Songs of Anisha
“How Dark is It Outside?
by Sihle Mthembu
How dark is it outside?
Very dark
Then it must not be safe
For me to travel there
There are such
Creatures outside
Which treed lightly in the night
Mama told me of
Them
And right she was
There are creatures
Out there
Mama, I am scared
It’s dark outside.
“Talent,”
by Carol Ann Duffy
This is the word tightrope.
Now imagine
a man, inching across it in the space
between our thoughts.
He holds our breath.
There is no word net.
You want him to fall, don't you?
I guessed as much; he teeters but succeeds.
The word applause is written all over him.
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