Seasons ~ Malwazi Moholi

'Why do the seasons change?'

Spring came, the flowers began to blossom in different colors,
the birds started chirping and made an unforgettable a path of melody.
The beautiful painting of color and new beginnings was almost complete.

Yet,
my heart could never change.

By Summer time, the painting was complete,
with growth in the air, people bustle to go to the ocean
to splendor the scenery and scent of the sea,
to tickle their toes in the sticky sand and
enjoy the value of spending time together.

Yet,
my heart felt the same as it did last Summer.

Autumn gushed in and brought its bright gloomy feeling with,
spots of amber, brown and red filled the air,
with a splatter of green here and there.
It's getting cooler and it's about time to find company to cope with the cold.

Yet,
my heart remained dull and closed.

Winter dropped by and caused havoc.
He ripped the leaves off of the trees, leaving them vulnerable
and exposed.
He touched my heart alone,
leaving others unaffected and warm.
Such injustice indeed.

My heart -
enclosed in stone cold ice protecting the last bit of warmth and love left -
never changed.
"Why do seasons change; why does the world keep spinning,
when my heart and mind are living in pain?"


© Malwazi Moholi

***
Matriculant 2018
***

Reaching for the Concrete Moon ~ Nishka Ramkhelawan

She descended to her knees
in aspiration,
to bury her feelings
that turned futile
and started bleeding with suppressed emotions.

Immense teardrops leaked from her eyes;
the cumbersome rainclouds in her mind
destructively gyrated in their turbulent nature.

She cried a river,
with livid, tattered currents
silently flowing down her face
onto the isolated soil.

She wanted not to be the last leaf
on a tree before winter began.


© Nishka Ramkhelawan


***
Grade 12
***

Snakes/ Winter is Beautiful ~ Aryan Mootheeram

Snakes

Snakes slither silently
monthly shedding their sins.
Moving on, motive driven
to suffice for the magnificence.


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


Winter is Beautiful

The trees bare their leaves
exposing their serene souls

Flowers hide encased by a sheath
of warmth and safety

Love is ignited by glowing fires
in the hearth of homes

Winter is so wonderfully wicked
in the most unorthodox of ways

©  Aryan Mootheeram


***
Grade 10
***

When I am Gone & Other Poems ~ Verusha Pillay

When I’m Gone

When I die,
Why would you remember me?
Because my tongue was a knot of ties,
Because my perfection was purely imperfection,
Because my precise, poise was nothing but a fading phantom.
Or because you looked through the muddy, shine of my eyes and saw me,
Because… you heard the roar in the stillness of the forest,
Because you knew the wisdoms behind the gurgles,
Because you truly knew me.
Why would you remember me?
Because I was worth it…


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


Springs Breath

The pureness seeps in-
The wondrous, whiteness of wilt is withdrawn.
The crystals demise-
Through the green-blue blooms,
On the suns field of joyousness.


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


Empyrean

She hugs me,
Wrapping me in her misty arms,
And I look into her cerulean eyes.
As swirling, clouds of bliss pass through,
I see the torment and turmoil that turns them grey,
The reddish-pink of disappearing memories,
To turn to the darkness of night.
Your forceful nature becomes me,
For you are constant.

©  Verusha Pillay


***
Grade 10
***

I am a Tree ~ Sakhiso Mabizela

I am a tree,

In winter

The cold freezing 

July

I have no leaves or dreams

No colour and no life

I am a tree

I am weak

BUT!!!

In spring,

The warm and lovely

September

I will blossom with

Love, life and colour

Shielded by my dreams.

