FEATURE | 16-YEAR-OLD FROM TLHOTLHOKWE PENS HEARTFELT POETRY BOOK – “A JOURNEY THROUGH SHADOWS: WHEN PAIN FINDS POETRY”

What started as scribbles in a notebook at age nine has now become a published dream.

Lesedi Lindy Phaleni (16), born on 02 April 2010 in Tlhotlhokwe village, Limpopo, and raised by her single mother alongside her two sisters, has officially written her debut poetry collection titled A Journey Through Shadows: When Pain Finds Poetry(2026).

Currently a Grade 11 learner at Ramabolela Secondary School, Lesedi says she never imagined she would fall in love with poetry. She once disliked it. But at 13, she found herself drawn to the way verse could carry pain, hope and healing all at once.

“I started writing to understand my own emotions. Poetry became my safe space,” she shares.

By 15, she was writing consistently, turning personal experiences and observations into poems that speak from the heart. That same year, she entered her first competition through _Rise Africans News_ and won first place for _Best Poem of the Month_ — a moment that convinced her that her voice mattered.

Her new book, A Journey Through Shadows: When Pain Finds Poetry, is a collection of poems about pain, resilience, hope and healing. Each piece is a reflection of her own journey and a message to others who may be struggling in silence.

“My wish is for readers to embrace hope, to find strength in difficult moments and to remember that even in the darkest seasons, there is always light waiting to be found,” Lesedi says.

For a young girl from a small village, balancing schoolbooks and poetry, this is just the beginning. Her story is proof that age and background do not limit talent — with determination, words can indeed become wings.