Shaken by Storms

By Philani Tyson Nombika, South Africa:

That belief that brews fire in your belly

Burning any hope of giving up.

That there alone is enough to kill a person

But what if you’ve chosen to give life

What if life is like the wrinkles at the corner of your smile

That you saw casually wear like those torn tracksuit pants that you’ve had for over five years

And how you’re so comfortable with how you smile just as how you wear them

It’s like that reminder that I dread when I wake you up in the morning

Between telling that it’s time to breath more life in gallons

I’m cought instead telling you that your face is doing that beautiful thing

Your wrinkles stand and sway like a choir in a revival

You could be dreaming of creation

Angel

I don’t know yet how to say goodbye to you

When you wave, the choir conductor flows through your swaying wrists and your dangling careless fingers

As if to tempt my fingers to fill those gaps between your fingers

In all this, life just feels natural to you.