It is often with contempt
That my mother bestows warnings
To me about people I do not know
It is often with guns that my father
Meets such men at midway points
To have them holding notes.
Singing “Mercy! we do not know
What to do when we are
Without bread in our homes”
I did not know what to do when
I am both, parents, and the men
Without law.
I have always known trust
As a rare commodity you cannot
Trust even those you know
I have always known laws
And using tongues to break
Into the spirits of many homes
I have decorated myself as a villain
With a golden heart for authors
Who are silenced by trauma
Yet I starve, begging for a conscience
Calling for temperatures
In my horrorcore dungeons
At last, an amorous stranger
Came as a lesson, the type
You like to loop
She only accepted the title
Of neighbor, who loved
To befriend my truth
Stubborn as a mule, ass kicking
Any guard that kept my animalism
Alive
Breaking the walls to find the human
Underneath the arrogance, remorse
And benevolent pride
She made my house, her home
My kingdom, her throne
My comfort, her zone
And broke into my perfections
Only to make beauty out of
A walking death sentence.
Meeting her was the worst decision
For the loneliness I promised myself
Now there is a beautiful hand
To share with me this path
What Mom, Dad, and unlawful men
Failed to teach me:
Is that there is such a thing as
A perfect stranger, keen to ride,
Down for a crime that pays off
The Bonnie to my Clyde.
Born Malibongwe Sicelo Cedric Dladla K.I.N.G Cedric is a Poet, Independent Creative Journalist, and community practioner. With a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology and Sociology) Degree, Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Certificate with Google Skills for Africa his newfound lease on poetry follow 14 years of informal nurturing is rested upon following all of his spiritual callings one stanza at a time. K.I.N.G Cedric has performed at the Pietermaritzburg Poetry Festival, Cup ‘O Thought, Tree of Poetry, CSP Poetry Slams (Durban Edition), UKZN (Howard and Pietermaritzburg Colleges), The Backyard Arts Session, The Live Experience in association with 95 Photography and most recently, Bloom SA (Launch Event). Mr Dladla’s Profession include NPO work with Bloom SA and Tutoring, Career Guidance and Mentorship with Great Thinkers Tutoring School