I recall my mother’s voice
Singing solemn hymns of joy
Hours in the living room
The clock was ticking
And her perfume
Filled the room…
I remember Rosie’s eyes
And how a heart could swell
Inside the chest of a child
Seconds turned to hours when
I came so close that I could sense
Her scent filling the sky…
I remember cigarettes and alcohol
Sweet 16
And bored 18
Raging against the machine
Revolutionary dreams
Broken hearts and poetry…
I remember reading Revelations
The Apocalypse coming any time soon
I got so scared
I couldn’t sleep for a year
Still, years later, I slept with the lights on
Sometimes I still do
(Shashe, Notwane, Chobe)
I remember when I first saw you
You were shining like a highway
Leading out of misery
I remember yesterday
When you asked me
In your childish way:
”Do you think time will have its way with us?”
And I said: “Babe, it already has”
And I remember your eyes
When I said: “Life is now or never”
And you said: “Babe, I think we’’ll live forever”
And your eyes were so full of hope when you said it
That it made me cry
I still don’t know why
It made me recall my mother’s voice
Singing solemn hymns of joy
Hours in the livingroom
The clock was ticking
And her perfume
Filled the room…