For my tongue to taste death
Your name had to be buried on its tip
When true intention dug itself into a hole
You made it your destiny to guide others
Into our home
I watched your warm eyes indulge in the cold
I watched how the promise of us turning old
Sipped through the cracks when the rain attempted
To wash this cancerous love off my skin
We counted the stars and gave them names
Wore our love of sin on our skin
Only for you to tell me
How in this life and the next
this love that makes my chest heavy
Will never be enough
For even if I lit myself on fire and offered you my ashes
you would still find reasons for us not to be.
Oh, what a shame it is to coat your beautiful lips
With watered down promises
In the name of giving your wounds
a chance to heal.
Collen Molahlehi is a South African published poet and short story writer whose work has been featured in a number of poetry anthologies, namely: Inscribed reveries, Shadow of the Soul, Letting in the light, and Mental Health. He is a two time, third placed winner, of both the themed 2021 and 2024 AVBOB mini-poetry competition.