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Nomkhumbulwa Dec 2018
They never spoke again,
I have waited a year and a half,
I have reached out time and again,
But there comes a time when enough is enough.

I cannot force them back into my life,
Cannot force them to utter just one more word,
I will always love them just the same,
But their silence causes so much pain.

It feels like a whole population died,
Been wiped clean off the Earth;
And knowing in reality so many think I lied,
Just makes me want to run away and hide.

I cannot do anymore than I have,
I have forgiven them for how they treated me,
I completely understand the culture, though its sad,
I cannot go back and change what happened to me.

I miss them dearly,
I think about them every day,
I think about the pain I caused them,
Now in my history they will forever stay.

I long to have contact with cousins,
Aunties, Uncles, and friends,
But I know this will never happen,
And I will likely never see them again.

Its all so mixed up in my mind,
The events that caused me to be singled out,
If id had the choice, I would have gone to court,
Because then I would have less doubts.

I am disturbed by memories,
And also by the suicidal hanging,
And knowing that my people,
See me at fault for everything.

It makes me feel ***** and ashamed,
That I, and the other women are still blamed,
And for what is it that we have done?
To be born as "women" is all we have done.

Kevin, Maisie, Clare, Anna,
Eileen, Rita, Peter, Barbara,
Candice, Kerry, Alex, Teeny,
Susan, Wendy, Dennis, and Jelly...

Those names are so very few
Of the huge number of relatives I have,
I still remember the day at the refuge,
When you turned me away - even that made me so sad.

If it were not for South African women,
Running the refuge out of sight out of mind,
Then there would be nowhere for Island women,
Nowhere to turn, yet these women were so kind.

But I know the rest of you still look down on me,
As you no doubt look down on many others,
And what did we do to deserve this?
To be born as women; in that you are so disgusted.

Disgusted with me for questioning abuse,
For speaking out for the others,
Disgusted that I have broken the "silence",
For women are not to be "free", I have discovered.

For if women are to be "free" - then they must be alone,
Discarded by all and everyone,
For "causing you pain",
For "shaming the Island's name".

I still love you -
And always will,
You hold a special place in my heart,
That no one else can fill.

.....I was born a woman - entering this World having already committed the crime....and for that I am sorry.
Random middle of the night piece.
TheStartOfMyEnds Nov 2018
Darkness decends
and the people howled
as they each came out of their caves
Resting underneath the moon
The glow, our only flicker of light
Silence fills up empty spaces
Boredom sets
Strangers no longer
Every breath a welcoming company
Secrets begin to unfold
And when the power comes on, we're all back to our own devices, becoming strangers again lol
TheStartOfMyEnds Nov 2018
With so much passion coursing through his body
a spark of the unpredictable
shot out from his fingertips
Words he couldn't form with his lips
now took shape with each stroke of the pen
Few pieces of papers tore in agony
as each pages endured the abuse he so far believed in
Haunted..
traumatized by a past
and saddened
by an unexpected outcome of his own doings
he aggressively wrote a song about a hellish present
an awful unforgivable treatment
from a woman he thought was hope

He felt imprisoned
Everyday she'd remind him of the harsh reality he lived in
robbed him off his freedom
soon his own identity
his future
and left him to wallow up with regret
depression and insanity

This was his TRUTH
It was everything he had ever known
Ever learned
Ever taught
It was only natural to dream
For something different
Something Better
But the unfortunate
Seemed to have attached itself onto his shoulders
He became blinded with his desire to live
So afraid to die
He'd grown desperate
to breathe an air he longed to breathe

His truth however, was a LIE
A lie that broke hearts
A lie that brought doubts into the minds of children
A lie that placed families
under hateful eyes of scrutiny
Families not of his

The Truth he wrote
The truth he convinced himself to believe in
The Truth he kept singing to another woman
was given to him by a mother
A mother he'd forever love
A mother he'd never forget
A mother he'd learn to forgive
But no longer his home
no longer where his mind may run to
for a day's rest

