A Poem About ... ~ Nishka Ramkhelawan

This is a not a love poem
Nor is it about death
This poem is about all the little things
People tend to forget

Like the warmth of sunlight
Or the chirping of birds
And buzzing of bees
But rather we ignore these things
And only choose to fight

This poem is not about a lover
Or someone that I hate

This poem is not about heartbreak
Nor is it about regret

This poem has no subject
Nor does it have a story to tell

It is simply just a poem


Copyright Nishka Ramkhelawan

***
GRADE 11
***

I Took the Time ~ Siyabonga Dlamini

I took the time...
To go beyond what I see
Beyond skin, nerves, cells and tissue
Beyond what is only visible to the blind eye
What science recognizes only as part of the mind

I took the time to know you
Your psychological self
Your skills, weaknesses and passions
Your visions, dreams and aspirations
What only lies between membranes and neurons
As illuminating sparks

Taking all the time to know you
Every single memory made
It's surprising to get a response
That couldn't do the same
Claims of friendship all false from your lips
'Cause three years later you forgot I exist

I took the time to know you
Like how a true best friend would
Like Bugs knows Daffy despite
His selfishness, inconsideration and rudeness
It all seems like nothing, compared
To how you were ruthless

All this precious time wasted
On a meaningless journey
It's like working your whole life
But not living to spend your earnings
We claim to understand
but we're misunderstood
Because not all friendships last
As long as they should...

Copyright Siyabonga Dlamini

***
GRADE 11
***

How Cruel Could a Man Be? ~ Amanda Buthelezi

Every day I wake up with a smile on my face
Just to hide the pain that is inside
I wake up with a different attitude
Hoping that life would be kind
Hoping that my mind will be strong enough
To let go of the past
And move on with life

But every time I see a man
It reminds me of who you really are
I try to look at them with a different eye
But you made me believe that all men are the same

In front of people's eyes
I smile and laugh like it will never end
But behind closed doors
That's where reality begins
Every night I lie awake
Thinking of what you have done to me
Every time I close my eyes
I hear your voice echoing inside my head
Tears racing down my cheeks
The more I think about it
The more hatred I develop for a man

If it wasn't for you
I would be the same girl I was yesterday
But you were so cruel
You took away the only thing I had left in me
And left me with a wound that will never heal
If I think of a man I think suicide
Because now I have nothing to hold onto
I try to be strong but deep inside I am slowly dying
You took away the only thing I had in me
You took away my pride
How cruel could a man be?


Copyright Amanda Buthelezi

***
GRADE 12
***

Love Is ~ Prudence Mshawasha

Love is that mesmerizing smile you have
That unexplanatory feeling that attacks me
whenever your name is uttered
Your heart-warming hugs that draw me
deeper into love with you

Love is the pace of my heart
whenever I lay my love struck eyes on you
The fear of absence in my life
The pain of missing your presence
that drowns my sorrows in a sea of unseen tears
The number of seconds which I take
to glance at you without you noticing

Love is when I wish your hand could be entwined in mine forever
Love is when I yearn to call you mine forever
Love is when the word 'bye' becomes my greatest enemy
when it is uttered by me to you or from you to me
Love is the distance between us that hurts, disappoints
but still keeps this love, our love in existence


Copyright Prudence Mshawasha

***
GRADE 12
***

Two Poems by Mvelo Ndlovu

The Pencil Case

The eraser erased my bad habits
While the pencil drew in new ones.
The glue stick glued on a whole new face.
As the scissors cut away my background and past,
The ball point pen then made changes permanent,
While the colour pencils shaded in my body.

The calculator changed my way of thinking,
as the sharpener grazed over my rough edges.
Finally... the ruler.
I had to measure up to your standards.

Now me and you,
We walk, talk and think the same.
Two moving as one.

I don't even know who I've become,
What I was before.
You've changed me more than
You'll ever know.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You Think You Own Me

Touch my gentle yet crumbled heart...
Whisper to the ears that await your angelic voice...
Give me that promise.
Love without hesitation
But I will refuse it because
You think you own me.

I trusted and you betrayed.
Your eyes once vowed, "Nothing would tear us apart"
But you slipped away.
It kills me inside.

I reckon you've had your share of jams and jamborees,
lines of suitors and one-night stands
And your slow-beating, cold heart lingers
For the fools that love you.

Never, never again shall my breakdowns be the cause of misery
In missing your lips, your voice, your love because I think it wasn't there.
So I'm giving up now. Don't seem shocked.
You know you took me for granted cause you just thought
You owned me.


Copyright Mvelo Ndlovu

***
GRADE 12
***