Profile: Poetic tales of an aspiring CA(SA)

With her poetic flair, complemented with a business mind, another of Lesedi’s ambitions has been the launch of ‘Poetique Nights’ in 2023: a collaborative effort to bring together and shine a light on local artistic talent.

‘I have always had an eye and ear for art. When I was younger, I would always write random songs and poems, but I never thought much about it. I was often discouraged by family as I was seen as an academic rather than an artist: I have always been told that I could only be one of the two but never both,’ she says. But she has proved them otherwise.

Lesedi started writing poetry in 2018 after a friend of her challenged her to write. In the meantime, she had already captured her English teachers’ attention with her unconventional essay writing skills that set her apart from the rest. She has also been published at the University of Johannesburg under the PsyCaD (Centre for Psychological Services and Career Development) campaign for mental health outreach.

‘Poetry has saved my life during the most stressful of times, while simultaneously pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming an accountant!’

How do you cope with the stress of studies?

In all honesty, I believe every degree is stressful, so I console myself by doing daily affirmations, to affirm my worthiness of being chosen for this particular stream at such an esteemed university. I have therapy sessions at the university that help me navigate my mental space during stressful times. I am grateful for my therapist at PsyCaD − she just gets me and makes me feel understood and seen.

What would you say to a first-year student who is studying accounting like yourself?

Participate, participate, participate!

Engage in different school campaigns as well as participating in class. Go through content before class and go prepared. Make new friends and form study groups.
At university, social capital is all the currency that you need.

Not ‘Sonnet 23’
Nature is a mother indeed.
How else could I begin to explain her warm embrace?
She takes me into her arms and carefully places me onto her lap …
She rocks her antique stool gently, so as to put me to sleep.
Her parted lips concoct a breeze so soft, it caresses what’s left of my hair.
She sings …
with the melody of a mockingbird and her hadada ibis fierceness.
It’s a symphony that I, too, feel a part of.
Her daughter’s stems are the colour of my skin …
Her hair, the colour of my blood.
Green, yes.
I, too, am full of life.
So abundant that her mother has to sit
me down
and remind me who I am.
Finally, she brushes her burnt out lips on the surface of my cheek.
I hear every pause in between her breaths …
Each break longer than the one prior …
She whispers.
‘Oh sweet child’
She continues …
‘What a weighty heart you carry.’
She places a peck down the nape of
my neck …
‘But don’t you worry …’
‘I cause havoc and cry too; it doesn’t make you any less witty.’
I gasp.
‘But that is the price to pay for all this beauty …’
First-prize Africa winner of the Peace and Quiet challenge in 2023