Khomotso Makitla Poet Free verse

The Architecture of Suffocation

By: Khomotso Makitla 

Day one was the first time.
Meeting the world, at large.
Differences and dependents in abundance. 
Breaking out of your shell, was better than walking out.
There's was a lesson to learn on how you shell out.
Tortoise shell protects and kill, once the script is flipped.
You struggle to move, suffocating from within. 

Crocodile tears doesn't help, but curls you from the truth. 
Moved by eternal grief for longing, and foreshadowing.
Like a paper kite that struggles to float, but sinks 
You could feel the weight, weighing, all the air dense.
 For a second you feel like voicing out, but all that suffocating has boxed you in.
And like a slave you're caged in, and all your fears comes to life.
Like the sunshine, the beacon

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Team Poetrysoup July 21, 2026 at 12:09 PM First, the title "The Architecture of Suffocation" grabbed me hook-line-and-sinker. Really cool how you used the tortoise shell as a symbol, felt like a tough shield and trap at once. FYI, there's no need to put your name in the poem text field.