Don’t forget to smell the roses

Hey! watch it, this is life you are living.

It’s delicate with a lifespan unpredictable.

You go through it in haste,

Always rushing to be somewhere where you have never been,

Without the guarantee that you will like it there, let alone get there.

Always in a panic to proceed forward,

But don’t forget to smell the roses.

 

You see? you almost fell, you trip and stumble,

But forward you, go not realising the repercussions.

No lesson learnt, nothing to adjust the next time,

Just feeling what is masquerading as freedom.

That you live to plan, to work, to worry...often.

See if freedom was what truly resided in you,

You would be using it to...well, smell the roses.

 

Do you even know where roses grow?

Or are they found in that place you never go?

Relaxation is just a steady count to ten,

Then back to the working because it’s what you can comprehend...

No! Enough already. you were born to smell the roses

You know, be one with the joie de vivre!

To inhale the scents and to tantalise your senses,

To appreciate the colours, and look at life through brand new lenses.

 

Hey watch it! it's life you are living.

So before they wither and wilt away.

Before they become without their last petal.

Before you read about how lovely they smelt...

Or ponder on how life changing the experience could have been.

With all life’s haste and strife, just...

Never forget to smell the roses!

 

VUMA D

DEAR STRANGER

Let’s be vulnerable together.

Come on. You and me. Right now.

The beauty about us is that, we need not go around in circles,

Where even after circumference, there’s no desired result.

All the circles we need to worry about,

Are those which belong to us, which intertwine...

An awkward thing at first and then, sublime.

We will make our way past our awkwardity,

Where, our only foreplay will be our nervous giggles.

Nervous no more as we get lost in each other.

 Our tongues quickly escalading  this beautiful anomaly we have subjected ourselves to.

Pressure is unheard of, expectation non-existent.

Pleasure is undeniable, in turn our circles persistent.

Our circles persist as we drown deep into each other.

Neither of us gasping for air, drowning.

 

VUMA D

CHANGE

I can’t say it was love at first sight.

No! Quite frankly there was no attraction to you whatsoever.

Yes, others seemed to like you, embrace you...

Oh the embraces you got! all but from me.

I actually found you quite irritating and unnecessary.

Nothing about you, to my life, was at all complimentary.

You pursued me fervently,

I ducked and meandered but you somehow managed to hit the bulls eye.

Forced into this game of moving darts with you...

I the moving board, you the very sharp dart and my life, the bulls eye.

Why? A question i found myself asking every time.

Questioning your existence in my life.

It wasn’t until time did what it does best...

Make everything known in its time,

Allow one to have retrospect.

So in hinds sight the little girl you were chasing down

Was running away from you, trying.

Trying to be big and grown, without you.

Trying to remain in the comfort she knew, had grown attached to.

And yet...

You always managed to catch up with me and hit your bulls eye.

I thank you for that, for you have always brought with you growth.

The very thing i lacked and needed.

You always seemed to be so vicious and cut throat,

Had no care in the world about whether or not you were loved by me,

Just came and left, having delivered your only package, GROWTH.

Geez talk about tough love!

I still can’t say it was love at first sight

But oh how i wish it was!

Then time wouldn’t have been wasted in the running,

But rather spent in the accepting...you.

You who refreshes, challenges, moulds.

You who is an occurrence for the greater good.

A gold medallist in what you do,

I simply admire your precision.

I think i have grown to like you

Your power though always inspires nothing but fear, of the unknown.

And i think that’s what it’s always been, fear.

Had me running away, not embracing, because, well, fear.

Fear of something i didn’t know, will never know.

Fear of something new!

Because in as much as we all love opening up Christmas gifts,

It’s always with anxiety and hope mostly

For the gift to be, not only new, but what we love too!

In my experience the former and latter have proved to be true.

So change, you’re the best damn Christmas gift a girl could ever ask for.

VUMA D

Woman thou art strong

If only you knew how strong you are

How it is your ordained prerogative

To endure, persevere and stand strong,

Firm in your worth. Golden from birth.

To NOT endure past the threshold of dignity.

