To the person who hates me

I wish you could see

Beyond

The clothes I wear

The language I speak

The colour of my skin

And what you think you know

About the place I come from

I wish you would stop

Listening to the lies

Your newspapers tell you

About the reasons why I stand here

Outside your country’s borders

Asking for help

I wish you could look at me

Really look at me

Without prejudice

And see me

For what I truly am

A fellow human being in need

And then I wish

You would find in your heart

Some compassion

Rain

Like a shower of calm

It soothes the fires burning in my mind

The noise of the world

Drowned by the whispers of drops

As they caress the skin of thirsty earth

It makes me seek shelter and

Retreat a bit more inside

Comfortable and cosy

The atmosphere wraps around me

Like a soft blanket

Resurrection

I dreamed I was shot at

But didn’t die

The next night

There was a corpse

It wasn’t  mine

Something died that night though

Someone even

A part of me

And while that dead body

Was lying in the morgue

I was thinking of procreation

Even celebration

Of creating new life

Now I’m pregnant

With a new me

And can’t wait to see

What kind of person
I will turn out to be

The Risk (for Sunday Scribblings)

Take me

Come on

Don’t be afraid

Or one day

You’ll regret

When it’s all too late

Don’t take half-measures

But throw yourself all in

With a leap of faith

Great adventures begin

Breaking

I’m not gracefully blossoming

Not softly mellowing

Nor transforming

Or improving

I’m breaking open

With loud cracking noises

Spilling blood and tears

Stripping away

Layers upon layers

Of masks and veneers

Through the dust and rubble

I recognise your face

We finally meet

In this imperfectly beautiful place

Shadow Play

Dancing they are

Those shadows in the night

Showing their faces briefly

Before disappearing into the light

Mustn’t reject them

Or they won’t come to play

Nor surrender to them

Or you’ll become their prey

So I join their dance instead

Try to lead

Not to be lead