no one teaches you how to
crack the silence open
to find yourself in it.

extracting parts of yourself
carelessly abandoned
in your quest for something
other than your own life.

no one teaches you how
to abandon the dream
of a testament,
only how to abandon yourself
in this quest for more.

you can not be a truthful witness
to the life of another
you can not know what you do not feel for yourself.

no one teaches you:
the silence is not a void
the silence is not a void
the silence is not a void.

Mahlatse P. Mokgope is living and writing in South Africa. Her work currently draws on the experience of loneliness and aloneness.