Help

By Donna Nongkhlaw

Everybody needs help

that precious little pull

that much needed nudge

when we’re down in the dumps

when caught in a net

H E L P

not crutches

but in the name of help

we hold over foundations

in the name of help

we spoon feed our children.

What will happen when

silver spoon feeders

go out into the world?

never having to wait for anything

let alone work for anything

ask and they receive

parents are no longer parents

they are genies

love is no longer that feeling

felt deep in the bones

it has deflected

reflecting from shiny things. 

You and I both know

putting food on the table

has never been simple

unfamiliar to the feeling

of not having enough

never running out of luck

never having been purged

for their roots to be fortified

for them to learn

which battle to choose

and which ones to let go

to understand

that they are not always entitled.

Being rich is not a sin

nor is it your fault

that you don't have it rough

but just like charity

liberty begins at home

a little washing and cleaning

a little gardening

won’t break their backs

it will make their backs.

By Donna Nongkhlaw