Stay Alive The Water Lily Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

So flat yet floating to oblivion,
No worries for you are fed by the sky,
So beautiful you bloom for everyone,
So solid, so there no one can wade in,
And touch who you are without knowing you,
From getting the shock that lights up,
For only you knows how to live,
The way of stars without paying,
Even a dime for the air you breathe.

This bird sits on your leaves,
Drinks from the pond looking around,
Sticks its beak and strikes at this,
This fish that it swallows,
Its beak going up then down,
In steps of the gobbling you watch,
As it swallows on and on.
You looking at this life,
And blooming white like the clouds,
That cast a shadow as they float
Up above as if searching for a way,
To help you on your journey,
Of waiting for the pollen to be taken,
To grow another one like you.

Life is not easy water lily,
For your leaves know this for sure,
Yesterday stood a bird of prey,
That prayed for a fish to eat,
Then tore the leaf as it fought,
To get its dinner for the day,
And fly away leaving behind,
Its droppings for it to carry,
Till the rain comes and washes away,
These so rare that need to sink,
To the bottom to make you feed.

When will your new leaves come up?
When will your new flowers show life,
Alive you are the water lily,
That everyone waits for day by day,
For it is rare this you know,
For you bloom for just a few,
So rare a find, so beautiful,
Stay alive new water lily,
When you die no one will see,
That in this pond there lived one like you.