So many cold winter nights have come and gone.
But I still have a desire to feel your warmth once again.
I yearn for the type of love that heals pain.
I yearn for your presence in ways that I cannot explain.
You are the words in my incomplete poems.
You are the words I long to write.
You are the poems I long to recite.
These ears patiently await the whisper of love.
I listened to my heart and all I could hear was you.
All I could hear was you.

I’ve been dreaming with my eyes open ever since I met you.
I read you like the pages and chapters of a great novel that I never want to complete.
You became a poem I patiently wrote without words.
You’re my sunshine through the rain.
You’re my love through the pain.
Show me how it feels like to be whole again.
Tease my mouth with just the closeness of yours.
Rub your smile onto my lips.
You speak as though poetry rests on the curves of your lips.
You’ve got distractingly captivating curves.
The kind of curves not found in cursive.
These words spoken may often go unheard.
These poems may often remain unread but the beauty in your smile never goes unnoticed.

When you are the breeze, I can never forget to breathe.
You have left traces of profound joy in my pulse and now my heart no longer beats the same.
I have a hunger for love to fill the appetite of pain.
I crave for your presence in ways that I cannot explain.
Show me how it feels like to be whole again.
I want a reality worth dreaming about.
I yearn for the type of love that leaves no room for doubt.
I want the beat that my heart skips to praise your beauty.

So many cold winter nights have come and gone.
But I still have a desire to feel your warmth once again.
I yearn for the type of love that heals pain.
I yearn for your presence in ways that I cannot explain.
You are the words in my incomplete poems.
You are the words I long to write.
You are the poems I long to recite.
These ears patiently await the whisper of love.
I listened to my heart and all I could hear was you.
All I could hear was you.

26 | 31 Poems for August

I am a blank page, craving for your ink to bleed onto me.
Your thoughts and secrets are safe with me.
Chain yourself to the idea of freedom and slowly begin to liberate me.
Metaphors and similes hit the page at extremely high velocities.
People should often see your pen in motion, you write your poems differently.
It’s fascinating how you create poetry out of silence.
I’ve felt you, seen you give life to things like love, pain, peace and violence.
As soon as inspiration ignites, you gradually begin to write late in the peaceful hours of the night.
Everyone knows that your words and verses tend to excite.
The day your muse realised that words could touch her, she wanted to become a poem.
The type of poem that Maya Angelou’s ink always dreamt about.
Keep respecting your craft, make it more constructive.
Live life and regret nothing, be completely destructive.
You have spent endless nights, hopelessly staring into the void that you are constantly trying to avoid.
Your mind is constantly being filled up with possible poems, people should really see your pen in motion.
You are the Michelangelo of flow, you paint pictures with your poems.
You are the countless calm moments after months and years of violence.
It’s fascinating how you effortlessly create poetry out of silence.
People should see your pen in motion, you write your poems differently.
But I wish you took more time to write.

20 | 31 Poems for August

The stars urged me to write something about you.
The stars urged me to write a poem as beautiful as you.
I’ve got ink stains on my fingers and happiness overflowing in my heart.
I’ll have no need for poetry when embracing your body becomes my art.
The weather hasn’t been the same ever since the sun decided to impersonate the warmth of your aura.
Now I spend most of my time basking in the warmth of your presence.
I still cannot control nor explain loving you the way I do.
This love will carry us into the future no matter what we go through.
In a sky full of constellations, you’ll always be my favourite star.
It’s within your simplicity where I discovered how beautifully complex you are.
I’ve kept your fingerprints pressed between the pages of my favourite book.
Somewhere between the prologue and chapter five.
The day you re-introduced me to love my soul came alive.
The world is beautiful but it’s nothing without you.
It’s amazing how you love me the way you do.
In a sky full of constellations, you’ll always be my favourite star.
The pages of my heart are saturated with words describing how phenomenal you are.
I could write poetry forever with the inspiration our chemistry provides.
Young muse, these words have all been written for you.
Only you.

Jen, never worry because I promise you that everything is going to be okay.
Your mind is as breathtaking as views from Table Mountain and your love is as beautiful as the Sistine Chapel.
Life for us was different a few weeks ago, silhouettes of dreams keep me holding on to a different hope.
Two minds flooded with dopamine, our disagreements show that we have more issues than weekly magazines.
But our love proves that nothing has changed in regards to the connection that we share.
I still write about you in hopes that one day you’ll read all these words and hopefully find your way back to me.
The moment that you opened up your eyes, I was right there by your side and my love for you comes as no surprise.
When my blue skies have turned grey, I listen to that one Emeli Sandé song and reminisce about you every single day.
So babe, it’s okay you can hold me now, hold me down and hold me always.
Listening to Long Live the Angels and taking note of the colours in my dreams.
When the relentless heat of the summer sun drove me crazy all I could think about was your smile and those beautiful brown eyes.
I’ve come to accept that love is a part of me even when it’s apart from me.
Jen, never worry because I promise you that everything is going to be okay.

6 | 31 Poems for August 2017

I have a yearning to be the poem that keeps writing itself on people’s hearts.
The yearning for this love to be intensified by the beauty of your presence.
You’re the one I can always pour myself into until you’re overflowing with love.
The buzz that you always feel when you’re with me could last for light-years.
So, this is more than just another Toy Story, enjoy our love while you laugh and bask in all its glory.
Love is blind and that I know already, but I cannot continue writing these words without you.
I was made for loving you so grant me peace of mind before I begin to lose a piece of mine.
The yearning to be left alone with my thoughts and read all the books I’ve recently bought.
I still find myself sitting at my desk trying to write poetry about the past demons that I’ve fought.
Those demons questioned the value of their existence on the day I was embraced by your love.
I have a yearning to be the poem that keeps writing itself on people’s hearts.

