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  Aug 2023 Masibulele Ntsepo
Jonathan
We chased a feeling
not a reality

We both wanted someone
So desperately
that we found each other

Even though no part of
us
worked

Our pieces didn’t fit together
so we pressed and jammed them
until they were stuck
and stayed that way
Until
we broke

-red flags
I only have 5 minutes
To spare this poetry
Here it goes:

5.
I do not wish to be seen
Said the old man in me
So leave me alone
Cause I don't want to be

4.
For I've been running away
This is what I hate
And I envy everyone else
Who are not in the same fate.

3.
What have I become?
Where will I go?
The questions are left unanswered
And I've searched high and low.

2.
To be strong once more
In my world full of doubt
To be strong while I lose
In my latest bout.

1.
I wish I had more time
Just like before
I only have 5 minutes
And I wish I had more.
  Aug 2023 Masibulele Ntsepo
Luna
you say my writing is
beautiful
but you forget that you’re
the one
inspiring it
  Aug 2023 Masibulele Ntsepo
Zywa
Forever new books

by new writers, for a dream --


they are immortal.
"The Queen of the Tambourine" (1991, Jane Gardam), § March 10th (1990)

Collection "A profession"
Words are like paint
your voice is the brush
The image though spoken
both vivid and lush

Each page but a portrait
your canvas when bound
Today and tomorrow
—eternity’s sound

(The New Room: August, 2023)
  Aug 2023 Masibulele Ntsepo
OD
Stripped bare

Lost yet aware

Battling the confines of
Perception
And
Projection

My back covered in the lashes
Of what you expect of me
My blood
painting a picture
of who I will never be

Stripped bare

Lost yet aware

Skin reforming
You tried to mutilate and manipulate
But the scars are evidence of my warning

This is me transforming

Stripped bare of your limitation

This is liberation
  Aug 2023 Masibulele Ntsepo
emnabee
The poet lives two lives.
One on the outside,
And one in their mind.

When you look in their eyes
You could see an abyss.

If you looked long enough
You could sink into it.

But most people don’t see it.

Take the time to read the words, though,
And you would know for sure.

The poet lives in two different worlds.
A little escape from the madness.
Or maybe, into.
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