Vrees,
vir die geordende paar letters wat jou naam uitspel.

Vrees,
want jy bedreig my geluk soos 'n dors parasiet.

Vrees,
vir die monster wat jy in staat is om te wees.

Angs,
jy maak my bang, jou kaarte is onvoorspelbaar
en jy speel satireis sonder reels, grense of stippellyne vervaag
tussen wat joune is en wat bly eintlik myne.

Angs,
jy vat en gee dinge wat moes bly,
jy kom en gaan en verwoes
ons bly agter, 'n stukkie gronderosie
hou op,
want ek is nou moeg.

Angs,
want jou griewelike vure brand helder warm,
ek is bedek met die paraffien wat jy oor my uitgestort het.

Leuens,
jy wat gevul id met ongesonde nyd
raak jy nooit moeg,
om so vieslik te verwoes?

'n Onverdiende tug
beloon my met somber wanhoop
Ons almal nodig nou 'n bietjie rus,
die leemte wat jy vul sal ons nie maklik mis.

Walking along a dusty road
In the heat of a summer's day,
Two weary travelers looked for a place
To rest along the way.

They wanted to find shelter from
The fiery rays of the sun.
One said, "Look! I see a place."
The other said, "Well done!"

They sauntered to spot nearby
Where a plane tree stood,
And plopped down on the ground below.
Ah, the shade felt good!

While lying there, one of the travelers
Looked up at the tree,
And said to the other, "This tree is quite
Useless. Don't you agree?

"It drops its leaves and produces no fruit.
Although it stands so tall,
It basically doesn't perform any
Service to mankind at all."

"You ungrateful person!," cried
The plane tree full of rage.
"How dare you be so insolent
With somebody my age!

"Here I stand protecting you
From the scorching rays
Emitted by the sun and yet
I get no word of praise.

"You enjoy my cool shade
And find relief therefrom
And then go on to say that I'm
A good-for-nothing ***."

Ah, the poor tree learned that human
Beings can be rude,
When they upon receiving kindness
Display ingratitude.

-by Bob B (8-24-21)

°An Aesop fable, "The Travelers and the Plane Tree," retold here in verse

between you and me,
i'm still rooting for us.

maybe not in this lifetime,
but in the end.

-
Within the tears
She
gave me many reason to laugh with myself

Within the fears
She
gave me many reasons to hope for a better day

Within the painful nights
She
gave me many reasons to dance in the morning

Within my broken self
She
gave me many reasons to love
Of what remains in the mirror.

I’m forevermore thankful for She.

Your words are like a bitter juice I can't swallow
Stuck there, Hanging in mid-air
I can't understand it
It rings in my ears again and again
But it makes no sense
My mind is becoming numb from hearing your voice
Like eating something so spicy you can't feel your tongue
Like your fingers on the coldest day of winter
You keep touching them yet it feels like their not yours
Like not feeling a cut
But when I realized it
It was too late
The cut was bleeding out
It felt like you pressed a lemon against it
And rubbed the salt in
~10/4/21

Coming out
Into the world,
After a sure start
With nowhere to go now
Almost choking
At being an adult
Living life,
As it was laid out
By nature and nurture
Unfazed by my own religion
Or the world outside,
Never talked
To the guy upstairs
But living used to be sacred,
Is now all but sacrilege
If it were always
My plan versus his
I never stood a chance
But there's a sense
Of burdened freedom
Along with a sense
Of joyful realism
To be happy
any chance you get,
A fine ventriloquist
He's got his ways
Makes you admire
The work he does,
While pondering
The meaning of life,
The fine line
Between right and wrong,
Trying to get some
sense of control
Thinking of pulling
One up on my destiny
Of saving my soul
Not selling out
To this facade
Of what we call progress
But maybe I should
Just stay a while
And enjoy this blissful anaesthesia,
Monitored by the man himself.