24 | 31 Poems for August

I need a sky to read from and a star to write on.
Traded in graffiti spray cans for poetry and a microphone.
People are often left in awe when they see me in my zone.
Ever since high school, I’ve been lost in the world and I often wonder if I’ll ever make it on my own.
I want to write my poems on the sun so that you can feel the magnitude of my love when it shines.
I’m from the city where jacaranda trees light up the streets with their purple blooms.
I want my words to heal the wounds that never heal but always bleed.
My kind of love is kinetic, never stationary.
I’ve been blinded by love but still I remain visionary.
I want a sky to read from and a star to write on.
I want the splendour of God’s grandeur embedded into every one of my lines.
I could write poetry forever with the inspiration that life provides.
Maybe I could write you a haiku or two.
My mind has been thinking about you.
My heart has been asking about the pulchritude that is you.
You are the unforgettable muse.
I still marvel at how God’s love consists entirely of summer, autumn, winter and spring.
It can never escape me even when the seasons change.
Maybe I should write you a love poem or two.
My heart beats only for you.
I wrote my poems on the sun, you’ll eventually feel my love every time it rises.
I’m from the city where jacaranda trees light up the streets with their purple blooms.
I need a sky to read from and a star to write on.
Traded in graffiti spray cans for poetry and a microphone.
People are often left in awe when they see me in my zone.

31 | 31 Poems for August 2017

There’s something exquisite about your smile, your brown eyes have got me hypnotised, and your heart is a gold mine.
I’m addicted to everything you say and do, so be my poet and I’ll be your muse.
We’ll figure out everything else once we’ve found something to do between our sporadic bursts of laughter.
Let me comfort you with soulful conversations accompanied by several bottles of red wine.
We could vibe out and listen to James Blake, and you could tell me about the days when you couldn’t see the colour in anything.
I’m no stranger to the waves of the ocean, so I eventually want to get lost in the depths of you.
You are a picturesque South African city worth exploring even when tourists no longer come to visit.
Their dollars, euros, pounds, nairas and rupees may run dry but my love for you will keep overflowing.
I could write poetry and love letters on your skin but my handwriting is not as beautiful as my words are.
I’ll be your poet in a world that’s still acquainting itself with all the writers of exquisite African literature.
In the Supreme Court of your love, people have told you untruths while under oath – I think the law calls it perjury.
We could vibe out and listen to James Blake, and you could teach me how you see the colour in everything.
I want to get lost in an endless field of sunflowers while basking in the warmth of your presence.

Lately it seems like every good thing that happens to me eventually finds a way to go wrong.
We’re breaking apart but I’m still holding on, trying my best to stay strong.
I’m trying to find my way back to you but I don’t even know where to start.
I’ve been hopelessly walking around with a broken heart.
I cannot love myself and still manage to love you too.
This chemistry is beautiful but it’s detrimental too.
Yes, I know I said I love you.
But this love cannot carry us all the way through.
The months we spent together were not easy but the memories we made were worth it.
How can I explain the fact that I’m lost in a deep abyss of pain?
I wonder if we’ll ever return back to love again.

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.

23 | 31 Poems for August 2016

Say something, and no, I am not giving up on you.
I just want you to listen to Diddy Bop or maybe that Freedom Interlude.
I just want to know if you’re listening to the words that I’m saying.
All that I’m trying to do is live right and give you all the best parts of me.
No matter how hard I try, I can never write a poem as beautiful as you.
I do not know if that says much about me or the words that I constantly use.
Wrote these poems from the heart so every single word you read or hear is guaranteed to be a pulse.
I’ve been digging the soles of my shoes into the ground just to keep myself steady and balanced.
I hope that our love has a happy ending or keeps overflowing until infinity finds a need to end.
Being loved by you and loving you is the only thing that makes sense right now.
I’m banking on you to not withdraw from the love we have both invested in.
I still smell the sweet scent of your presence on the white cotton sheets of my memory.
You are the first love poem that I ever wanted to write back when I didn’t have the courage to.
Say something and I promise that I will follow you anywhere God leads me to.
I’m Lonnie Lynn with the poetry and maybe that explains why we have a lot in common.

