Give Me Room to Move My Feet

The Call

Come to the edge, he said
It’s dangerous there, I answered
Come to the edge, he said
It’s risky, I might fall and break my bones
Come to the edge, he said
I did,
He pushed me,
And I flew.

Just So You Know

I have chosen to bury you
Where the soil is rock hard
Devoid of rich black
Softness and redness.

When you turn
Your body will
Scratch against the granite
You will neither grow nor rest.

As for my heart
Which you've turned bitter,
Boy, I've used your penknife to
Open the jar lid on the coffee table.
That's where I have placed it.
I can watch it smoking and souring
And say, No,
That's not my heart.

I Shall Ask Grandma to Write Me a Recommendation

The scholarship office
States the requirement before admission:
A letter of recommendation from a higher faculty
Familiar with my work;
A tutor, a mentor, who has seen my progress over time
With a smirk on my face
I run to Grandma.

Years gone We sat under the big eucalyptus tree
Surrounded by pine trees in our compound
She chronicled Histories and Herstories
Dating centuries back

She explained mysteries woven in our beads
Ancient journeys of our people in our names
Tracking generations forward and rearward

She narrated folk tales
Embedded with morals and vices too
How the kingdom of monsters and humans relate.

The tales she told are the stories I write
The first time I showed the Professor my work,
'This can't be you,' he bellowed.
'This shows years of practice and genius,
Whose are these?'

I told Grandma who understood it all
'It looks to me your professor is a mediocre,' she said.

I shall ask her to write me a recommendation letter
I shall ask Grandma to mail her letter to the scholarship office.