Displaced and running away from political persecution in Zimbabwe, Bloggs shares his macabre experiences of the regime that forced him into exile.
Depressed by his raw, squalid life, the threat of an ignominious death on the streets of Johannesburg and shame of failing his family, the equilibrium between his inner self and the outside world descends into chaos and mental anguish. In near despair and degradation, his blighted spirit collides with the dark forces of his extremity which triggers an amazing transformation that not only saves him but also touches the broken lives of other people around him.
Bloggs, refusing to pity himself, finds philosophical humour in his life situation. For him it is the enduring spirit of freedom and honesty rallied with courageous responses to forces of dehumanization that constitutes nobility and hope.
In these poems, Thompson Charlie explores the tragedy of displacement. Without any means of economic support, he finds his life anchor-less in a foreign environment. His introspection reveals an honest and tortured sensibility appalled at his own abrogation of duty and the disintegration of his inner world. It is a poignant journey of loneliness and disillusionment with a cruel political system - after his country gained independence - that persecutes and dehumanizes its own people.
Mindscapes Volume 1 stands on one side a voice of reason against oppression, unremitting pain of separation, a deep longing for the end of a torturing darkness, and the resilience of the human spirit. On the other hand it over-flows with mirth, insight and philosophy, reaching out with a fiery defiance that vibrates with hope for freedom and peace.