30 | 31 Poems for August

I set myself on fire just to keep you warm.
You should see my third-degree burns.
I was taught to never play with matches but I guess I’ll never learn.
You stand there with no sense of panic and watch me as I slowly burn.
Ascending to new heights and I still want to take you higher.
Burnt every flower in the garden of my heart and you’re still fuelled with a burning desire.
All that I needed was the kind of love that I mysteriously couldn’t find.
I’m the boy who didn’t give up on love and you’re the girl who stopped learning to love again.
For some odd reason, you enjoy watching me going through relentless pain.
With your kerosene hands you ignite every single thing you touch.
All I wanted you to do was love me, I wasn’t really asking for much.
Every time I say your name, I feel a burning sensation at the back of my throat.
Swimming in an ocean of kerosene with no signs of a lifeboat.
I keep thinking about how loving you is complicated while I try to stay afloat.
I’m the boy who taught himself how to love through the pain.
I thought that your love and laughter could keep me sane.
You constantly scorch my skin with your burning love.
I set myself on fire just to keep you warm.
You should see my third-degree burns.
I was taught to stay away from fire but I guess I’ll never learn.
You stand there and watch me as I slowly burn.
Slowly burning, now here comes the smoke.
But a phoenix will always rise from the ashes.
A phoenix will always rise.

4 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Stories about how the girl I was crushing on crushed my feelings.
Stories about how I dug my own grave right after the masquerade.
Are diamonds still forever if whoever you pictured spending your eternity with isn’t the one you’re committed to?
Before she puts the blame on me just let her know that I was committed too.
Detachment is something she was always good at and I still do not know why she let me go.
My poetry was never meant to be this revealing – I’m gradually letting go of all my past demons.
I was wrong when I thought I’d always be supported by the people I believe in.
I should just call it quits and stop seeing the good in people – it drives me crazy having this much of a loving heart.
Are diamonds still forever if whoever you pictured spending your eternity with isn’t the one you’re committed to?
We should’ve done this a long time ago – we should’ve stopped wasting our relationship on building a relationship.
Detachment has become the only way to cope, I’m hanging by a thread and I hope no one cuts the rope.

22 | 31 Poems for August 2016

I’ve been looking all over for you, so tell me where have you been?
You can’t seem to remember how you got to loving me the way you do.
I wrote this at around 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning while thinking about you.
You will always be my favourite love poem, written on the sands of time.
Now that I’ve finally found you, I never want to write our breakup poem.
I didn’t know how good love felt until the day you began to love me the way you have.
Sometimes my communication skills are as bad as my handwriting is.
But my kisses are as good as my intentions, so you can go ahead and rub your smile onto my lips.
You have become the poems and stories woven in the veins of my loving heart.
You are the reason why I remained whole while my world was falling apart.
I’ve been looking all over for you and I’m glad that I’ve finally found you.
My hands were writing about love long before I knew what poetry was.
But I didn’t know what love was until the day you began to love me.
I’m banking on you to not withdraw from the love we have both invested in.
Even though the world may read the pages of my heart, my poetry will always belong to you.
Now that I’ve finally found you, promise me that you’ll never let me go.

12 | 31 Poems for August

I prayed to God and humbly thanked Him for your existence.
Even though I barely say much, I know He’s always listening.
No matter what you say or do, I’ll always remain in love with you.
All I want to do is show you the world’s panoramic view.
I’ve been blessed with the chance to love you.
I guess dreams do really come true.
Love, I’m bad at this beautiful thing people call love.
Listen, your complexion is truly a blessing.
I want the beauty of God manifested in all we do.
I’m fighting for our love, I wish you would too.
I’m fighting for our love, I can’t do this all alone.
I’m still learning how to love, I can’t do this on my own.
No matter what you say or do, I’ll always remain in love with you.
All I want to do is show you the world’s panoramic view.
I have gradually let my guard down for you.
In due time I hope you’ll do the same too.

27 | 31 Poems for August

My hands will always long for the company of yours.
I’ve been hopelessly walking around with a broken heart.
Yesterday I felt like crying but surprisingly nothing came out.
I patiently put my pain on paper to let you know what I am all about.
I write to write, yet the emptiness remains.
All that I’m left with is a broken heart and black ink stains.
Walk steadily and try by all means to maintain your centre of gravity.
I’m forever drunk on love while you’re still living off its depravity.
I’m not always this quiet, my mind is as loud as a riot.
People stop and stare, their expressions prove that they don’t care.
I love hard like I’ve never ever been acquainted with heartbreak.
I’m on the pursuit of happiness but I’m currently running low on love.
Hold me like a conversation, hold me and don’t ever let me go.
But if you ever feel like giving up and letting go then let me know.
Overdosed on morphine just so I could morph in.
Except I use other drugs just to numb the pain.
Searching for my rainbow so allow me to dance in the rain.
On some days it gets worse, this sickness is a curse.
I think you know it, I think everyone knows it now.

The world has made you feel like an abandoned church but in my eyes you’ll always be a cathedral.
Don’t leave me sitting here alone because no amount of ***** or morphine will ease the pain.
I stood in the rain patiently awaiting your arrival but then I eventually realised that you were the rain.
Your darkness balances out my light, and that’s one of the things that I love about you.
The ocean in your eyes reminds me of the colour of the sky and how I want to dive into the depths of you.
Let me romance you all over again so that you can feel the moment you first fell in love with me.
I want to write poems for you again so that you remember the feeling of losing your breath at the emotions they brought.
I know you miss the smile you once held while falling asleep and the sense of hope and love I brought to your world of loneliness.

You cannot seem to remember how you got to loving me, it all seems to be a distant memory.
What you feel is real but there once came a point in your life where detachment became the only way to cope.
Now I’m standing in front of you with the purpose of providing love and hope.
I know you miss the smile you once held while falling asleep to beautiful poems and peaceful dreams.
Don’t leave me behind because love like yours is hard to find and my words can attest to this.
I once said that you seem to ruin anything good going for you but that’s a lie.
Chances have already been given so let’s both start over because my heart says that you’re the one.

