Coming out...

It is Diana Ross who springs to[my]mind. And like her, I want to 'do it, like I've never done it...' Contrary to the fact that I have given my poetry the cold shoulder for about two years, reality has gone and slept me in the face: one of my poems:http://incandescentglory.blogspot.com/2009/05/resigned-to-my-karma.html has been included in an anthology published by West End Press. Has this woken the muse in me? Did s/he ever hibernate. Either way, I am coming out...

Silent rejection

If I turned blue from singing my heart out,
Stuck like glue wherever you were around,
Yearning for even just a glance from you
To affirm the clearness of my emotion,
Would you even stir?

If I lost my voice and clarity of thought,
Gave all away and was left with nought.
Would you hear me then?

Now, I lie at your feet.
Pining, writhing – what a deed!
I’m dying to cross the threshold
Of your soul.
Will you cast me away?
Will you hear me now?

Standing Tall

I stand on the edge of
a precipice. Vertigo's got
me reeling in anticipation.
For I got wings to glide
home, where neither knaves
nor cowards dare to tread.

The Great Tussle

Treading on treacherous ground,
Risking life and limb,
We would be wise to know
The end is nigh.

Pinned to a corner,
We claim naivety,
Shirk all responsibility,
Cower and blame the gods.
Won’t we just
Stand up and be counted?

when the words won't come...

Was it Kojo or Rethabile who reminded us of this just the other day? Been trying to write.For the longest time(it sure feels). Did not manage to come up with anything. It's been weeks; months, even. Closer to two years, to be exact. Yet there is so much that's been going through my mind. How can I find my voice,again?

The thing

Is there a difference between

knowing what we want

in life and actually going for it?

is this difference the very act

of going for it? The thing maybe

crystal clear in our minds, but the

going for it on a day to day basis

renders it a bit elusive.

at times, it actually seems

to be ever sliding farther

and farther - the more we

attempt to get it!

How can it be then, that our getting

the thing or not, is largely

up to us?

Do we need to factor in

the friends, weather, mood

and chutzpah that can

always influence how far

we stretch to get near

the thing on any day?

But now, seeing that

when we look around us,

we conclude that

the great sportsmen, actresses

and successful professionals

among us, have got their thing,

we feel we see that the thing

is within reach.

Maybe then, the key is

to find the thing,

firstly, inside us,

then live with and by it.

Bashemane

had we not come this far
to see the men, we would
have felt no pride
seeing them thus,
gleaming with red ochre.

strangely arrogant they were,
in their unwashed bodies,
exuding a strong odour
of manly defiance.

from where we stood,
we felt no inclination
to pretend we had rights
to stand nearer and face them.

we stood with the women
because we had never
had the experience.

and yet the women themselves,
we were uncomfortably aware,
had disapproving countenances;
clearly abashed, to be near
our uninitiated selves.

Keep going…

if we were to balk at the
idea of a life lived in
the pursuit of service,

we would not understand
why our work is never done;
why there is ever so much to
be done, with finite resources.

when we do chance upon
moments when our spirits
soar, giving us that rare
feeling of infinite chutzpah,

we ought to realize then,
that we owe it to ourselves
to make every minute count;
we just have to stick it out
to the very end.

© phomolo lebotsa