If You Choose To Stay

Poetry
Written By Nkateko Masinga

'My alone feels so good,

I'll only have you if you're

sweeter than my solitude.'

– Warsan Shire

 

I'll only have you if you choose to stay.

You’ll only choose to stay if I’m sweet:

Jam, fudge, and golden syrup combined

A bonus if I deal well with my feelings

 

You’ll only choose to stay if I’m sweet:

like Sucanat, Demerara, Muscovada, Panela

A bonus if I deal well with my feelings

like fear, confusion, love and anxiety

 

Like Sucanat, Demerara, Muscovada, Panela

in one recipe, too much sweetness ruins the cake

Like fear, insecurity, love and anxiety

in one house, too much emotion breaks the walls

 

In one recipe, too much sweetness ruins the cake

and we clutch our stomachs in regret all day

In one house, too much emotion breaks the walls

And our hearts sleep in the cold of resentment

 

We clutch our stomachs in regret all day

from jam, fudge and golden syrup combined

but even if our hearts sleep in the cold of resentment,

I'll have you. I’ll have you. If you choose to stay.

Nkateko Masinga

Nkateko Masinga is an award-winning South African poet and 2019 Fellow of the Ebedi International Writers Residency. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2018 and her work has received support from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and the Swiss Arts Council. Nkateko is an interviewer at Africa In Dialogue, an online interview magazine that archives creative and critical insights with Africa’s leading storytellers.

https://nkatekomasinga.com/
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