8 | 31 Poems for August 2017

I’ve been reminiscing about the past and all the time that we wasted.
I should stop trying to hold on to something that I need to let go of.
I have no logical explanations about how the heart wants what it wants.
All I know is that your love is all that my heart treasures and knows.
That’s probably the main reason why I cannot let these memories go.
No matter what people say, you will always remain beautiful to me.
Back when we were together, I always thought you’d always be mine.
I never really knew how to handle this beautiful thing called love.
So, I always thought that you would be able to show me how.
Whenever you need arms to run into, just know that I’ve got you.
I’ve been reminiscing about the past and all the time that we wasted.
I guess it is true – time gradually blunts the edges of sharp memories.
Hope you’ve found a way to slow down your intake of ***** and Hennessy.
Whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, just know that I’ve got you.
For some odd reason, I always thought that you’d always be mine.
I never really knew how to handle this beautiful thing called love.
So, I always thought that you would be able to show me how.

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.

22 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Some nights are the hardest but this bottle of wine flows better than my favourite rapper.
So, the heartache gradually dissipates with every glass taken and the smile on my face inevitably grabs the attention of a stranger.
Some nights it feels like my days are numbered like a calendar, like the pages of my favourite book.
But the problem about this story is that there is no ******, the protagonist dies in the middle of the story.
It’s funny how the moments when I was almost left for dead are the moments when I felt most alive.
I had given up on finding happiness and love before you walked into my life.
From a distant stranger to an unforgettable muse all the way through to sharing a glass of wine with you.
When nothing else in the world makes sense somehow you always do.
Some nights are the hardest but this bottle of wine flows better than my favourite rapper so pour me another glass.
Pour me another glass because time spent in your presence is always filled with happiness, love and laughter.
Some nights are the hardest but this bottle of wine flows better than anything you ever thought it would.

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.

5 | 31 Poems for August 2017

I’ve become well-acquainted with these streets – from University Road all the way down to Park Street.
My heart skips a beat when my words touch hearts like Alex Panttiere and that’s why these hands keep writing.
You left without saying goodbye, you could’ve at least told me why.
You easily detached yourself like there were no feelings between us.
Like I didn’t love you hard enough, soft enough or even warm enough.
For weeks on end, I began hating you for leaving me the way you did.
Yet here I am writing all these words and somehow still missing you.
I’m slowly finding my way back to myself again no matter how severe the pain.
I’ll pick myself up and finally find the strength and courage to love again.
Maybe in your quiet time at exactly the right time, I can be your true valentine.
Sometimes jacarandas fall with no intention of lighting up the streets with their purple blooms again.

23 | 31 Poems for August

They laughed and criticized at my starry eyes.
But suddenly stopped when I rose like the morning sun.
So now I humbly thank God for all that He has done.
In a world burdened and ravaged by wars that seem to go on for forever.
I try to find peace inside myself and pray to become someone better.  
I’m responsible for my own peace.
But He protects me in the battles I fight on my knees.
The figures of speech I use may often remain unappreciated.
The words I speak may often remain unheard.
The poems I write may often remain unread.
But the beauty of God’s grandeur will never go unnoticed.
You can see it in my starry eyes.

24 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Nothing lasts forever, and that we both knew.
Now we’ve become strangers with memories.
We were bound together by our mutual gravity.
But nothing lasts forever, even the stars die eventually.
It’s hard to proceed and progress with the burden of our stress.
Please sit beside me in silence, I just need to know that you’re here.
I’ve been dreaming with my eyes open ever since the day I met you.
It was your presence that held me together as my world fell apart.
I wonder how long I’ll keep walking around with this broken heart.
Our love became a poem that we patiently wrote without words.
Our peers have fallen in love with the habit of not falling in love.
I miss the days when we used to speak French without saying a word.
I keep doing this thing wrong and putting myself in places that I don’t belong.
Another night with ***** in my cup accompanied by the lyrics of a Drake song.
So, cry if you need to because it’s hard to proceed and progress with so much heartbreak and stress.
Touch if you need to and I’ll stay to hold you because you need to know I’m still here.
Talk if you need to because the silence between us is destroying the bond that we share.