Your dignity, which should be dwelling in tranquillity,

Of love and peace and joy effortlessly.

Your dignity that does not diminish in walking away...

Away from all that cripples, that insults the beauty that is you.

But is rather inspiring to those whose knees are too weak to stand.

Actions speak louder than words

So why are his “I love you’s” always ushered in by his hand?

On your face, your ever so beautiful face...

Where the only caress it ever encounters,

Is that of your tears that gently fall, (so as to comfort you)

As you fall deeper into a whirlwind of pain.

This pain eats away at your soul

And yet in all its corrosiveness

You remain so put together, the biggest smiler, full of life.

But the true story is always told by your wet pillow.

If only you knew how strong you are

The mere fact that you stand today

Shows just how much of you is left to unveil.

For not only are you strong, but kind too.

And it is the latter that finds you running at a deficit.

Constantly being blinded by the white lies,

That are neatly presented to you in wonderful ribbons of “I’m sorry”.

It is seen in your forgiveness, which leads to incompleteness,

That your kindness hasn’t made its way to yourself.

Love yourself. Be by yourself. Be kind to yourself.

Realise that the only person you need to be strong for, is yourself.

If only you knew how strong you are

A diamond...many faceted, indestructible, luminescent.

A flower...beautiful and delicate in need of gentle hands.

This strength is an inward thing, stemming from the core of your spirit.

So quit looking for it in places full of testosterone.

Carry on enduring and persevering life’s hardships

For they bring forth growth and change.

Always remember though to Love yourself to be kind to yourself.

And NEVER endure past the threshold of your dignity

Your dignity, which should be dwelling in tranquillity,

Of love and peace and joy effortlessly.

Woman thou art strong.

VUMA D

Golden

When you say you love me i won’t even have to double check its authenticity because if it’s as real as you say it is, i will recognise it immediately because it will somehow mirror the love i have for myself. Familiarity. Be the very shadow of the agape i have grown up mastering, for myself. A pure, quiet confident thing that needs no reassurance that seeks no worldly approval, that follows no equation, that just is.

Please don’t get me wrong though, your love for me mimicking my love for me, is not that of a selfish nature, but how i see it...surely if i have come to master the art of loving me, flaws and all, after all these years, then surely i have every right to use my love for me as a measuring stick...uhm...

i’m sorry if my being frank is making you feel uncomfortable because you realise that your love, next to my measuring stick is so derivative. You have to understand that My love is gold. No, i refuse to lose my lustre in the mean time while you attempt to be my gold, give me gold. Im impatient. Its either we are golden together or you go ahead and find your silver, your bronze, im perfectly golden alone.

When you say you love me, please understand that i can only reciprocate in gold, its all i know. My gold, you will recognise immediately because it will somehow mirror the love you have for yourself. Golden. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less. 

VUMA D

Vulnerability complex

You are a hopeless romantic,

Masquerading as a love cynic.

Underneath those robes of pride,

Lays someone who loves fearlessly and completely.

But you see, love can’t tolerate indifference,

It needs to be wanted...and you long for it.

So, to say something or to die slowly inside?

Oh how you have mastered the art of smiling through the pain,

But much more deceitful than the sun shining behind clouds,

Because no one can even feel the heat of your burning passion, your smile is so bright.

Walls built so high around your heart due to fear,

That your heart wins no battle against your mind...

Will it win the war though?

You tell yourself, not if you have anything to do with it!

But, what’s life without a little hurt to give you an experience to learn from?

What’s growth without challenges that inspire strength?

What’s love without fearless commitment, since you only live once?

Go on, step out of your comfort zone!

For how long will you have this vulnerability complex of yours?

It breeds no memories of your own...

Only leaves you to spectate others’ joy in love.

Undress yourself in those robes of pride

And clothe yourself in garments of fearlessness.

Wear your heart on your sleeve...

 Be yourself fully, he who loves fearlessly and completely.

Enough with your vulnerability complex already!

So what if your heart acquires bumps and bruises along the way?...life is such

For living and loving with the hope of being joyful always.

VUMA D