powerful prayers in Catholicism.

The author is currently working on two more books he plans to publish in due course. Anyone interested in the book can contact Mokwena on 067 151 4474 or via email at tebogo.business01@gmail.com.