Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
May 2018
Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins
under the marula trees, the cub and the calf - they play
Sokoro - no claws; Nuru's not tall
and everyone can only seem to discuss their flaws
Together they escape; together they replace
the memories which they wish they could erase

Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins
under the marula trees, the cub and the calf - they play
'Sokoro! Do not play with a giraffe! You are a lion!' a mother growls
'Nuru! Do not play with a lion! You are a giraffe!" a mother scowls
The two playmates dragged from each other
The two playmates wishing to fight their own mother
but Nuru's mother is too strong and Nuru is not tall
but Sokoro's mother is strong and Sokoro has no claws

Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins
under the marula trees, the cub and the calf- they once used to be
Sokoro and Nuru: for how they have grown!
They have started to repeat what they have been shown
Sokoro with claws and Nuru with height
where they once used to play now they fight

Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins
under the marula trees, the cub and the calf- they once used to be
Sokoro prowls and hides in the grasses
the lion waits for what does stand as is
Nuru- now tall- eats the leaves from the marula trees
nothing yet spotted to put it out of ease

Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins
under the marula trees, the cub and the calf- they once used to be
Sokoro and Nuru, now predator and prey
under the marula trees, where they once used to play
they were once told: 'This is how it is meant to be'
and now neither of them will ever be free

Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins
under the marula trees, where no one will ever win
This poem was inspired by the Kenyan wood carvings of a giraffe and lion that sit on my desk. I named the giraffe Nuru, which means 'light' in Swahili, and the lion Sokoro, a Kenyan name that means 'the lucky one'.
Jean
Written by
Jean  18/F
(18/F)   
288
       Banele Msimango and M
Please log in to view and add comments on poems