You never know how strong you are.
Until being strong is the only choice you have.
The only choice you had.
You give but they grab.
He may never appreciate what you have.
But there's someone who does.
You just don't notice.
Realise that not every guy has a motive.
This is all part of me.
I guess I'll try and see.
Put this in my diary.
Inspire me.
You never know how strong you are.
Until being strong is the only choice you have.
The only choice you had.

11 | 31 Poems for August

Beauty never goes out of style.
I wanted to become a photographer the day I first saw you smile.
Cliché, you’ve probably heard that before.
A lot of guys probably said that to you one hundred times.
But this is a hundred and one, and it’s not saturated with lies.
I come as I am, no facades or any form of disguise.
What’s the possibility of you conversing with me for a while?
I wonder what it’s like to be the words that roll off your tongue so effortlessly.  
It’s like poetry rests on the curves and edges of your lips.
Gravitate towards me as I embrace your curves and I begin to accentuate.
Fashion comes and goes but beauty can never go out of style.
I was intrigued by your presence the moment I first saw you smile.
Maybe this moment will turn into something that will always give you a reason to smile.

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.

28 | 31 Poems for August 2017

My sneakers’ shoelaces are as tangled up as the words I tried to say to you.
The words I tried to say when you were slowly slipping away from my grasp.
I surprisingly stuttered when I tried to tempestuously tell you how I felt.
Now I’m wondering what to do or what’s going to happen next.
I’ll just sit here going crazy and patiently wait for your call or text.
My sneakers’ shoelaces are as tangled up as the words I tried to say to you.
So, don’t be too surprised when I don’t respond when you ask, if you can hang out with me.
However, I still want to read all the love letters your lips and hands are yet to write on my skin.
It is spring now but you have the presence of summer clouds and I have been staring at the sky ever since you left.

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?

1 | 31 Poems for August

I want to do more than just write poetry.
I want to paint pictures.
So be my muse and surrender your body as my canvas.
I’ll make every single swift stroke bring you to life.
I’ll show you what this brush of mine is capable of.
You are the sun that my sky yearns to hold.
Beautiful cocoa butter skin.
Your beauty is not only found on your exterior but every single place within.
I want to insert my poems in every single atom in this galaxy.
So that you can feel my love wherever you go.
From Pretoria to Toronto.
From Jo’burg to Moscow.
From Cape Town to Glasgow.
Static thoughts and kinetic conversations inspire my flow.
I have thoughts that my words cannot describe and I wish to share them with the world.
I wish to share them with you.
I love the way your eyes see past my smile and deep into the fibres of my soul.
I love the way your smile makes me whole.
Let’s become a poem our friends can always snap their fingers to.
I want to hold your body the way canvas portrays paint.
I want to kiss your lips while I gently hold your waist.
I want to do more than just write poetry.
I want to tell the world about you.
Let me tell the world about you.

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.

There’s a missing piece in my life.
Maybe it’s you, the one I wrote about.
The one who gives the type of love that leaves no room for doubt.
We all just need to be held.
You are the one I want.
I have no need for poetry when I have your touch.
I have no need for poetry when I have your love.
Please tell me once again that you’ll be mine.
I will never know anything more beautiful than the feelings that I have for you.
I want to see the world in your eyes.
I want to see the world through your eyes.
I want your lips to wear my smile.
You are the ink in my poems.
You are the ink that my pen bleeds.
You are the stars in my starry night sky.
My eyes have been barbed by sorrow.
These eyes keep reflecting a heart burdened and ravaged by pain.
The garden in my concrete heart yearns for rain.
Because of the muse who has me writing again.

7 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

I turned my pain into poetry and I haven’t looked back ever since.
I’m heavily flawed and heavily guarded but I still remain heavenly sent.
Give me a glass of lemon and gin, unforgettable memories and a lot of sin.
But I’m searching for more than just a new lust, so where should we begin?
As the sun sets on the horizon of my dreams, I realise that reality is not as beautiful as it seems.
The orchestra of my heart has somehow been playing out of tune since the beginning of June.
I wish people would never ask about my love life because I could never love or be loved right.
Give me a muse, a bottle of exquisite wine accompanied with unforgettable memories and a lot of sin.
But I’m searching for more than just a new lust and a temporary lover so where should we begin?
Most of my friends are getting engaged, having beautiful kids, graduating or just chasing dreams.
The orchestra of my heart has somehow been playing out of tune since the beginning of June.

