Street Life Poem by Kgosigkadi Asher Mavuso

I am what I am
I can’t turn back to be what I should have been
Maybe I dreamt of being an architect or an IT analyst
Maybe
Sorry no chance of me getting there.

I walked out of that door
I couldn’t take it anymore
The yelling
The fighting
The beating
I was innocent in all of this
Yet I got hurt

I’m the one who got bruised
I couldn’t take it anymore
I had to leave
Believe me I had to
Understand that I had to

Going to school bear footed and nothing to eat
The smell from the neighbor’s house
How I long for a taste
I sometimes think of stealing
It’s been a month stomach to let

Grandma used to say
If it’s not yours don’t just take it, ask for it
So see I had to go work
I know Im only 13yrs old
Those are just digits
A man has got to do, what a man has got to do

Mama gets drunk so is Papa
Noone to look after me but me

It’s been three years
Colds come and go
A deep crack cuts through
It’s about 2mm
Hard as a rock
I don’t even feel the splash of water
nor a prink of a needle
Dust particles have built a home in it

When I walk they make a noise
My soles don’t even need shoes any more

I stand on the streets of fourways William Nicol Drive
All I get is insults
Standing so long for nothing
Begging so long for nothing
Troubling them
As if it’s their fault

Even so I still get to see beautiful cars and happy people
Who am I kidding?
The rain pours on me
Soaking wet I become
I still smile though
As that is the only time I get to wash myself with fresh clean water

Zanele F Mavuso