Walk with me

WALK WITH ME by Nkululeko Shakoane

Walk with me brothers and sisters of the soil,
Take a journey with me in this world and
Let words become expression of souls

Walk with me through the treachery of this world
Grab my hand, hold it tight and please don’t let go
I’ve lost my direction in this entwined universe which is so cold
Help me regain my status as a man and strive for gold
Make me rekindle the spirit within me to reach for my goals
Emancipate my mind; take away the pain in my heart that’s full of holes
Make me speak my mind, eliminate the fear that makes me choke

I’m a writer; poet; father; child so this is not a hoax
So when we are done; traveling this long road
We’ll be able to sit side by side and enjoy a cold glass of coke.
This journey perhaps might give one hope;
So please give a lending hand or even throw me a rope.
Lord; bless me and help me mend spirit which is so broke
Grant me the serenity to accept that blessed are those…
Who accept that they are part of a greater good wherever they are in the world.

Rise mothers and fathers of the world
So; walk with me this not a joke x2

Let me be the first to cast the first stone into a future that’s full of hope
Walk with me and we can conquer and obstacle on the road
Have no fear; you’re with God not with ghosts
You’re a pillar of strength; a breadwinner; a true South African
This is your time to shine in your zone.
As we come to the end of our journey; hope you’ve learnt a lot from me
Because I’m already home.

FAREWELL THEE

I spoke to her
Not through a discussion
That others could hear
Or with gestures
That some could read
That day I spoke to her

I spoke to her
Not through tears
That my emotions
She could feel
Neither through eyes
That my sorrow
She could read
That day I spoke to her

I spoke to her
Not through a relative
Who delivered the message
Neither through the lyrics
Of the song she liked most
That day I spoke to her

As she slept forever
Shrouded in white
The mystery of death
Her clock of life
Having stopped to tick
A child so young
Such a scene I had to be
There to bid goodbye
To the mother
Now I don’t have
That day I know
I spoke to her

Yesterday’s Life

You threw me away
In a dustbin to die
To friends and relatives
You gave them a lie
The child that was born
Did not even cry
As I struggled at night
To see my first dawn.

Wrinkles and grey hair
That one you could hide
This too could be your truth
That you've never been a mother
But one day you shall have
No energy to dance
One day you shall have
No voice to sing
One day you shall have
No lies to tell
As sickness and weakness
Taketh you miles to childhood.

NO MAN CRY

No Man Cry
Me heard him cry
Very loud at night
Me asked him to say
Why you cry tonight
No man has seen
Water from your eyes
No villager has heard
You crying aloud
You who wrestled
A bull to the ground
You who fall no sick any season
Me asked him again
Why you cry tonight

That man said no word to me
His chest full
Many worries of life
Me know that sure
From my gray hair
No man cry
Aloud for nothing.

THE MARRIED BRIDE

I look back
At the tracks of my life ,
Fallen are trees
That had blocked my dreams,
Dry are rivers
That had flooded my hopes,
As you stand there
Who would have been my wife ,
With charm and beauty
That would have been my drive .

I do now cry
For what would have been mine,
The bride , my pride
I never even tried
It was just in mind
I never said it a loud,
That I lost a bride
Who would have been my wife ,
With charm and beauty
That would have been my drive

The Waiting Game

Some memories have grown
To be full of sorrows,
Of friends and foes
Who cannot see tomorrow,
As we wait for him
Our turn to follow.

As soon as you are born
You begin to die,
Mankind has been told
Many repeated times,
As no man knows
when you come for him.

Our cereals and grains
Would fill your granaries,
And the famine in your belly
Shall forever be a scar,
If light or sunshine
Could trace your shaddow.

Song Of Death

Men have fought battles at night
Others have dug trenches to hide
Women and children ran to the hills
For each one of them a way to be a live
To each one from you the reason to die .

Two rivers away came the screams
One more is gone , many other to follow
It was not a dream , that one we know
You had visited the village
To claim another life .

You have no shadow that we could track
You have no relatives that we could tell
If you had eyes
Sufferings of the orphans
Would move you to tears
Cries of the widows
Would push you to a stop
The village witch would curse you to life
That we may see
What like is your nature .

My Song Your Dance

If I were water, I would keep some for you
When in draught and rivers dry
I would hide myself
Beneath the rocks and roots
I shall be there to quench your thirst.

I would always be there, If I were a smile
On your lips and dimples
That you may give joy in sorrow
When I look at your lovely face
The oasis of passion and love.

I would shed not ,If I were a tree
My leaves in dry season
That may shelter you from the sun
That your beauty may know
No rashes from the heat.

My Land My Abode

I live in Gaza
Not the land where cattle graze
And river flows
But where Israelis raze
Our land in shells
But where Israelis flood
Our land in blood

I now know how to count
Like other boys of my age
But not with fingers and nails
But bodies of the dead
Of friends and relatives
Have taught me arithmetic
Who have died in the pool
Not the swimming pool of your maisonette
But in the pool of blood
Of those who we have lost.

My grandfather had fought
And died in the front
My father had followed
And perished in the blast
And my brother has been
A martyr in the struggle
Just like the many
Who have been in the front

And now it’s my turn
To go to the front
Not because I do not want
To be in school
I have to defend
Our land in blood
That which shall be
Tomorrow my abode

Shadow of the night

Seated beneath the tree
Of that night, I remember
You promised me
Only me for you
And no other for me.

The witnesses of that night
Birds still singing in joy
The moon brightening the village
They have kept their promises
But through my daughter
You left for me yourself.

Just like you did
Beneath another tree,tonight
Perhaps she is there
Listening to you
Making night vows
That dawn taketh away
This night she has to remember
Just like I do in tears
Looking at the shadow of that night.