your feet brought you to me
sturdy and firm as you stood in front of me
i think back to the day you chased me through the park...
they were always walking with me
but one day they unintentionally stepped on my heart
washboard hard yet can house butterflies
i remember tracing love hearts on your stomach one time
you'd giggle and wriggle then ask me to lie
so you could play with my hair and
whisper sweet lullabies
i would turn you over
when lying in bed
just to check that your wings had not disappeared
your shoulders and back have carried such a load
to take on my heart, problems, insecurities and fears
you never seemed to falter though now i see it was unfair
they lit up my life, they said the words right
they kissed me goodnight and made it feel right
they'd purse and that's their curse
coz i couldn't resist
i could overlook all your wrong when you sealed it with a kiss
they told me the truth
they knew me too well
their sincerity made it certain that this was no spell
they'd laugh til they cried
they'd cry til they laughed
i knew by just looking at them
you'd do me no harm
there's one part of you i could never see
but you never made it a secret to me
sometimes i would drop it, neglect or forget it
but you'd pick it up and remind it's still there
it captured my soul and gave it a home
at times i'd feel empty but it made me feel whole
the one part of you i will treasure endlessly
beats deep down inside you
and will remain with me infinitely
trace
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
nature is an artist
the world is her canvas as she leaves her colours in it
she quietly sings her icy lullaby
as white flakes fall gently
and numb everything beneath
i watch the rose bush from outside my window
and see the frozen pink blossoms asleep on their icy pillow
the snow-capped mountains kinda look strange
sort of majestic with their icy capes
and so she blows and blows and blows
til icy air no longer from her soul flows
then unexpectedly
her gentle breeze brushes over me
whispers softly: "it's coming see"
i look up and watch them push through
new buds filled with life waiting to start anew
one day she conducts the orchestra of blooms
to open and reveal their colours under a full moon
pink, yellow, red, violet and every hue inbetween
her canvas turns from pure white to a kaleidoscope of beauty
the roses awake from their icy slumber
their icy cover now flows over them as dew
"it's here my dear, come dance in my full bloom."
i bask in her yellow warmth
and cool off in her turquoise depths
as i watch her paint the horizon deep orange and red
the sun winks at me before it disappears to the west
we dance around her midnight dancefloor
with stars illuminating as the balmy air blows
in the morning she wakes me with a sweet melody
she chases me through her azure tapestry
we jump and laugh as the puffy clouds catch us
and as we sit under the orange blossom tree
a small yellow leaf lands on me
she turns and smiles and looks at me
"i'm about to show you colours like you've never seen!"
i'm in awe as she transforms each and every green leaf
to deep colours between auburn and cerise
i turn and ask her how much longer will it be
she assures me we've got at least another week
we play again our game of hide and seek
she finds me hidden beneath the golden leaves
she blows them around and they land on me
like pieces of sunshine cut out for me
and then it's as if with just one blink
her lullaby begins to fill the air again
we all sway in her icy breeze
the bare trees
made it clear to me
her ivory reign would start again
its inevitability still baffles me
i feel its genlte breeze blowing over me.
the air smells a little different, people smile a little more and i've found that on a good day, one jacket is enough to keep me warm. it's finally here and i can't wait to indulge in its beauty.
spring brings with it warmer weather, brighter days, sakura (cherry blossoms) and more importantly: change. the six-letter word that has some jumping for joy and others having panic attacks. i've always had mixed reactions to change but lately i've found that i can easily welcome it. i guess it's because the recent changes in my life so far have brought a smile to my face.
eight months ago i decided to leave everything i know and love and move several continents away from home. i've never lived in a different city from my family and now my new home on this island country is literally on the other side of the world. everyday when i look up at the mountains in tottori, i'm either filled with awe, joy or despair- sometimes i'm flooded by all these feelings. since my arrival in japan, i've realised that change can be embraced or rejected depending on how easy or complicated you want things to be for you.
the teacher's room at my junior high school has been abuzz since earlier this month. i thought they were, like me, excited at the prospect of marking 100 days before kick off but it seems they had other issues on their minds. you see one of the most fascinating things about this country is what i like to call the 'job shuffle'. every year in march, employees will announce to edgy employees whether they will be moving to another office of if they will stay for another year.
at 1st the idea freaked me out. i thought: "well that sucks - every year someone tells me where i want to work. very uncool." but then i sat down and thought about this a little more and it seems the japanese are not getting a raw deal after all. say you've been at a job for a year and your boos happens to be hitler's reincarnation or your colleagues are not a pleasant bunch, the 'shuffling' can definitely come in handy. it can also minimise boredom and complacency because just as you want to drift into that comfy zone, you're quickly pulled out. i guess it's like playing musical chairs except when the music stops, no-one is left without a chair.
i watched this week as seven teachers who will leave our school pack up their things. i watched how they folded up the smiles, laughter and jokes they once shared with colleagues and students. as they tuck away their memories into the cardboard boxes, i didn't see anyone sulking. change here is welcomed and embraced becasuse perhaps my colleagues know something i've only realised recently: this force is inevitable and when welcomed amicably can yield positivity. so as the winds of change gently blow and send the subtle scent of spring my way - i can't wait to welcome what it brings.
Proudly South African- a little wary but there is hope
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
I’ve been away from South Africa for almost eight months and my homesickness hasn’t quite settled down. I still think: if I was back home I would do this or back home I could get this but the recent media reports have made me less nostalgic.
During my teenage years I was very politically conscious, I usually had an opinion on the state of things and wasn’t too afraid to voice them. As the years went by I lost my fervor for politics, I decided that it was all too much and my ranting and raving won’t achieve much. However, the latest media reports from home have me worried and secretly wishing for some sort of duality with my nationality. A friend said it could be because now that I live in Japan, I am able to look at things from the outside and therefore am able to thoroughly point out shortcomings that have really always been there.
I take my hat off to the journos who are relentless at taking them on and would like to commend SANEF and ProJourn for backing them all the way. The media has played a pivotal role in the liberation struggle working together with what seemed to be the party that would lead South Africans to Canaan. Hopefully the constant prodding and disturbance of their tender-filled utopia might remind them why so many South Africans have still put their lives in their hands. I on the other will continue to live and work abroad while closely watching the latest events in my country. I will live in the hope that I will be back home to help build and grow this country that has a lot to be proud of.
yokoso. wam'kelekile. herzlichen willkommen.
Me and my writing have always shared a love/ hate relationship.
I’d like to think it had nothing to do with a daily newspaper editor deciding to share her unwanted pearls of wisdom about my ability to crack the industry. When her words hit me, I remember the tears welling up from being livid at her audacity. It was then that I understood how anger and hate works: the perpetrator can easily carry on while you toil with the restlessness it brings you. Though I can proudly say I did pretty well at the community newspaper I worked for after the incident, I still don’t read the daily she worked for.
Ever since I’ve started toying with the idea of starting a blog, I’ve turned into a blogoholic- reading any and every blog I can find to figure out which direction I should take with mine. I didn’t want to split into two blogs with one dedicated to my scribbling and another documenting my time teaching, living and learning in Japan. The space will then be my scribbles while I live and work and learn in Japan. I’ve also embarked on a hip hop finding mission while living in the island country and with my trusty camera travelling with me, I hope to harness my skills behind the lens. I want it to reflect the kaleidoscopic personality that I am. If you stumble across it, I hope you find it interesting.