17 | 31 Poems for August 2016

I understand the fact that I am not always easy to understand.
Loving me is complicated and maybe that’s the beauty of it all.
I never really knew how to handle this beautiful thing called love.
So I always thought that someone would be able to show me how.
“You’re not easy to love” are words I’ve heard too many times before.
My hyperhidrosis is evident but how long will you keep on looking?
I know that my smile is flawed and crooked but it’s worth the picture still.
Let me write my wrongs until I’m right within but where should I begin?
Walking through a graveyard littered with my ideas and thoughts.
Littered with my endeavours of trying to be someone worthy of your love.
You don’t believe in me so who am I to tell the world about our story?
Just another spoken-word poet from Pretoria trying to attain his glory.
These words are written with great effort but you never pay attention anyway.
You know that I’ve got hyperhidrosis but I try not to sweat the small stuff.
I never really knew how to handle this beautiful thing called love.
So I always thought that someone would be able to show me how.
“You’re not easy to love” are words I’ve heard too many times before.
My hyperhidrosis is evident but how long will people keep on looking?
I know that my smile is flawed and crooked but it’s worth the picture still.

Jen, you worry too much about things beyond our control, but you need to know that we are going to be okay.
Your mind is as breathtaking as views from Table Mountain and your love is as beautiful as the Sistine Chapel.
Let’s vibe out and listen to Malibu by Anderson .Paak while reminiscing about the love that we’ll never get back.
I took six shots of Jägermeister, and apparently, I drank more but that’s the only part that I can remember.
It’s a new year and I’m sitting here listening to music while drinking Heineken and reminiscing about December.
I have been sharpening the edges of my pen to write about blunt memories.
Let’s vibe out and listen to Malibu by Anderson .Paak while reminiscing about the love that we’ll never get back.
We’ll never get back together but I can’t keep on losing you over complications that I’m unfamiliar with.
We must’ve met in the past life because that’s probably why I want to love you past life.

Jen, you worry way too much about the future that you tend to forget to live in the moment.
So every minute that passes by is a moment that you want to capture and post on Instagram and Facebook.
But I can’t judge you because sometimes I get lost in the whirlwind of vivid pixels and instant gratification.
I have come to accept that love is a part of me even when it’s apart from me.
Jen, you worry too much about things beyond our control, but you need to know that we’re going to be okay.

3 | 31 Poems for August 2016

Feeling like an abandoned church but in your eyes I’ll always be a cathedral.
These blue skies fade to grey while I pray to ease the burden of a bad day.
My strength and happiness are gone; I can feel myself gradually fading away.
Not even Mandela money could buy me freedom in a dollar-based economy.
In a world saturated with poverty, politicians are still protecting their pockets.
They are constantly making you think that the power is in your hands but this is not a Cell C ad.
So be careful of who you give your power to because you may never see this freedom they highly speak of.
Everyone is claiming that they represent the youth but you can go back and listen to Ghetto Gospel and hear the truth.
Even with the humour of an established comedian, they wouldn’t be Trevor Noah funny.
Laughing all the way to the bank, we also aim to receive Trevor Noah money.
Give me all the best and worst parts of you and a room with a wonderful view.
Give me a blank page and a beautiful muse and you’ll marvel at what I can do.
The world is my canvas; Picasso would’ve loved to see all the resplendent pictures that I’ve painted.
I wrote plenty peaceful poems picturing politicians perpetuating poverty.
No uncertainty, this is a cold war and we all know what we’re fighting for.
In a world saturated with poverty, politicians are still protecting their pockets.
Blue skies fade to grey while I pray to ease the burden of a bad day.
Hopefully everything will be okay even if things don’t go our way.

I get high off my lows when my life is rapidly moving out of control.
I wish someone had told me that drugs come in the form of people too.
I love waking up whole to the bonfire of a warm and loving soul.
But I know that you will eventually grow tired of me somehow they all do.
Diligently dealt with depression before and I’ve been silently subjected to a detrimental allure.
This obsession with depression will have me in a state of regression.
I have visions of nightmares when the night stares, this is my confession.
I have been falling apart while trying to piece together my broken heart.
Love does not know the pain it heals and pain does not know the love it seeks.
The doors of my closet lead to a graveyard that has been burdened with my endeavours of trying to be someone worthy of your love.
Depression hit harder than the recession, it had me regressing and constantly questioning my level of progression.
I wish someone had told me that drugs come in the form of people too.
If someone alerted me then I wouldn’t have fallen so deep in love with you.

15 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

I took the bus from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to free my mind and receive closure from you.
Let’s vibe out and listen to our favourite songs by Drake and reminisce about the love that we’ll never get back.
How long can I keep holding on when all this pain becomes a reflection of everything that’s bound to go wrong?
Was I not deserving of the kind of love and happiness that I had consistently given to you?
I yearn for a reality worth dreaming about, but lately my heart has been paralysed by doubt.
Time is expensive like a Richard Mille watch but every minute I spent with you was worth it.
When my blue skies fade to grey, I listen to songs by The Weeknd and reminisce about you every single day.
I took the bus from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to free my mind and receive closure from you.
Now I spend my days listening to sad songs while reminiscing about the love that I’ll never get back.
These words are proof that I’m still recovering from the heartbreak I once felt a while ago in Hatfield.

10 | 31 Poems for August 2016

Love me like you promised me you would.
Love me like I still know you can and I still know you can.
For the first time in a long time, I feel a whole lot of love here.
So love, please don’t walk away or decide to disappear from me.
I’m banking on you to not withdraw from the love we have both invested in.
Because the truth is my heart says that you’re the one, my heart is really growing fond of you.
Love, I used to think that I was bad at this beautiful thing people call love.
But I realised that the problem wasn’t the intensity of my affection but rather the quality of people I chose.
Like a rose, from the concrete I rose and I want you to witness my bloom.
You’ve made me question if all the women I have been with before were really worthy of my love, time and effort.
Love me unconditionally, across beautiful South African cities, over the world’s skyscrapers and beyond the depths of time.
I admire how you have loved me this intensely despite how devastating your previous heartbreak was.
Don’t walk away from me because no amount of ***** or morphine will ease the pain.
Let’s escape from reality with our lips locked to a place far away from the stares of prying strangers.
Please don’t walk away or decide to disappear from me not after you promised that you would love me.
Love me wholeheartedly, across beautiful South African cities, over the world’s skyscrapers and beyond the depths of time.
Love me like I still know you can, love me like you promised me you would.

