ABSENT FROM THE PRESENT

THE GREAT WINTER OF SACRIFICE

The cold Antarctica winds seem to expose the poverty

Poverty that I held within

It was written on my face

Smile at the world with the cursed luck

Precipitation on the frozen grounds

And it does not give the unfriendly earth

The world knew my name

Fame was just a game

Contracts with no promises

Yet poverty lacerated my veins

The force of the Mephisto

The lure of homelessness

My face out of the water

Winter was stifling, suffocating

A torrent swept the humanity out of me

Misfortune was dancing the snow dance

Solitary nights I bear the bane

Wretchedness ,woe and hades

Stood in my divinity

Freedom from doubt

The sun will shine in the morning

ABSENT FROM THE PRESENT

I finally conceded to the flood

I was mistaken

I could negotiate the witching hours

Searching for the peace that I owned

Peace I lost

Loose my nerves when sleep is the sweetest

Wade through the folio of my hurts with tears

It's a cliché the secrets one holds will give the mind peace

Frantic unhinged unravelling in the nighttimes

Castigating, burning candles scolding the evil spirits

Hush the powers of recollections

Catch the morning light whispering peace to me

WHITE FLAG

I finally washed my hands

I explained being lonely as a place I was

God's gift was taking the long way round

I keep counting the clouds in the sky

Convince myself the sun will shine

When love tenderness is justified

I lived in Antarctica cold for a while

Haunted by the fear of the love of a man

The fear that haunted me for years

Blasphemy I did not abide by the laws of love

Love was like a stranger

I needed

Needed a link,a bond at an intersection

Bring down my walls of Jericho

Part my Red sea

Then love would be at hand

Encounter it as the winds through my window

It has its own texture endemic scintilla

By the fireplace its mood is unwavering

Wraps in me in its inclination

Justify the hurt in the child

Holds me close till the panic is gone

Anna Kapungu has published a collection entitled ‘Water falling between words’ with Austin Macauley Publishers. In addition she has published work with Adelaide Magazine, Jonah Magazine, The Sentinal Journal, Halycon Magazine and Scarlett Leaf Review.