The truth is: I don't wanna love again without you.

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.

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.

I honestly can’t tell you how I feel if I haven’t fully internalised my emotions.
My ex-girlfriend used to tell me that showing vulnerability is a weakness.
Even when we were both falling in love, she always kept her distance.
For a good reason that never sat well with me, that’s why we let each other down like gravity.
I’ve been repeatedly questioning myself for over some time now, why am I lacking longevity?
We could never rewrite our history because even if I gave her the galaxy, she would still need more space.
My Buzz Lightyear heart was willing to love her to infinity and beyond.
This is pain and poetry, this is me drowning in depression and loneliness.
This is me admitting that I am an emotional wreck, my heart is in a mess.
I’ve been concerned about caring for everyone that I lost touch with loving myself wholeheartedly.
I’ve been concerned about caring for everyone that they gradually stopped checking up on me.
So, from this point onwards, know that all these poems will no longer be written the same.
These words cannot explain the tidal waves of mystery I always find myself drowning in.
These waves of depression drown me in complete silence, so even if I cried for help you wouldn’t be able to hear me.
It’s unfortunate that even if I cried for help you wouldn’t be able to save me.

1 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

You left me hanging like Da Vinci’s paintings on the walls of the Louvre.
But I could never manage to transform my heartbreak into a masterpiece.
I need good wine, good friends and music by Solange, Emeli Sandé and Floetry.
I need to know that love and freedom are in my life even when there’s pain and heartbreak in my eyes.
I took the bus from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to free my mind and get some loving from you.
Let’s listen to our favourite songs while we reminisce about the love and happiness that we’ll never get back.
Happiness is an elusive feeling and I have been numb to it for some time now.
You know how depression, loneliness and heartbreak fit me well like a glove.
It has been a while since I’ve heard from you, too many days since February.
Too many days since I’ve been patiently waiting so I had to give up eventually.
I took the bus from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to see you every Wednesday morning.
Every Wednesday morning, I was mourning the deaths of loved ones by celebrating the gift of life.
Too many days since February, I’ve been waiting for you to come and find me.
No amount of morphine could ever ease my pain, I am just trying to feel and find love again.
I took an Uber from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to free my mind and get some loving from you.
Let’s listen to our favourite songs while we reminisce about the love and happiness that we’ll never get back.

30 | 31 Poems for August 2017

I need coffee and poetry and music by Solange, Emeli Sandé and Floetry.
I need love and freedom, I need to know that God is in my life even when there’s pain in my eyes.
Our love and chemistry was beautifully overwhelming but I never wanted you to say goodbye.
You left without any warning, you left and I need to know the reason why while I keep listening to Cranes in the Sky.
I tried to drink it away but every time I did, I woke up the next day feeling intensely inebriated.
I have cried myself to sleep on days when the world was dancing to the rhythm of my melancholic heartbeat.
I have fallen in love with my own solitude, but lately loneliness has taken over every single part of me.
You still have my heart beating in rhythms that are foreign to my existence.
I find it useless spending all this time apart while we keep admiring each other from a distance.
I have been waiting for you to help me get rid of this miserable and lonely life of mine.

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

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.

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.

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.

3 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Love, I understand, that I may never fully understand you.
I want the chance to always hold you tight like a pair of Levi’s jeans.
It doesn’t really matter whether they are black or blue.
As long as these hands always get the chance to hold and caress you.
Love, I know you want the world but I can only give you mine.
It’s not much but I hope it gradually becomes a place where you’ll always want to spend some quality time.
On days when it gets harder to breathe or speak, I recommend *****.
You’re a woman with substance and I’m drawn to your melanin.
Beautiful cocoa butter skin, what’s there not to love about you?
Your love is never enough; I’m always left yearning for more.
In a world ravaged by cold wars, we need to know what we’re fighting for.
I understand that I may never understand the struggles you always go through.
Life will bend and stretch the both of us into painful shapes and that’s why we all need someone to talk to.
Sometimes we tend to forget how it feels when someone listens.