My earphones are as tangled up as the words that I’ve tried to say to you.
The words that I’ve constantly tried to say to you are now suffocating me.
Depriving me of the air I need to breathe when I think about what we both could be.
Here I stand gradually disintegrating just so I can try to remain whole.
I wanted to escape from the cold and nestle myself deep inside your soul.
But you’ve changed now and you’re no longer the same person that I fell for.
Allow me to whisper the words that held together the shattering glass that you’ve become.
I know that through their utterance you will finally feel your heart beating to the rhythm of our love again.
My earphones are as tangled up as the words that I’ve tried to say to you.
The words that I’ve constantly tried to say to you are now suffocating me.

21 | 31 Poems for August 2016

The cuts on her wrists help to express the feelings she cannot put into words.
Despite the pain she feels,  she feels the urge to constantly hurt herself again.
I want to be her sunshine through the rain and be her love through the pain.
She once said "Self-hurt became the only way to cope, I'm hanging by a thread and I hope no one cuts the rope."
Maybe no one will ever truly understand the type of love and happiness that she has begun to humbly demand.
The teenage girl who cuts herself knows that morphine cannot ease her pain.
She bleeds every night and believes that her scars will make her feel all right.
She has been tirelessly walking around with the burden of a broken heart.
She uses countless razor blades just to refrain herself from falling apart.
Mom doesn't know because during the day her scars don't clearly show.
Carefully concealed to avoid the eyes of prying friends, she'd rather converse with a stranger.
Inflicting pain on herself became the only way to cope, she's hanging by a thread and hopes that no one cuts the rope.
The teenage girl who cuts herself is trying to exorcise the demons she has regrettably danced with.
She has wounds a Band-Aid cannot cover and experiences pain that morphine cannot dissipate.
The teenage girl who cuts herself is patiently waiting for love to dominate.
The cuts on her wrists help to express the feelings she cannot put into words.
She believes that her marks and scars will eventually make everything all right.
The day she embraced God's love, her demons questioned the value of their existence.

24 | 31 Poems for August 2016

This is not my life, it’s just a temporary façade, if you listen to my voice you’ll discover that it’s my disguise.
I fully acknowledge the fact that I am not perfect but I’d love to believe that I’m worth it.
The hardest part of saying goodbye is seeing me cry and knowing that I’ll no longer get the chance to see you smile.
I wrote this on a Tuesday morning while listening to Siegfried by Frank Ocean while reading the pages of a Dan Brown novel.
I’d build Rome for you in a day and make you forget about all the negative things that critics always say.
Heartbreak comes in the morning when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing.
My heart breaks as I try to piece this piece together and hopefully find peace by the end of this masterpiece.
I’m tired like the Michelin Man but I still have great drive like a brand new Bentley or Benz.
Some days I’m more Bukowski than Dickens, flipping through the pages of my life as the plot thickens.
They say perception is flawed and distorted, perception is key and I need to find a locksmith.
Contemplating about unexpected goodbyes while living off a temporary high.
A part of me had already anticipated the heartbreak so this time around the effects were less detrimental.
My eyes and mind are blinded by the love that my heart obstinately believes in.
I’m thankful for your love, you gave me something to believe in but the time has come for me to be leaving.
This is not my life, it’s just a temporary façade, if you analyse my poetry you’ll discover that it’s my disguise.

9 | 31 Poems for August 2017

When my blue skies have turned grey, I listen to that one Emeli Sandé song and reminisce about you every single day.
The moment you opened your eyes, I was right there by your side and my love for you comes as no surprise.
But I knew that someday my love wouldn’t be good enough for you and that somehow, you’d find a way to disappear.
I hope you’ve found a way to finally stop smoking cigarettes and drinking ***** like there’s a message in the bottle.
Love, I wish you’d be more open about your feelings because bottling everything in is detrimental.
I still write about you in hopes that one day you’ll read all these words and hopefully find your way back to me.
I still miss the sweet scent of your presence on the white duvet covers and cotton sheets of my memory.
Love is blind and that I already know, but I had never pictured writing these words without you.
Maybe you were right when you said that my love is as bad as my handwriting is – maybe I should’ve seen it coming.
Your aura always took me to peaceful picturesque places that I had only seen in my dreams.
I still want to hold your heart like the lonely autumn trees hold the fragility of clinging leaves.
But I knew that someday my love wouldn’t be good enough for you and that somehow, you’d find a way to disappear.

How can I explain talking to myself.
I'm in awe of who's in front of me
It's genuine, I feel it.
Thought you'd never see.
The pain you found in me.
Living in a world where the clock is
working overtime.
She has searching for the thrill of it.
Her anatomy is God's temple.
It's really quite simple.
The beating of her heart has a fast tempo.
Her drive drives me crazy.
I need car insurance maybe.
A chaffeur in a white Mercedes.
How can I explain talking to myself?

13 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

I’m losing you but you aren’t even mine, you belong to someone else.
I assumed you’d have good intentions for me but that was my mistake.
I assumed; how reckless of me to have assumed the most positive of things.
I’m losing you but you aren’t even mine to love yet you’re always on my mind.
But how lost do I have to be in order for you to come and find me and love me wholeheartedly?
I wish people would never ask about my love life because it seems like I could never love or be loved right.
I need peace of mind before my mind ends up in pieces because I can no longer stand being alone.
I should’ve just left you alone; I shouldn’t have turned your heart into a home.
I looked for love in all the wrong places and fell in love with all the wrong faces.
Maybe in your quiet time at exactly the right time, you could possibly be mine to love wholeheartedly.
I finally understand it now; I’m a hopeless romantic who will always insist on remaining hopeful.

