The classrooms here, are mushrooms,
tall like spilt milk all over the place,
bending and folding in contents. It’s
like red wine drunk at a friends’ party,
noting the red linen to every last detail.
The clothes are thrown everywhere, such that
arrows penetrate every thought and word
in action.
It’s April fools day, and sweets are given;
without bringing any at the new shop.
The children are red and normal, like
oranges waiting to be squeezed, and
enjoyed by everybody wondering, except for me.
The new waves of energy permeate
the air: Extremities, here, matter only so for the broad-minded.
Kitefully-spying-energy creeps in place
of a crackling radio sound.
The leaves blow in the classroom, like
sand drying up the place, and
papers fly everywhere.
The rules whether obeyed or not is like an
egg being cracked, only so little, that people
who no longer wink – are considered taboo.
The pens click slowly; to portrait
the whistle of the wind and people.
The home is like a horse’s stable, sometimes
quiet, sometimes rowdy.
The exchanges brew within
the classrooms, that people are unable to
enter and leave: It would always
remain still, except for when
the school bell silents.
It’s dark as tests begin, the sight beams
only from the outside, facing
the ruffled leaves against the window-pane.
It must at least be the beams
of light that begins the spark of conversation,
no matter how brewed or stirred,
it may seem.
The pots and pans sing their own song
to the music the light offers, so mono-toned
like a light bulb flickering movements.
The small leak gives rain to its roots, clearing
the clouds of misjudgement
within weeks or years.
In a small cage, a creeper sits a year long,
almost suffocating beneath the sunrays.
Nobody, no one sees anything
happening under the infra-red, or UV, light –
until creatures who’d be able
to get noticed a little
during the day.
Dawn comes and everything
disappears, but the light that shines is
the writings on the board.
Rishan Singh is a poet born in South Africa. His poems have been published in South Africa and overseas. His short story titled ‘Holiday Time’ received a positive review from the South African Writers Circle in 2012. He received the Golden Key International Award for academic excellence in 2008, which also recognised his achievements as writer and poet. He was among the final 5 finalists at the eThekwini Municipality Library Awards in 2014, where he had been chosen from 20 semi-finalists. He had also been a participant in the 2011 and 2012 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award competition, an annual awards competition hosted by the Jacana Literary Foundation in South Africa.