He left as a grown man in search
of a new start
A new home
A new love

But came here as a child
Throwing tantrums
and lost counts
of the many more baffling demands
in need of a new playground
Here he could never find happiness
For the woman who bothered to take him in
Could never be who he wanted
She was not who he dreamed of
Through his eyes
He saw no thread of beauty
No future
But just an island mother
Imprisoned by a vast ocean of isolation
Here, he could never find happiness
What man could ever?
When his heart was already set for another
But despite of his animosity towards Mother Isle
Despite his lies
Of which distressed her families
With shame
Heartache
Stress
Challenging their island pride
Isolation was her peace and purity

He will come to know life as they had
her children will show him what it meant
to be part of an island family
Her children will teach him
what they were taught;
Her children will share his pain
his distress
considerate of his situation
A feeling of empathy, if not sympathy.

They'd stretch their boundaries for him
They'd bend their rules
Gave him privileges only her children
were entitled to have...
They'd do
Only what they were able
If it may ease his troubled mind

Last but not the least

Her children will
Protect
Her children will Defend
We will honor our Mother Isle
As any child would
Our own way

The Nauruan Way
All countries have their own set of problems, we (the locals of our own) learn to live with the imperfections of our homes. It just isn't fair, nor is it right, to enter a foreign land and demand your needs and wants to be met, and then curse other people's homes when they failed to meet your expectations. I wrote and posted this, feeling the need to do something for my homeland. Writing in poetry form is the best way to get these feelings out without violence. I write, longing for nothing but peace.
Pétra Hexter Nov 2018
I am sailing upon the ocean
In a rickety vessel perforated and laden with rotten boards
The black water surrounding me is rough with roiling violence
The island that was once in the distance, where I would weather the storm, is now gone
I am rocked on every side as restless giants churn the waters to foam
A profound sense of dread permeates every fibre of my body; if I lose my grip on the rigging I'll surely plunge overboard
Dragged down to the cold, crushing depths by the hungry beasts lurking below
The pale sun only breaks through the clouds overhead to mock me
A momentary respite before the hurricane resumes, bent on consuming me
My navigational charts are all wrong, the stars have switched their positions in the sky
My anchor can find no purchase
The dark sea stretches to the horizon in every direction
I know not where salvation lies
The surface ripples with movement
They are waiting
                              waiting
                   ­                         waiting
Though I must reach into the salty water to distill it, I dare not dip a single finger
For the coiling leviathans beneath will rise to meet me with great gnashing teeth and ugliness to swallow me whole
It will be dark
It will be silent
And I will be alone
So I forego the water entirely
Learning instead to live with parched lips and a leathery tongue
And the gnawing emptiness within
a hinterland
there has
corn and
orient ties
in court
with his
golden tight
sweater so
he'd cook
tempura right
with his
catch of
roughy 'bout
now and
in his
kind place
in Montauk
a place in montauk
Dee Oct 2018
I have visited the land of over the moon happy
Where my tears created silent rivers
Being an ethnic woman
The exotic figure of many dreams
Feels like popping the champagne
And having to clean up the mess afterwards
I am both the star and the maid at the same time
Morgan Mercury Jul 2013
I said I'll meet you by the water
Just follow the path down the shore.
Follow me across the world,
to a place that's left unexplored.
We'll carve our names into the tallest tree,
reaching up towards the heavens and skies.
We'll count the stars as we leave,
to the other side of the island.
Drag a stick through the sand,
drawing tiny infinities.
and then we will sleep in the trees,
it's safe, trust me.
Look at the skies and watch the clouds roll by,
they were all ours.
We traced constellations with our fingers,
and talked in the language of the stars,
so they smiled back at us and sang us songs to sleep.
There is an island named after us.
A legend of a pariah duo.
Oh, the stories this place will hold.
E B K Oct 2018
Which way leads to you?
Do I need a compass to find my way?
As if you are an island
from some far-away shore
that I spot but can never reach

I look at you
you are so close
Would a map help me out?
Tracing a line between you and me?
Finding the way
as the crow flies
so I can get to you
as soon as can be?

Should I use my heart?
it makes the most sense
but for almost
2, 3 years
I have already used it

and I've never gotten
anywhere  

I am forever
lost

and you are still that island
that I cannot
reach
This is about a friend I used to have
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