2 | 31 Poems for August 2016

A poem written by my heart so every single word you hear is a pulse.
I’m a literary writer living inside the mind of a spoken-word poet.
I still write beautiful words; you can ask Luyanda – even she knows it.
Things change, circles grow smaller, conversations get shorter and eventually hearts grow distant.
But I’m glad that Luyanda, Faith and I still manage to talk every now and then.
It’s sad to see that you’re not around, it’s like you just disappeared into thin air.
Still hoping that you’d call or text but you’ve probably lost my numbers by now.
If you’re willing to talk to me, I promise to listen like I always do.
You can count on me like an abacus, sounds cliché but you know it’s true.
Even if things don’t always go my way, I just hope that everything will be okay.
I’m learning to embrace a metamorphosis I was previously oblivious to.
It’s still no mystery why my aura will always long for the company of yours.
I’m a literary writer living inside the mind of a spoken-word poet.
I still write beautiful words; you can ask William – even he knows it.
Time is wasted so I patiently wait for the clock to get sober eventually.
Things change but I’m glad that William, Terrence and I still manage to talk every now and then.
It’s sad to see that you’re not around, it’s like you just disappeared into thin air.
Still hoping that you’d call or text but you’ve probably lost all touch with most people by now.

Hammanskraal is too small for the both of us, I guess someone has to leave.
I guess that someone will just have to be me because I need space to breathe.
I never thought that I’d still be writing about friendships that have fallen apart.
Too many times I’ve been told that my biggest flaw is my loving heart.
I have humbly grown from every poem and verse I wrote back when you and I never spoke.
It was foolish of me to be losing limbs for people who wouldn’t go to war for me.
Everything and everyone in your life changed but surprisingly I didn’t, I guess you were wrong about me.
Our generation is ****** up and I am not too proud to admit it.
Whatever the question, know that love is the answer and I really hope that someone gets it.
The world and media has sold you dreams and you’ve got receipts to prove it.
I wish I could adjust a few people’s frame of reference because they have a distorted perception about me.
Whatever the question, know that love is the answer and I know that God understands it.
Our hometown is too small for the both of us, I guess someone has to leave.
I need more simplicity than sympathy, good wine and good friends while the month of August approaches.
It’s June now so while you find comfort in your complacency just know that I’ll be leaving soon.

The world in your eyes has given me infinite hope.

8 | 31 Poems for August

When I’m flooded with echoes of silence, my actions will slowly begin to speak.
Sometimes I cannot explain how you constantly have me feeling weak.
Loving you is a feeling I cannot control or put into any form of speech.
You’re always on my mind whether you’re by my side or not.
Nothing is more beautiful than the love that lies within.
Nothing is more beautiful than the poetry my hands have written on your skin.
Nothing is more beautiful than touching you, kissing you and loving you.
I cannot control nor explain loving you the way I do.
Distance and time will never dissipate our memories, I will always want to be next to you.
Know that this love will carry us into the future no matter what we go through.
Nothing is more beautiful than the love that lies within.
Nothing is more beautiful than the poetry my hands have written on your skin.

11 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

We made passionate love during that one autumn night in Pretoria.
Our relationship had its flaws but we always got high off the euphoria.
Somehow the best part of me was always you, but you’re gone now and I’m always feeling blue.
It was a Friday night on April 1st, I guess I was a fool for falling for you and believing all you said was true.
You may have forgotten me ever since I’ve been away but I waited on you for too many days since February.
Why did you settle for a takeaway when you knew you would’ve had the world on a silver platter?
Now that you’ve left, I realised how you were right when you said that I deserve someone better.
But where is this “better” that you constantly spoke about days before you broke up with me?
I cannot seem to find it; I even went back to Hatfield several months ago to see if I had missed something.
I have been MIA on love ever since you’ve been away; I waited on you for too many days since February.
Or maybe it was May, but you don’t care and I don’t remember because maybe it doesn’t matter anyway.
Or anymore and lately I’ve been zoning out to Paramore and getting high off paper planes than ever before.
Somehow the best part of me was always you, but you’re gone now and I’m always feeling blue.
I guess I was a fool for falling for you and believing all you said was true.

12 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

I just wanted to create a few unforgettable memories.
Every night we mixed *****, love, ***, **** and Hennessy.
After all this time, I do not know why I am still longing for you.
Even after all the painful and senseless **** you put me through.
I turned my pain into poetry and I haven’t looked back ever since.
I wish you’d never ask about my love life because I could never love or be loved right.

After all this time, I do not know why I am still longing for you.
Even after all the painful and stressful **** you put me through.
I remember you from your beautiful brown eyes down to the empty promises you cursed me with.
I was a lost boy in my youth and I spent most of my precious time blowing smoke in my room.
I hope you have found a way to finally stop smoking cigarettes and drinking ***** like there’s a message in the bottle.
I hope you have finally found peace, love and happiness in this wonderful city called Pretoria.
Everyone in your life changed but I didn’t, I guess you were wrong about me.
It’s June now so while you find comfort in your complacency just know that I’ll be leaving soon.

7 | 31 Poems for August 2016

I wish heaven had visiting hours so everything you envisioned would be ours.
You promised me that I would never lose you to the wind no matter how hard it would blow.
But you’re gone now, you’re gone and the detrimental effect of your absence has started to show.
I still pray for better days to come my way but I can’t be too worried about what happens tomorrow.
I’m living on borrowed time; my days are numbered like a calendar and lately I’ve been feeling like the king of sorrow.
You showed me how to live life to the fullest but never taught me how to live without you.
Now my blue skies have faded to grey and my Mondays have gone blue.
You’ve drifted away like autumn leaves on a windy street, I guess heaven couldn’t wait for you.
But I am glad that you’re in a better place, the thought of you always puts a smile on my face.
I wish heaven had visiting hours so every beautiful thing you envisioned would be ours.

15 | 31 Poems for August 2016

Days gradually getting longer while circles keep growing smaller.
I’m alone in this crowded city but I know that it’s only temporary.
Time is wasted, I guess the clock had too much to drink last night.
Began treating society like varsity, I started not to care if I was accepted.
Dreams I once promised myself to pursue are now forgotten and neglected.
Even if things don’t always go my way, I just hope that everything will be okay.
Sometimes I feel closer to my dreams but then I wake up and realise that it was all in my sleep.
According to my frame of reference, dreams delayed may always feel like dreams denied.
Now I have to put on hold stories about success that urgently need to be told.
Too many times the world has made me feel like an abandoned church, but in your eyes I’ll always be a cathedral.

