Poetic Synchretism by Trevor Mhlanga: Anthology of Poems

So What Now?

Written by Trevor Mhlanga

(Edited by Kudakwashe Nhlanhla Chikosi)

...

You don't have to speak, I already know it's over
Your actions are loud and clear for me to hear
The sound of your deeds, no earbuds can cover
So speak not, I would rather not confirm my fear

That there was actually nothing in the first place
That I have been lying to myself all this time
That thought to me is the worst curse
That in all this, I only have myself to blame

The past can only haunt us if we let it do so
Because we're the narrators of our own stories
Everything that goes does so because we say so
In the torches of our lives, we're the batteries

We determine which direction we're taking
We may not forget our past experiences
We can only change the recipe we're cooking
We can each reject what our heart denounces

But it's easier said than done in real life
The direction of the current cannot just be altered
Going past the past is my daily strife
I'm bound to the words I once uttered

To you, I spoke and I really meant it
How can I now, at this point, unmean it
The knot that I tied, how can I untie it
It hurts me so much that I can't deal with it

So what now?