You’re more than just dimples, curves and a pretty face.
You’re more than just punchlines, metaphors and similes.
You are a woman with substance and I’m drawn to your melanin.
Each day I find more reasons to fall deeper in love with you.
On days when it gets easier to breathe and speak, I recommend wine.
I understand, that I may never fully understand you.
But after all, what’s the world without enigma?

6 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

I’ve been picturing skies and oceans that are Van Gogh blue with every hue.
I have frequently felt warm winds on my skin while listening to Solána Rowe.
Moments filled with love, pain, depression and heartbreak are all I know.
That black dress keeps accentuating your curves every time I look around your way and admire your figure.
We must’ve met in the past life because that’s probably why I want to love you past life.
So many warm autumn afternoons have come and gone but I still have a desire to feel your love once again.
Love may slip from your lips and drip down your chin but I never want our beautiful melody to become staccato.
Those blue jeans keep accentuating your curves every time I look around your way and admire your figure.
On autumn afternoons like these, I have felt warm winds on my skin while thinking about you.
I’ve been picturing skies and oceans that are Van Gogh blue with every hue.
I have frequently felt warm winds on my skin while listening to Solána Rowe.
Moments filled with love, pain, depression and heartbreak are all I know.

7 | 31 Poems for August 

I haven’t been answering any of your texts or calls.
I needed some time alone, I know it has been a while.
It has been a while since you’ve heard me laugh or seen me smile.
I’m a mess, lately I’ve been feeling really stressed and depressed.
The things I’m holding back are things that need to be expressed.
I’m a mess, I need to get all this pain off my chest.
I don’t know who to run to or who to run from.
Or if I should be running at all.
If I’m willing to talk, will you listen like you always do?
We take life for granted knowing very well that tomorrow is not guaranteed.
I’m praying and hoping that someday I’ll be someone that they need.
I write to write, put the pen to paper and then I let it all bleed.
I never believed in people like you before but that was until I met you.
Vibe with me, pour a glass of wine and spend some time with me.
I promise that you’ll get blown away like autumn leaves on a windy street.
Breathe, breathe and listen to the echoes of your heartbeat.
That’s what it feels like to be free.
That’s what it feels like to vibe with me.

4 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

I had you constantly coming down a few minutes after breaking down.
In the presence of clumsy hands, fragile hearts break like porcelain does.
It is summer time somewhere but it is currently autumn right here in Pretoria.
Sometimes I wish that you’d never ask about my love life because I could never love or be loved right.
Love is the highest vibration and that’s why I always feel tremors every time I step out of my comfort zone.
You remind me of the month of August, you always remind me of the calmness of the colour blue.
Like a painter admiring the presence of his exquisite muse, I can’t stop looking at every colour of you.
Love is the highest vibration and that’s why I always feel tremors every time I step out of my comfort zone.
We cannot survive in the world with all these secrets that we have if all that we have is a lie.
Love is the result of all the vibrations of tremors that shook a long time ago.

I want to hold her in my arms until she forgets what loneliness feels like.
I want to hold her like the lonely autumn trees hold the fragility of clinging leaves.
The traces of her lips on my skin reach deep inside my soul and transform a broken house into a home.
The weather hasn’t been the same ever since the sun decided to impersonate the warmth of her aura.
It doesn't matter which book I'm reading; her body is the scripture that my hands believe in.

We are the poets.
We create poetry out of silence.
We are so incredibly good with words.
People often wonder what our hands can do.
People find these fingers incredible.
They watch as these fingers transform simple words into beautiful poetry.
They watch as static thoughts transform into kinetic conversations.

As simple as they are, these words tend to sound like proverbs.
The void that you constantly try to avoid.
We will fill that void with light.
The type of light that constellations hunger for.
These hands transform simple words into beautiful poetry.
The aim is not always to write to impress.
But rather to write to express.
We constantly find light in the darkest of places.
Even constellations envy the light found in our eyes.
With a suitable paint brush, these words can create vivid images of paradise.

