Growing Up In A Boarding School
I spent my entire school career in a boarding school, where I was expected to look after myself from Grade 2, at the tender age of 8, until I graduated in Grade 12. I remember when I started boarding school during the second term…
I have fewer stories hanging on my gullet.
Untold stories of moments we shared,
and the laughter that quaked the room.
This is because I do not write in times of happiness.
I went through my pieces—
they carry grief like an infant,
cradled in my mind to this day.
Darkness overshadowed those moments,
or perhaps I…
I hope you remember
the poem from your birthday.
Let’s set aside my reeking anxiety,
how I failed your audience,
how I couldn’t articulate,
and how shame sought me
with persistence.
What I’m trying to say is—
I hope you remember
how much I valued you,
to the depths where lava is found,
the core of the earth,
the core of…
“The world doesn’t revolve around you.” –
A phrase that clings
like stubborn gum to the back of my pants.
Its presence numbs, its toxicity stains,
leaving me to tremble in a futile struggle.
Fingers wearily try, way too hard, to peel it away,
but others notice the hue from afar,
under their unspoken radar.
I keep…
Postnatal care seems to go hand in hand with the familiar scent of Dettol, the warmth of pap, and the soft puff of dusting powder. But once a child is born, not every mother steps into celebration; some step into waiting rooms, where the air is heavy with exhaustion,…
Imagine this: a wide, clear blue African sky above you with the horizon that disappears behind the green hills and mountains, in a village filled with old, interesting stories passed down through generations. This is where I come from. My roots are fixed deep in the red most fertile…
You wake up, not because you want to, but because the light creeping through the curtains demands it. The weight of the night clings to you like a suffocating blanket, leaving you paralyzed, unable to shake the darkness that’s been following you for so long. You lie there, staring…
But love, I am so tired.
The betrayal sits inside me
like an elephant on my chest.
Every fight drags it deeper
not just the infidelity, the lies,
But the why.
Why her? Why them?
Was it my body? My brokenness?
Was I not enough, or was she the dream
You couldn’t resist?
I see her face sometimes,
A ghost…
My dearest love,
we dwell in lands apart,
Yet in my heart,
your presence brightly glows.
Your memory, a love’s sweet ember,
fills each of my lonely days,
I long to hold you close
and always remember.
Though miles may stretch
their distance in between,
My love for you, untouched,
remains unshaken.
Every thought, every song,
they bring you near,
As I dream…