Jou lag
Weef ‘n lied
Deur jou liggam.
Jou glimlag
Skryf ‘n gedig
Op jou gesig.
Jou trane
Teken ‘n toekoms
Op jou wange.
Jou hart
Klop ‘n ritme
Van verlange.
Droog en skaamteloos soos ‘n woestyn
Het ek geraamteloos verdwyn
Agter jou albaster oë.
Ek kan sien
Hoe die holte en die oorloop
Van ‘n leeftyd se hoop en verlang
Jou skielik vang.
En so raak ek verlore
Tussen die miriade woorde
Wat jy nie verby
Jou lippe kan kry.
I tried to recall the rhyme our bodies made
As we laid under the setting moon
And you hummed the tune
Of an old cartoon
Your whispers made me weak
Your words set me free
Under a star-filled canopy
Love appeared to me
In the shade of a tree
The poetry in our sighs
Could’ve won a Nobel prize
Your three fingers on my thigh
In the form a C chord -
A Grammy award
Our friction wrote a dictionary
You made me feel less ordinary
You were my best
And I still believe your chest
Was made to fit my cheek
But now we don’t even speak
You left before the week
Was over
The four-leafed clover
That I found in my hair
Never warned me it was to be a rebound affair
I was cheated out of luck
In the end it was just
To help you pretend
That the woman you went home to
Hadn’t forgotten how to love you
But in trying to erase
The pain you still had to face
You hurt me instead
Well, you’re still in my head
You’re on my lips, my tongue, my hips
I’ve washed, I’ve scrubbed, I’ve shaved
But I still crave your hands, your smile
You made my life worthwhile
The memory of your breath
Has made me blind
Now all I have is death on my mind
Unabridged
On a bridge
I stare at the cars below
I dare myself to swallow
My pointless expectation
I feel a sense of elation
As my feet leave the foundation
I lift my empty hands to the sky
I’m done asking why
I just wish I could’ve known
A little more about you
It might have helped me live
A life without you
Die skok veroorsaak
Dat ek jou skielike skuld erkenning in asem
En agter my tande betrap
En tussen my wange vasvang
Ek het mos vroeg geleer
Om die tekens te ignoreer
En jou leuens te glo
Ek was vir te lank geneig
Om an jou valsheid soos ‘n stokkielekker te suig
Jou bloeiende, blootstellende geheim
Begin teen my tong en my tande vas te roes
So taai soos toffie, bitter soos moerkoffie
Bind dit my antwoord an my verhemelte vas
Die spoeg op my lippe
Is besmet met jou verraad
En jou patetiese verskonings
Van “so jammer” en “te min praat”
Terwyl jy ‘n tree terug trap
En voor jy my oë kan vergeet
Vat ek ‘n laaste hap
Ek sluk ons geskiedenis in
Met my kop tussen my knee
En die smaak van gal in my keel
Val die naarheid my oor
My braking onderbreek die stilte
En die teerpad word verkleur
Met ons verrotende liefde
I found her sitting motionless. Like a rock in the wind.
I didn’t look forward to seeing her again. But I went to her because I knew she was suffering. I also knew only I could alleviate it, albeit temporarily. Getting to her was like walking though a maze. But I could always smell their skin for kilometers.