I am a tree

I am strong…

© Sakhiso Mabizela


***
Grade 9
***

The Most Hilariously Painful Thing ~ Pryaska Goorhoo

photo credit: Himalayas Mountain Flight via photopin (license)

Life is the most hilariously painful thing.
It fills every single one of our cells with pain and pleasure.
It sort of also envelopes our thoughts into a hard, solid rock.
Like the Himalayas last winter and the very day
Where everything that had been blue, now turned to white.
Right at this moment, autumn is a dead old tree
Waiting for the finger-like, six-sided projections to cover each leaf.
Autumn is where the leaves dance from the branches to a melancholy tune-
Just like the notes in my head, the painful yet pleasurable memories.
That one scent, mood and atmosphere - all it brings with it is sadness
Sometimes even just a blatant mockery.
Despair, distraughtness - the emptiness of life.
The emptiness of life, The North Pole, vast landscapes of nothing more than plain snow
Unproductive, distant and cold.
And I hope that with every single life lived on this planet,
It is so much more than that - unproductive, distant and cold.


© Pryaska Goorhoo


***
Grade 10
***

Eternal Happiness ~ Nsiki Gwala

Happiness is the most fulfilling thing.
It's the touch of life which resurrects deceased spirits,
Like the cerulean sky, which gives freedom
to those who soar in it.
I'm reminded of hours spent near serene blue oceans,
Where my spirit was at peace-
Free from all burden, which had trapped my soul
In a ciphered cage of everlasting misery.
As Autumn creeps into our lives,
A feeling of emptiness lingers in the cold air,
(Mocking warm memories of happiness)
Because Autumn is a broken record stuck on a melancholy melody
Which serenades the dying nature into the next life.
I see dark clouds hanging over the Drakensberg,
As though mourning the death such beauty;
And I wish for the feeling of eternal happiness
To cleanse my troubled soul.

© Nsiki Gwala

***
GRADE 10
***

The Beauty of Night - Nsiki Gwala

Night is the most mystical thing,
That bears murderers and helpless victims,
Like monstrous waves from the deep blue.
Oh how beautiful was the night's kindred
which shone and illuminated the heavens!
Though Autumn is a plague that defiles nature's beauty,
Only the night's beauty is immune to such a woeful death.
Night brings isolation and despair
That crushes fragile hearts.
It is the unknown that unhinges innocent minds-
Not a melody nor whisper can break through its ciphered silence.
But as the sun rises from the lonely hills,
Its striking presence mocks the night's mystical beauty,
As its rays tear through the night's mortal figure.
I see fallen leaves and desolated, cerulean skies-
An affirmation of Bergville's death by Autumn's plague-
And I wish for the return of the mystical night:
A blanket to conceal this grotesque death.

© Nsiki Gwala

***

GRADE 10

***

Shweta Singh ~ Two Poems

The Wintery Wizard 

He visits us around April, May
It’s very true to say
His face is white snow
His hands and limbs are thin bare branches

He cast his icicle wands
In hope to freeze a million ponds
She showers the ground with soft candy floss snow
And that’s the Wintery Wizard I know

© Shweta Singh


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The Time Has Arrived

The time has arrived
Crystal blue waters
today is sunny
Come to the beach buddy
We’ll take a selfie
Just you and me

The time has arrived
The sunset has awakened us
This anticipation
Calls for a celebration

Play on the music
Drink the bottle to the last
We gonna have a blast

Your love…that’s all I need, bae

There be you and me
At the sea side, the sound of water
Take me into your arms, what you’re waiting for
Then to a lovely yacht
And we’ll be drunk after as few Malibu shots

The time has come
The night is colorful
Let’s make it meaningful

© Shweta Singh


***
GRADE 10
***

Yuktha Singh ~ Winter Has Been Blown Away

Winter has been blown away.
I heard Spring’s harmonious voice as the sun rose.
Bright and colourful is the new day.

Over the horizon, the Sun shines his rays.
Across the bright, blue sky, so swiftly- a bird flies.
Winter has been blown away.

The skies and clouds were once so grey
and bare, dry trees are now in disguise.
Bright and colourful is the new day.

Mr Jack Frost too, has gone away.
Those cold mornings and frost bites slowly dies.
Winter has been blown away.

Children laugh and play and enjoy sorbet.
The Sun’s demands make everyone’s mood comply.
Bright and colourful is the new day.

Flowers, along with hearts begin to blossom.
As the Sun’s bright smile crosses one’s eyes,
Hearts sing and faces glow all day.
Winter has been blown away.


© Yuktha Singh


***
GRADE 9
***