Spirit Poem by Thabani Khumalo

Imagine the protracted wait of the big thing,
Time passes and I'm over-weighed by the unseen burden;
Dictionary limitation making me seem unwise,
But too much wisdom vanishes un-discharged.

Every voice I hear delegates obligations:
I take orders I'd love to avoid.
My head is full by day and the silent night is a recourse
Yet, they assume that I am possessed with a legion of demons.

For decades - I have lived -
But I still cannot fathom a thought;
Nothing stabilizes in my head -
I cannot deduce from my childhood,
My feet are regarded as unclean
And I can't prevent my hands from being unclean.
How heavy a heart that is empty?

Many songs, I have written and as many, I have lost.
I have songs unsung, I have thoughts unsaid -
And the evil of the truth that grows untold.