Shadow Poem by Thabani Khumalo

Frightened - living my life in the middle of the shadows, - still.
Time happens on us in this twisted thought:
I see a man occupied by his spinning dream
and he wonders how I know about the depth of his final ambition -
I know the dream for I have measured it on its course;
I know the spring from which his the visions are streamed.

Life could be a beautiful dream
if you are only going to learn how to run this episode correctly:
you have to learn my way of doing things,
I keep a secret that may kill many men
and I enjoy watching their ignorance unfold before my very eyes.
I look into their eyes and notice that
they don't know what I know about their affairs -
and I know that everything they say is in capital folly.

Keeping a growing secret will keep your mind growing into higher wisdom,
and true wisdom is measured by how many lies
you will hear emanate from the tongue
of the opposite man in your dialogue.
The power of a secret is in its growth.
For now, the secrets are the only things that I keep,
and everything else, I will complete from beyond the grave.