The water took more than boats,
It took names we will learn to say with shaking hands.
It took laughter that used to echo across the lake,
and left the lake holding its breath.

Today is a DAY OF DEPARTURE we never chose.
Doors closed on the water.
Voices became echoes.
I became was in a single wave.

To the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends:
We do not have answers that can fill the empty chair.
We only have words.
And we lay them gently at your feet,
like stones to mark where love was.

Our loved ones became prey to the current,
but we refuse to be prey to silence.
So we turn this grief into prayer.
Not to forget, but to remember closer.
Not to move on, but to carry them with us.

The Zambezi is wide,
but grief is wider.
And in this wide, we stand with you.
We remember with you.
We carry the weight with you.

May the currents be kind to those we lost.
May the shore be soft for those left behind.
May you find, in the quiet after the waves,
a small light that does not go out —
a prayer that keeps their names alive.

With deep sorrow and solidarity,

A tribute by Blessing Katsaura.