My confidence levels are getting lower and lower; I can feel it in my sleep.
I’m slowly progressing but progressing nonetheless but I still feel like I’m disappointing myself.
I’m doing my utmost best, the worst thing you could do is compare me to someone else.
I’m still holding on no matter how bad it gets; it hurts but I try my best not to let my frustrations show.
I can’t carry on like this though, eventually I’ll have to let everything go.
Eventually I’ll have to let go and forget everything I ever wanted to be.
Days gradually getting longer while impatient frustrations get the best of me.

You were always online but never on line in all ways.
For days on end, my calls and messages would go ignored and unanswered.
I left my heart far away from the margin on a page that was carelessly ripped out from my book of thoughts.
Forever is a myth and the future is uncertain; the weight of all these words has gradually become a burden.
At around 2 a.m. in the morning I am usually up thinking about you with no hope of finding sleep.
I am usually up listening to a wide variety of songs that exceptionally complement my melancholic mood.
It’s hard walking away from a girl whose arms I’ve always wanted to run into.
What should I do now with the love that I’ve always wanted to give to you?
As I toss and turn, my earphones inevitably become as tangled up as the words I’ve tried to say to you.
The words that I have tried to say to you are now slowly suffocating me.
These words keep depriving me of the air that I need to breathe when I think about the greatness that we both could be.
Forever is a myth and the future is uncertain; the weight of all these words has gradually become a burden.

i know you know that i write too many love poems
but i know that already, so please tell me something new
tell me what you think of No Ordinary Muse or August Blue
i tend to forget about every heartbreak that i’ve ever had
the moment my fingers pick up a pen and write the pain away
lately all these love poems have begun to sound the same
i’m starting to think that my right wrist is getting quite rusty
i don’t know much about the world around me these days
hearts get broken like mirrors, records and promises do
i want to love until my time is up like God left the clock on the ceiling
i write too many love poems lately
because love is something that i can actually understand

26 | 31 Poems for August 2016

Wondering how life will pan out from this moment on as ****** by Usher keeps echoing in the background.
Maybe it was wrong of me to have you stay by my side while your mind was already drifting a million miles away from me.
My love and faith will be dissected; you’ll even go as far as quoting me out of context based on the messages that I’ve sent.
But that’s something that I should expect because I’m also at fault like tectonic plates.
Charles once told me that things would change but not always for the better.
He said as long as I prove myself to be King then I’ll eventually find someone as phenomenal as Coretta.
But Charles I’m slowly losing hope, that Skype call we had on August 14th gave me some perspective and maybe I’m doing something wrong.
Because all day I’ve been sitting here all alone while contemplating if I am going nowhere fast.
Wondering how life will pan out from this moment on as Let It Go by James Bay keeps playing on the radio.
Maybe it was wrong of me to have you stay by my side while your mind was already drifting a million miles away from me.

I love you and always will but I can no longer beg or force you to stay.
I don’t know how much more pain and heartbreak my heart can take.
Don’t fall in love with a poet because your heart will break and you know it.
I wish someone had told me that before I fell so deep in love with you.
Within your circle of friends someone knew that you were falling in love with someone new.
But you kept me waiting all this time just so you could let me down like gravity.
I gave you the galaxy but somehow you still needed more space – that was very imprudent of you.
My Buzz Lightyear heart was willing to love you to infinity and beyond.
The buzz my love gives out could last for light-years so this is more than just another toy story.
Love does not know the pain it heals and pain does not know the love it seeks.
It’s hard walking away from a girl whose arms I’ve always wanted to run into.
What should I do now with the love that I have always wanted to give to you?
Someone knew that you were gradually falling in love with someone new.
You should have known where I was coming from; I was doing just fine before you came along.
Someone knew that there was a possibility that I closed myself off from loving someone new because of you.

6 | 31 Poems for August 2016

Here I stand, gradually disintegrating just so I can remain whole.
It’s interestingly sad to see how many people that are alive feel dead to me.
Your kind words are smooth like a fresh cup of latté but I need something stronger to battle this heartache.
Got nothing to read except the words I effortlessly wrote last night and a few James Patterson novels.
Time is wasted so I patiently wait for the clock to get sober eventually.
The sincerity of my words is embedded in the movement of my metaphors, similes, adjectives and verbs.
I love waking up whole to the bonfire of a warm and loving soul.
But you will eventually grow tired of me, somehow they all do.
Everything is slowly falling apart, I just wish I had full control.
All I can do is sit and helplessly watch while the debris flies over me.
Here I stand, gradually disintegrating just so I can remain whole.
I love waking up whole to the bonfire of a warm and loving soul.
But I hope that you never grow tired of me unlike how everyone did.

10 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

You and I are in the same space, but we live in different galaxies.
That’s why we could never get along for extensive periods of time.
After several glasses of wine, I realised that you talk more than I do.
Maybe sometimes pain hurts more when we always choose to ignore it.
I can love you better than him; from eight until late he always calls his ex-girlfriend Kim.
I wonder what you get up to when he’s not there; I wonder what you really know about him.
I never knew that my loving heart could get played like harps and violins do.
The symphony is exquisite, but the pain and the heartbreak are obviously not.
I wonder what you know about everything happening around you while you wander away from me.
I gave you exclusive views to breathtaking galaxies, but you still needed more space like the astronaut lady.
I have fallen in love with my own solitude, but loneliness has taken over every single part of my life.
I’m scared to see who or what I have left behind; these Hatfield streets have become so nostalgic.