Our words create worlds.
Our words create worlds within worlds.
Our words capture moments and paint pictures.
So next time you hear one of us recite, bring a friend and a frame along.

We create poetry out of silence.
We are so incredibly good with words.
People often wonder what our hands can do.
People find these fingers incredible.
They watch as these fingers transform simple words into beautiful poetry.
They watch as static thoughts transform into kinetic conversations.
We are the poets, you should ask the world about us.

16 | 31 Poems for August 2017

Have you ever met someone whose smile could make sunflowers grow?
She has an affinity for hip-hop music and any good pair of clean sneakers.
You should hear the sound of her laughter on a warm Wednesday morning.
I swear I’m intrigued and obsessed with the little things about her that the world fails to appreciate.
Her fingers write the most alluring words on the blank pages of my heart.
Constantly reflecting beauty as she speaks, she is simply a paragon of art.
She knows that I’m a hopeless romantic who insists on remaining hopeful.
In the morning, she smells like strong black coffee, cocoa butter and good intentions.
I still want to hold her heart like the lonely autumn trees hold the fragility of clinging leaves.
I think I finally understand it now, I’m a hopeless romantic who insists on remaining hopeful.
I’d love to feel my heart beating to the rhythms that are foreign to my existence when I’m sitting next to her.

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.

14 | Heartbreak in Hatfield

I’m sorry that I was never a good enough lover for you.
You're walking out on me to be a good woman for someone else.
Now I’m here whispering to the ghosts that haunt me in my dreams.
I wonder if he knows that you cheated and how you left me defeated.
When my days get dark that is usually when I have my brightest ideas.
I’m gradually battling depression and tackling the fears I’ve had for years.
I’m hurting and I know that I’m not perfect, but the weight of all these words has become a burden.
I've been feeling hollow like the men T.S. Eliot wrote about, I've been feeling pain while trying to hold on.
But how long can I keep holding on when all this pain becomes an indication of everything that’s bound to go wrong?

I’m sorry that I was never a good enough lover for you.
You walked out on me to be a good woman for someone else.
Now I’m here whispering to the ghosts that haunt me in my dreams.
Love is blind but clearly that is something that everyone cannot see.
Somewhere in my heart there’s a void, a void that I keep trying to avoid.
I wish that you receive everything that I couldn’t give to you, there’s so much of myself that I could sacrifice.

29 | 31 Poems for August

I need conversations filled with laughter followed by bursts of love after.  
The last time I tried to recite this poem to you, I couldn’t get the words out.
I somehow couldn’t get the words right.
Slow-paced piano music gently echoes in the background.
The notes keep echoing while I try to patiently pen this down.
I am convinced, that the sun came out just to impersonate the warmth of your aura.
I’ve kept your fingerprints pressed between the pages of my favourite author’s book.
Somewhere between the prologue and chapter five.
Where the protagonist almost died but luckily stayed alive.
I wanted to become a poem, the day I realised that words could hold you, have you, touch you.
You are the stars that my night sky longs to hold.
You and I are meant to be.
Your love and laughter have liberated me.
I want to heal your wounds while carefully embracing your scars.
I know you feel broken, so let me kiss you where it hurts.
I’ll arrive to the other parts of your alluring anatomy, eventually.
Let me breathe life into you.
Let me prove to you that ecstasy is something we all need to go through.
Poetry rests on the curves of your lips, so how can I not love the meaningful things you always say?
My eyes will recite to you the poetry that is written on the pages of my heart.
I need conversations filled with laughter followed by bursts of love after.
To write about you is to keep your presence alive within the unseen parts of me.
You are the reason why my heart feels free.
Your love and laughter have liberated me.

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.

