»Dear Death«
(by Marcia Nonkululeko Tladi)
You hold something that belongs to me
My happiness
I can hardly wait to meet you
I might have something you'd like too
In fact I know you will
Although I must say,
I have only heard bad things about you
You have no concept of time
Tending to arrive before you are expected
You lack appreciation for the human corpse
Quick to rob it of its beauty
I saw the news last night
And I wondered if you had
to shred that child's body that way
Although I must admit,
Even before what they said
I've always been afraid of you
I pictured you dark and ugly
Your voice, deep, hoarse and unkind
I planned to hide under my bed
Should you come knocking on my door
But then I learnt that, like madness
you don't knock
Dear Death
I have packed my bags
(never could travel light you know)
I thought that I might need warm clothes
In case my fears turn cold on me
I was cautious picking out my summer clothes
I don't know if the sun shines in those parts
I think I may be ready to go now
Where shall we meet though?
I was thinking at the bottom of that
37 floor sky-scraper in town
But the streets tend to be crowded at night
How about I pick you up in my car?
The N1 North has some beautiful rendevouz spots
The problem being one never knows
how jammed the traffic might be
You know it renders it impossible to do it then
I would ask you to steal me in the middle of the night
while I lie asleep on my bed
But that's not your style anymore is it
You were kinder to my ancestors
And I understand
It must have become boring for you
Dear Death
Give me a week
I will prepare myself for the pain
Then you can sink
your chiselled vulture-like claws
into the skin of my breast
Break the bars of the
cage that imprisons my heart
in all its pain
Use the very rib
To pierce my heart
Squirting its pain-harbouring blood
Into your ugly face
Watch my body as it convulses
And watch closely lest you miss it;
When my last breath escapes
We shall trade
Grab it and
Feed your voracious appetite
And give me my happiness
Just give me my happiness
submitted on October 10, 2006 : viewed 951 times
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Readers' comments
ManTlaxa Dibade: Hhmmm...
Benjamin Chiloane: The rhytm and style of Dear Marcia is way beyond imagination
NM: Marcia, highly gripping...almost scary yet its reality is eminent and non-fictional.
Mercy Mhlaba: This is a masterpiece! Now I don't need anyone to remind me why I'm still into poetry...you're a great inspiration Marcia!!
gabi: its fantastic.
Anonymous: I am trying to piece together this puzzle of non-explicit words. The writing itself is very original and beautifully written. I somehow still find this art work puzzling. Nice work Marcia.
Anonymous: I like the way you put words together
Mthunzikazi Mbungwana : I now know, that the art of poetry lies in the way you connect words together ,they then result to this melodic piece of work, beautiful my sister indeed.
Masechaba Wessie : u remind me of that mad journey...beautiful work
Sivuyile Godongwana: wow! nice peace..
uyarula: i never took death in the words thtat you put it in.nice poem girl
Zandile Mboneni: Sista, how do you come up with all these words. You rock!!!
Saket Ranjan: Nice one!! Its only poets that can write addressing death. We lesser mortals fear even the name of death.
Mary Joy Lariza: you made me jealous,at the same time made me proud as a poem writer.The governance of your poem sends the expressed ideas in my head..Like nostalgia
Tshokologo: Solid sister, solid! Your insight on some of the lines of thought are a bit suspicious, but as a work this is too tite.
Cino ka mafanya: Gal you rock you know how to put your words together you really inspire me keep up the good work
Shalley: Different topic:Great work
Marcia T.: Thank you, Tshokologo. I'm humbled and I know exactly what you mean and exactly where. I guess at the time I thought I'd get away with it :) I've since learnt the importance of patience and rework... your crit will go a long way.. :) I will rework it one day and I hope you'll get to see and appreciate it.. Mcwah!
