Chalk
In the classroom of life’s lessons
My hand raised to answer and I choke
The green board became white
I stood up facing the class and I shrunk
Far to the back to learn anything new
The board dusters erased my storybook
Far too long I’ve been to the wrong of you
I extended my hand to write and you broke
Far to the left I’ve always known you
Blinded by the white powder I blank
Nerves gag the throat and all I hear is...
I sat in silence like a dog bred out its bark
A fear groomed in me at the sight of you
Several head starts ahead, you supersede me
I’ve out ran you, but I will never catch up
Long before the pen did, you empowered men
Deep inside the caves, you made us storytellers
More than cave paintings, this chjuualk could talk
It filled the gaps between our lips with language
And we evolved into orators, writers and poets
Hard lessons learned by moonlight
Through your white we came into the light
Flashing knowledge in the empty dark spaces of the world
We became conquerors
We listened to the insurmountable
Pioneered answers and invented solutions
Hard lessons learned by candlelight
Instructed our direction to always move forward
You wrote on the chalkboard and it was law
Today Mandela’s statue stood as elated as Libertas
You commanded it and it was so
Copyright © Thabang Ngoma | Year Posted 2014
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