16 | 31 Poems for August

This poetry is a reflection of love, I’m just here to explain it.
The world is my canvas, you should see all the pictures that I’ve painted.
Violins violently playing symphonies of pain and misery.
It’s not a mystery how I have God sitting right here next to me.
I’m heading home from church, but this time I’m walking alone.
Sometimes reflections bring a sense of regress.
I smile even though the world keeps elevating my stress.
These hands have held together fragments of a fragile conversation.
We are able to talk for hours because these words flow with no hesitation.
You are lost in the world and you’re always left feeling alone.
Friends should never lose hope in trying to find their way back to one another.
Wherever you are I hope all these words find you.
Love is a beautiful thing and I’m here to remind you.
I’ll hold you together, I’ll help you rediscover the splendour in your smile.
Everything will be alright even though we haven’t seen each other in a while.
I’m in the dark about all the problems that you’re currently facing.
So lead me into the light and refrain me from being complacent.
Even the congregation knows you cannot always save everybody.
But hey, it wouldn’t hurt to at least try to save somebody.
We are all fighting different battles, losing limbs in the midst of war.
Maybe someone needs your love and light now more ever than before.
Maybe you could try saving somebody tonight.
God got us, I know we will all eventually be alright.

28 | 31 Poems for August 2016

The battle with cancer is won but unfortunately the war is not over.
White sheets and peaceful dreams, this hospital is starting to feel like home but you feel all alone.
You’ve been here for two whole weeks now and the doctor won’t tell us what’s really going on.
Your organs are slowly giving up on you, you feel like something is bound to go wrong.
White sheets and peaceful dreams, sometimes reality is not as clear as it always seems.
I pray to God that He cures you and I pray to God that He hears you, if only cancer was just a star sign.
I hope your family gets here in time, I heard the nurses say that your operation starts at eight.
I’ve been drifting in and out of sleep, I guess you’ll be in the ICU before I see you.
The battle with cancer is won but unfortunately the war is not over.
This whole thing hurts but I try my best not to let my emotions show.
It’s sad to see you drifting away like autumn leaves on a windy street.
I don’t know if heaven will patiently wait for you but I pray that you recuperate.
As soon as your family got here I inevitably cried with the rest of them.
Your days are numbered like a numerical keypad and that’s why you’ve been asking for heaven’s telephone number.
But I pray that you pull through with immense alacrity because the war is not over.
This whole thing hurts but I try my best not to let my emotions show.
White sheets and peaceful dreams, sometimes reality is not as bad as it always seems.

I’m walking away from vulnerability and closing my heart off, I’m better off using my heart less.
I was close to the cliff like Clair Huxtable but a part of me felt like jumping off.
I probably look like a fool right now, expressing all my feelings in full right now.
I’m hurting and I know that I’m not perfect; the weight of all these words has gradually become a burden.
You are the words I tried to say when my mouth was shut and my larynx was flooded with silence.
Heartbreak comes in the morning when the sun is shining, when the wind is blowing and my coffee has gone cold.
Forever is a myth and the future is uncertain; the weight of all these words has gradually become a burden.
Somewhere in my heart there’s a void, a void that I hopelessly walk around trying to avoid.
You made letting go seem so easy, detachment was always something you were good at.
I wish that you receive everything that I couldn’t give to you, there’s so much of myself that I could sacrifice.
I hope that it was all worth it – you abandoning the home you’ve made in me.
A friend once told me, *“Don’t make homes out of people because they always leave and take everything you own with them.
Or better yet, they stay and ruin everything you’ve worked so hard to build.”

3 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

Once you let me in, can I place my lips on your brown skin, babe?
Feel the autumn breeze on your skin and realise that true love lies within.
I cannot give you the world, but I could pour you a glass of my favourite bottle of red wine.
These conversations between you and I could start feeling mellow with every glass of Merlot.
I remember the first day I saw you and before I could even say a word, you had me at “Hello”.
Lay your feet on warm wooden floors and allow me to show you why you’re the one that I adore.
I need peace of mind before my mind ends up in pieces because I can no longer stand being alone.
As of late, these conversations are starting to feel a lot more like interviews.
So dive into the depths of my heart and mind and get a glimpse of my inner views.

18 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Love is not a mystery; it’s every beautiful thing that I ever wanted it to be.
Love is the colour of you, love is beautiful with all its flaws and complexities.
I’ve been enslaved by my own emotions and you were always there to liberate me and provide devotion.
Love is when I still write about you in hopes that one day you’ll read all these words and hopefully find your way back to me.
Love looks like her in the evening after a long day when all she wants is a warm bath and peaceful sleep.
Could I ever be blessed with the chance of having my heart beating inside her chest again?
I still want to read all the love letters her lips and hands are yet to write so effortlessly on my skin.
I’ve cried myself to sleep on days when the world was dancing to the rhythm of my heartbeat.
Love has always taught me that I cannot continue loving you from a distance.
Home is where the heart is and I never for a second wanted you to leave.
You still have my heart beating in rhythms that are foreign to my existence.
Is it better spending all this time apart while admiring each other from a distance?
Love is praying every single night to God and hoping that He sends you back into these loving arms.
Love looks like her in the morning when she wakes up looking all beautiful and carefree – you’d swear she had eight hours of sleep.
I’ve been enslaved by my own emotions and with love I have conquered everything that the world said I would not.
Love is hoping that you find happiness and love is also having you sharing that happiness with me.
Love is not a mystery; it’s every beautiful thing that I ever wanted it to be.

5 | 31 Poems for August

You don’t know who to run to, who to run from or if you should be running at all.
You don’t seem like your usual self, is there anyone that I could call?
Love, the media is not a true standard of beauty.
I wish you would stop measuring yourself according to their scale.
You’re still beautiful, it’s just that their perspective has changed.
You’re ashamed of the bitter woman you almost became.
They taught you how to succumb to the pain and shame.
They taught you how to hate every bit of yourself.
Made you believe that you’d look and feel better if you conformed to the absurd standards of someone else.
They should’ve taught you that the presence of another woman’s beauty is not the absence of your own.
Embrace your crooked smile and all your perfect imperfections.
Stop seeking validation and start loving yourself unconditionally.
Never let the world turn your starry sky into a ceiling.
Wear your crown proudly and embrace the queen that you are.
In a sky full of constellations, you’ll always be someone’s favourite star.
You are ashamed of the bitter woman you almost became.
They taught you how to succumb to the pain and shame.
You are still beautiful, it’s just that their perspective has changed.
No matter what the media says you will always remain beautiful to me.
Always.