14 | 31 Poems for August 2017

All you can hope for is someone who will pray with you, someone who will pray for you.
I’ve got you covered like warm blankets during cold winter nights.
I’ve got you covered and not like those dodgy life insurance policies.
Everything is complicated and my feelings are hardly reciprocated.
But everything is different when it comes to you and what you do.
It’s because of your love I get to see myself from a different view.
So, tell me that I’ll be whole again, tell me that I’ll be yours again.
What we share is beautiful so love, tell me that this time we’ll never end.
Show me who you are again, hold my hand and guide me through the pain.
Love me across beautiful South African cities and never let me go again.
All that I can hope for is someone who will pray with me, someone who will pray for me.
You’ve made me question if all the women I’ve loved before were worthy of my love, time and effort.
Nothing has been the same ever since you came and now you’ve made me question a lot of things lately.

Before I left you alone, I placed an infinity of kisses on your collarbone.
You showed me what it felt like to be in a relationship and still feel lonely.
You showed me what it felt like to be in a room full of people bursting out in laughter and still feel alone.
The problem now is that I can’t stop reminiscing on what could’ve been.
It’s clear that I have never ever met someone like you.
It has been a while but I still feel the same way about you.
Maybe I need to let you know, maybe I need to let you go.
I still want to bury my lips in the curves of your neck.
You showed me what it felt like to be in a relationship and still feel lonely.
Now I’m running into the arms of temporary lovers asking for them to hold me.
If you were someone else I’d be tempted to say that the best part of was always you.
But unfortunately it’s not, the love I have for myself is all that I’ve got.
It's all I really need and it’s reiterated by the way my ink starts to bleed.
You found a home inside my heart and no matter what I do, I can never manage to get you to move out.
But if you’re staying a while longer just know that your rent’s due.
You can’t keep living here because a new tenant will be moving in soon.

21 | 31 Poems for August

Write to write, write to save your life.
The loved ones who’ve passed on, who’ll tell their story but you?
I’ve felt the sincerity of your words from Ostracized to August Blue.
Write to save your sanity, write for the sake of clarity.
Write until there’s nothing left for you to write.
Write away all the burdens of an untold story.
Write the world into a new existence whether it’s grimy or gory.
Write apologies in the form of love letters for all the times you couldn’t say sorry.
People should often see your pen in motion, you write your poems differently.
You pour your heart and soul into all these words and you bleed so effortlessly.
Many people still haven’t realized that you’re not always this quiet.
I’m intrigued by how your mind is as loud and busy as a protest march or riot.
It’s fascinating how you effortlessly create poetry out of silence.
You are so incredibly good with words, people still wonder what your hands can do.
Write to save your sanity, write for the sake of clarity.
Write to write, write to save your life.

11 | 31 Poems for August 2017

For some odd reason, I am still sitting here in my bedroom writing about you.
Your heartbeat reminds me of the timeless tune of my favourite melody.
Loving you is like looking at a shattered mirror, and clearly seeing every bit of the broken reflection.
The wind said something about you today, something that blew me away.
I cannot remember any of the words though because I was too busy thinking about you.
I’ve been thinking about you because every part of your existence is beautiful.
Your hazel-brown eyes are a beautiful reminder that God will not forget to look for me whenever I feel lost in the world.
I have spent countless hours memorising the curves of your smile and the lines on your skin.
Including the happiness and joy in the sound of your voice and all the beauty that lies within.
For some odd reason, I am still sitting here in my bedroom writing about you.
How do I write something so beautiful that’s bound to blow you away without having it sound like another poetic cliché?
Loving you is like looking at a shattered mirror, and clearly seeing every bit of my broken reflection.
My words will continue embracing all that I have discovered in myself because of you.
Within your sporadic bursts of laughter, I always find the freedom I had lost.
I will continue writing about you in ink, so that my notepad can finally feel the permanence of your presence in my poetry.
The spaces between my words will always be your place of refuge.
My poetry will continue writing about all that I have discovered in myself because of you.
I will continue to sit here in my bedroom and effortlessly write about you.
The world may read the pages of my soul, but my poetry will always belong to you.

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.

Daydreaming with my eyes open.
You staying with me is what I'm hoping.
But I can't focus, I'm not coping.
You've shown me a better tomorrow.
You've taken away my sorrow.
I've found love at last.
Without darkness, I would never searched for the light.
My love for you will continue to burn
bright.

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.