I get onto the old orange bus
The one that seems to be falling apart
A reflection of many of my fellow travellers.
On the days that I don’t take a nap –
On the days that the tedium doesn’t lead to sleep
I find myself looking around
My eyes darting from one unnamed face to the other
Wondering what their stories might be…
I’ve got people in me…
The old lady, in her seventies
With her blanket wrapped around her shoulders,
Her wrinkles tell of wisdom hidden
Deep beneath the skin
How many winters has she seen?
She struggles to get up the steps – and no-one offers her a seat
Her withering hands betray her quiet confidence…
The girl sitting next to her
The one wearing too much make up
She looks afraid to go home
What is waiting for her there?
Another beating?
Another threat of leaving – but she never does…
The single mother with the baby on her lap
The brother with his laptop in his bag
Overalls and ties and shiny polished shoes
This – this tin can we find ourselves in –
Is where humanity is found…
Driving through the city streets
Seeing boys hiding the crystals they’re slinging in drain pipes
Like diamonds, treasure buried under ground
But the bedrock here is crack rock
And a cracked foundation will not do…
How I wish I could reach on through and pull them into the light…
I’ve got people in me…
Stories, fragments of conversations overheard
Faces, like sepia stills in my mind
I carry them with me
Every beggar, every junkie and junk-seller we pass
Every little old lady with withering hands
Every factory worker, every warehouse picker-slash-packer
Every engineer and bus driver
Every shop keeper, every young man who seems scared
to get where they’re going
I’ve got people in me
The people that I meet, the people I see
My passengers – I carry you – I love you!
You are my people – the people in me.
tabby title=”Poet Bio”]
Andre Labuschagne is a poet, musician and youth minister from Johannesburg. Andre and his wife, Tess, live in a cosy little flat with their daschund Chloe, and they try and make a daily difference in the lives of those around them.
He has been writing poetry for a number of years but has yet to find a publisher that suits his voice. Growing up in the church and having studied Theology, religious imagery and moral themes are often found in his work although the main theme of his poetry will always be the exploration of the deeper self and our purpose here in the universe.