Silence Poem by Aluncedo.N Mkhosana

I'm carrying storm behind my teeth,
Swallowing thunder so no one leaves.
Afraid that words are borrowed things,
That if I speak, the room will take wings.

So I write in my wrist in a language only pain can read,
Not to end, but to prove I'm here,
A map of "don't go" etched quite and red
Because "I'm hurting " got stuck somewhere in my head.

Im I'm not chasing goodbye,
I'm begging to stay with hands that shake…