Poem: How are you?

How are you? Her answer is always simply “I’m fine, thank you. And you?” But she never spoke of the Shadow, The weight of Nothing that stops her lips From articulating some Fear she knows She feels, but knows not from which cell it spawned. For speech is as inadequate At expression As people are at empathy. She wants to say, sing, shout – be heard. But words can offer no pity;...

2 May, 2021 · 2 min · Benedict

Thinking about Feelings

It is strange how our feelings are often beyond our control. Naturally, we cannot help but feel angry when we are offended or see injustice; we cannot help but feel sadness when we are hurt, or the people around us are; we cannot help but feel joy when something goes right for us or for people we care for. I believe this is true for most of us – unless we put in great amounts of effort to suppress our emotions....

3 October, 2016 · 2 min · Benedict

Poem: On the Road to the Airport

On the road to the airport Heading towards my moment of glory Leaving third world deficiencies For greener pastures on yonder hills. We who leave, are like Argives and Trojans Battling for glory and armour Blind towards the carnage and death Wrecked around them. What I see when the stamps before my eyes are removed Are men sweating to make ends meet, Migrant slaves struggling to eke out a living in a foreign land Young men resigned to lives of hard labour for want of education Women young and old working to put bread on their kitchen tables....

26 September, 2016 · 2 min · Benedict