TEBOHO PIETERSEN

  I hoped you’d be better   I hoped you would be the mature one  You seemed to understand this friendship thing better  than me  You were not scared to say I love you I became so disillusioned when I realised we both are lost  We had no idea what pain would come from those three words  What expectations they arose in us  How deep the hurt would be  You seemed so agile so free  So forgiving  Little did I know the opposite is just as real  Anger, frustration, disappointment, regret, hate  All of these and more  You seem so confused  So determined to continue in the old way  You want a friend  You want a child , a puppy A variety of experiences to craft a life  A life of expectations, disappointments, highs and lows  But there is no energy when you do the same things that hurt us You can’t take me with you  

I wish for you   I was incomplete  Too cold to start  Needing a battery  I wish for you I was a hopeless romantic  Seriously unhinged  Toxic  Missing one rib   I wish for you  I was a flirt and said sweet nothings  Promised you the world  Be your person and you be my person  I wish for you I could see things this way  Get into something which, I will want to get out of  Miss you and be upset when you don’t miss me  Feel the loneliness of not being with you and make it into something sweet  Wait on your calls  Jealous about who you with and where you are  I wish for you I could do all these things but I am too logical for all that  I wish for you I could take on all the conventions  I wish for you I was traditional  Fall in and fall out  Meet your parents Get married  Have children  I wish for you I could do all these things but I am too mature for all that  I...

Confused  Not knowing the meaning of love  Taken out of the running  Don’t know right from wrong  Democrat from republican  Shown to be a real fool  We saw you as something special  It must have been your campaigns your podcasts  We waited with baited breath Sometimes even the innocent get hurt We believed you had legends  Smoke and mirrrors   We have been taught, educated, ministered Subtly integrated messages, content  Conditioned,  Programmed   Late Night talk show hosts We’ve let ourselves down  We binged on American stories  Smoked the American dream  Even if just for one week  Corrupting our minds  In the most extreme of ways  Growing up America was a holy grail  Apex of intelligence  We’ve never been able to shake this off  Daytime television, Soapies Way before ticktovk and insta thing  Malcolm X Martin Luther king  The lady who sat at the back of the bus ...

Who still cares about Freedom  Who cares about anything other than work and deadlines and making money  Simple pleasures  Systems and principles, policies  Who still cares about silence  Grinding, hustling  Praying, escaping  Lying, fighting  Celebrating, rewarding  Moping, loathing  Who still cares about love  Killing, competing, chaos  Bosses, colleagues, juniors, seniors  Who still cares about transformation  Winning, rewardsc power  Ambition, greed, non-consenting  Who still cares  Trandition, uncles, slaughtering Academics, applications, administration City, travel,  Marriage divorce  Who still cares 

 The birds have never seen us fly They know we are stuck to the ground I wonder if they laugh at us Maybe that’s the noise they are making They can’t stop laughing at the creatures stuck on the ground You see we are quite superior us humans  In our suits going to work everyday In tall buildings escalators lifts Sitting at our desks acting serious We are quite busy as are the birds  Quite determined to push things around Gather some material and make houses  I guess so are the birds They have not seen us fly, the birds  They have seen us drive and grind  They have seen us starve and fight  They have seen us run and hide They have seen us from high above They have seen us pointing guns and shooting  They have seen us drunk and stupid They have seen us sleep under the bridge But never have they seen us fly 

  She cares about her birthday She will post about it on her social media status  She will ask someone to buy her a gift  No she really does care about this birthday thing  She feels sad, frustrated on every other day  She works, she goes to school  She in her room  On her birthday it will be different She is running a business  She is a boss  She has deadlines  She’s on the board  Not on her birthday  She thinks too much  Wishes she was richer  Scared of the future  Not on her birthday  She wants to have children  Thinks they are the cutest thing  She will save up for their education  Raise them alone if her husband abandons her  But not on her birthday it’s far too sacred  She’s wanted fame  Went to school with all the pop stars  Can’t wait for her luck to change  Anxious for a different life  on her birthday she’ll be the celebrity  that’s why it’s so impo...