“Self-love angers people who hate themselves and she understood that at length.” – Flex Boogie

13 | 31 Poems for August

Love me unconditionally, across cities, over skyscrapers, beyond the depths of time.
Serenade me with your glassy hazel-brown eyes.
If my love is like the sky, then sit under it and try to remember me.
Try to remember me, then look up and write all the observations that you see.
Love me unconditionally.

25 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Take me back to the day when the girl I was crushing on crushed my feelings.
I lost my smile and my confidence, everything changed and I never looked at things the same.
Sometimes I ask myself if I’m really chasing dreams or just chasing heartbreak.
Prescriptions changed but no amount of morphine could ever ease the pain.
Even though it may seem insane, I will always take pride in the scars I gain.
Take me back to the day when the girl I was crushing on crushed my feelings.
The worst thing about it all is that the guy I was compared to wasn’t even half my standard.
There were certain things that we both didn’t mean to say, but words were uttered anyway.
My hyperhidrosis is evident but in all honesty, I try not to sweat the small stuff.
Take me back to the day when the girl I was crushing on crushed my feelings.
Sometimes I ask myself if I’m really chasing dreams or just chasing heartbreak.
There is so much pain and disappointment that my fragile heart can take.
This whole thing hurts but I try my best not to let all my emotions show.

12 | 31 Poems for August 2016

I never knew that hearts could get played like grand pianos do.
The notes are exquisite but the pain and heartbreak are obviously not.
Maybe it is true; maybe my love is as bad as my handwriting is.
Maybe that explains why past lovers never had the patience to stay.
Maybe I’m slowly going a bit crazy and need you to gather some positive words to say.
Because honestly speaking, that’s something I could really use right now.
You’re a flower blooming in a world full of concrete walls; it’s wonderful watching you grow.
But somehow we still have bad blood between us like sickle-cell anaemia.
Loving you was like smoking a pack of cigarettes – you took my breath away but you were slowly killing me inside.
I never knew that hearts could get played like harps and violins do.
The symphony is exquisite but the pain and heartbreak are obviously not.
Maybe it is true; maybe my love is as bad as my handwriting is.
Maybe that explains why past lovers never had the patience to stay.
Maybe I’m slowly going a bit crazy and need you to gather some positive words to say.
Because that’s something I could really use right now instead of having you spewing words of hate.

15 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Listen, if I’m willing to talk to you, will you listen like you always do?
It has been quite hard for me to acknowledge the fact that we’re through.
Saw a few of your pictures on Instagram and Facebook, I’m glad to see that you’ve finally found someone new.
I wish nothing but love and happiness for the both of you, I really do.
At the end of the day, I’m so glad that I got the chance to have met you.
There’s this girl who has made me realise that maybe I don’t have to die to get to heaven.
Her beautiful cocoa butter skin proves that her complexion is truly a blessing.
It doesn’t matter which book I’m reading; her love is the scripture that my heart believes in.
She is simply a poem with feet, her soul is well-versed in love so eventually I asked her to walk with me.
It has been quite hard for you to acknowledge the fact that we’re through.
You’ve commented on my pictures on Instagram and Facebook, you’re glad to see that I’ve finally found someone new.
I’d tell you more about her and maybe show you what she means to me, but that’s a poem for another day.
I hope the person that you’re currently with has made you believe in the essence of true love again.
Because you deserve something better than lonely nights saturated with pain.
I’m happy for the both us, glad that we’ve managed to find happiness again.
We can’t change what happened in the past, we were teenagers back then.

i’m walking away from vulnerability
and slowly starting to close my heart off,
i think i’m better off using my heart less.
i was close to the cliff like Clair Huxtable
but a part of me felt like jumping off.
maybe i should leave my heart on Pluto
and consider becoming permanently heartless.
pain and heartbreak come in the morning
when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing.
i know i probably look like a fool right now,
expressing all my feelings in full right now.
i have been wracking my brain all day
and constantly wondering what to do right now.
you made letting go seem so easy, i want to be just like you.
detachment was always something you were good at.
i still miss you right after my first cup of coffee in the morning.
i’m losing sleep praying that i’ll be good enough for you.
i know i probably look like a fool right now,
expressing all my feelings in full right now.
mi amor, it’s evident that you’re the one that i adore.
so when i say that you’re the one know that i am sure.
i still miss you right before my last glass of wine in the evening.
love isn’t love if i cannot have the chance of sharing it with you.
i’m losing sleep praying that i’ll be good enough for you.
let’s start over because my heart says that you’re the one.

7 | 31 Poems for August 2017

I write to write yet somehow the emptiness remains.
Because at the end of the day, words are just empty air.
Because at the end of today, you will no longer be there.
You will no longer be there to do all the things we used to do.
How dare you tell me that all of this is tougher for you?
Like I didn’t feel all the pain and heartbreak you put me through.
Words are unnecessary because these battle scars tell their own story.
Love no longer circulates the room – you can feel it in the air.
By the way you breathe and how you stand still when you stare.
I clearly don’t need to be alone; I just need to be whole.
I need to feel the fire being re-ignited in the depths of my soul.
During my darkest nights, I manage to see the light much clearer.
I write to write yet somehow the emptiness remains.
Because at the end of the day, words are just empty air.
Because at the end of today, you will no longer be there.

I want to write you a love poem.
I have poetry in my heart but it’s written in a language only a few can understand.
The cracks in my concrete heart are the best place to discover me.
I keep beautiful things there.
The release of my thoughts becomes an art.
Look for the hidden messages in the cracks of my concrete heart.
Search for the roads that no one treads on and create your own path.
Life is too short to leave beautiful words unsaid.
Through pain, I found love.
Through love, I found myself.
The words you patiently long to hear.
I hope those words make their way to your ear.
Those words will eventually make everything clear.
Every time I look into your eyes.
I marvel at the reflection of my smile.
I write to myself but it’s always about you.
I want to write you a poem that your heart has been waiting to hear.
Through pain, I found love.
Through love, I found myself.
I want to write you a love poem.
I just hope you’re willing to listen.
Listen.