Born with clenched hands.
Not knowing that one day I will open my thumbs.
Open my thumbs and hunt for survival.
I wish I had known.
I didn’t know that life has got hail and thorns.
I didn’t know that life is a parable.
I miss the warmth of my mother’s womb.
I wish I had known.
I was born like a lobelia cardinal.
That grows between waterfalls rocks.
It uses its tiny roots
to hold on against heavy waterfalls.
I wish I had known.
I didn’t know what life looks like ahead.
That one day I will be flushed
and find myself at the river banks
with no strong rocks to hold on.
I wish I had known.
I was born like a harp seal.
That lives with no knowledge
that tomorrow it will become a feast.
My lifespan will be determined
by the giants of the sea.
I wish I had known.
Born with clenched hands.
I resemble the lobelia cardinal plant.
I was born like a harp seal.
I wish I had known.
Kleinbooi Soyani is a versatile writer who specialises in current affairs opinion writing and poetry. He began writing poetry since 1996 when he was a student at the University of Limpopo. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Politics, and currently studying LLB with the University of South Africa.