The Hour I First Believed. Poem by Kefentse Sathekge

The rooibos tea bag you always
Leave in the tea cup
How it would drive me to the wall
If dirty dishes could kill
I would have been the first on the list
I thank you.

For I had to learn to love all these
About you.
The hour I first believed
That I could love
Was the hour I accepted
Your little mishaps.

The rooibos tea bag.
The dirty dishes
If dirty dishes where a
deadly cancer,
I would not be spared to see
Another day.

The little things that mounted
Into a hill, thank you.
The unhappiness you had,
The joy you did not have
The freedom you craved.

I pray you find them.
You say we can still be friends.
I say you took that when you ceased
Loving me.

The hour I first loved you
Was the hour I accepted
That I could actually love you.