John Groenewald Poet Other

Failure

Failure I see 
Failure I have felt 
The failure I have come to know 
Failure has become safer 
Then any home 

The past 
The present 
All have seen the 
Same old 

Why is the cry so load 
Why does it sting in pain 
Why does feel so safe 
In home of so much hate

The Voices say 

You never belonged 
Never had the right to stay so long 
You will always be alone 
Unwanted by those you call home 

Sitting here outside in the cold 
A stump the only comfort from 
The freezing dew resting on 
The frozen sharp grass 

Failure to what’s right in front of me 
Failure to recognize it not me I want to be 
Failure to see that each day is the same 
A source of entertainment for them 
In the only way that brings them joy
Torture and pain

Another night of stench resting on my nose 
Another night a meal for the the starving bedbugs. 
Another night of dread awaits 
Another night wondering if I would wake or worse what if I wake 

The voices say load and clear 

You never belonged 
Never had the right to stay so long 
You will always be alone 
Unwanted by those you call home 

Life is done 
With nothing ever done right 
Only luck to survive 
It’s  plight 

Walking alone 
Has Made me see 
What the world around me 
Has to offer me
As I walk around 
All it has for me 
I see it’s cold
And without a soul 

It’s cost and toll
With failure 
As it’s final 
Reward.

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Alison A Smith September 22, 2026 at 3:24 PM This is a raw, harrowing free-verse portrayal of isolation, abuse, and the internalisation of failure. The repeated refrain of “You never belonged” works powerfully as an intrusive chorus, while the cold, physical imagery—frozen grass, dew, stench, and bedbugs—makes the speaker’s suffering immediate and painfully real. The poem’s fractured, repetitive structure mirrors the exhausting cycle of dread and self-blame, yet the moments of walking and seeing hint at a consciousness still searching beyond that imposed darkness. John Groenewald September 22, 2026 at 4:10 PM Thank you so much for the kind words I really appreciate it this was one of my harder ones to write