Page 25 - LOCKDOWN POETRY

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What Have You Done To Pull Sanity In?

Thandiwe Ngwenya

Ever tiptoed while lying on your back?
Ever squeezed yourself into the one corner of your bed to escape?
Ever swallowed a hopeful placebo?
Ever bashed your head against the wall to excuse the numbness?
Ever jogged just to get a hug from the wind?
Ever listened closely to the wind’s whispers?
What have you ever done to pull sanity in?

I find it weird that sanity is the norm.
Too much is happening to us.

What method do you employ to maintain the standard?
What have you done to pull sanity in?
Ever fully immersed yourself in unbalanced sound?
Ever given silence a chance to speak?
Ever thought that maybe there’s no whisper,
But it’s about your attention’s investments?

I’ll tell you what I’ve done:
I’ve cried, I’ve talked, and I’ve taken long walks;
I’ve prayed about it, guns blazing,
All in efforts to pull sanity in.

Immersed in these efforts, silence screams,
“Whoever said sanity is the norm?
Who deserves my last bullet?
Who is this person that deprives so many of an organic experience?
Who is this that tries to defile the intention?”
The experience is trapped in the highs and lows,
Even to the lowliest.

I say, let all efforts be afforded to feeling;
feeling everything that comes with the experience.

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