A Poem by Rishan Singh

LOST WITHOUT A SOUL

When we were little
we used to play hide-and-seek
and you would play games with me
until I made love out of words.

Those times were wonderful when the sound
of the rain pitter-pattered, on the umbrella
I held above us, and you would look
at me deeply; ignorant of my affection.

We parted to sail beyond a thousand seas,
and my heart, while being in exile, could
tell that this ground, England, never felt so strange.
But then there was you, whose doorbell broke,
and me like a mindless idiot, stood –
turned and pushed your door knob;
thinking that you were ignorant
to the voice of your only love.

You whispered, my name, in my ear once,
and never had I felt love so meticulous before,
and this girl, in my cabin, lit a fire
and poured two glasses of wine,
but all I could think about was
how much I love you.
I never felt something so beautiful,
and I know, she might have even
felt the same way too.

Beyond the horizon, far away,
to where I belonged, my home: Southern Africa,
brought some memories, of us, with me,
but will I ever speak to you again
or drink a cup of tea under the moonlight
with you, at the local funfair.

‘the sound of his voice eludes me
and he is taking over my life, Jay’
‘I think he is the one, Jay’
‘What do you think?’

He limped with one hand in his pocket,
distraught by the silence of her presence.
It’s him she loved, she needed him, unreciprocated
from a childhood love fetish.
He wanted to hear her whisper his name
under the moonlight, with some more
robust, romantic, ravishing
love to give.

There was that time they clashed:
he left Armani, and she smiled at his greeting

and walked past,

leaving behind nothing, than
the scent of his perfume.
They sailed across a thousand seas,
to become what they wanted.
And with the stethoscope around her neck,
she examined his broken leg, and then
paged the man, visible by her glowing smile,
in some other unfamiliar place.


Rishan Singh is a South African, prize-winning, poet who was born in KwaZulu-Natal, a province in which the city of Durban in based in the Republic of South Africa. He has had poetry published in journals and books and has worked as a tutor in Biochemistry and Analytical Biochemistry at the Durban University of Technology in Durban, South Africa. His achievements in poetry initially saw him start as an amateur p oet struggling to even find a publication or platform to showcase his work, to being recognised as a literary icon in 5 different countries by ordinary people and award-winning poets and English Professors. Writing is one of his professions.