Perhaps this is macabre
I don’t mean to be sombre
But the impact that people have on one’s life
Can either lead to death and strife
Or give one reason to survive
In this case I wished they’d choked and died
There was a wench
I shared a sports bench with
Her cruelty lay in the way that she saw fit
To criticize and ridicule everything I dealt with
From the way I spoke to the way I grieved
She saw a some witless need
To correct me like a stubborn child
When she herself had no wisdom even mild
I wished one day her tongue would swell
And fill her mouth like a flooded well
And then she’d choke and die
There was another determined jerk.
Who like to brag of his riches and lurk
Where girls hung out to brag about how he was hung
His bragging was enough to turn your mind numb
He made a point to ruin my day
Whenever he happens to pass my way
And stated that he was a gentleman to every but me
As though I should have treated that like a trophy
I wished one day he’d call flat down
And choke and die
Vicous as a viper my words may cut
But we all sometimes live dead with the bruises in our hearts
There was another, I hated her most
She would encourage everyone else to show me their worst
And make me feel stupid for just being
But she actually died
The anger I felt at her sudden passing
Was because she never saw me prosper and realize that her damage was not everlasting
As people patted me and said
“Forgiveness is the right of the dead”
I learned that wounds do not heal when we die
Or even as time flies
And not all problems will be solved if someone chokes and dies.
-An emotionally raw poem by Tanatswa Taruvinga. All rights reserved 2020. This may not be shared or copied with out express permission from the poet.