I always harboured a fear of poetry. This comes from the experience I had at school, first, when I was in std 5 (Grade 7). The combination of learning an Afrikaans poem, taught by a teacher who was notorious for her use of corporal punishment and a belief that I’m not good at memorising things let alone poems, was a terrible one. This all happened in 1977 at the time when Soweto and other black townships were burning as students were protesting against being taught all subjects through the medium of Afrikaans.
The next encounter I had with poetry was in the Junior Certificate (Grade 10) class. The language this time was not a factor. This was a chance for me to learn to enjoy poetry. The chance went begging because of a teacher who always resorted to teaching poetry when he was at his worst. You can imagine how did that one go.
Finally, in matric, I literally avoided anything to do with poetry to an extent of having to find alternative means of learning Romeo and Juliet outside school because our teacher taught only poetry in class. The fear of the genre was entrenched. That did not pen out well.
Here I am today, I have written a book of poems. The completion of this marks another milestone in my life. The overcoming of fear of poetry. The rolling back of all the negative beliefs resulting from past failures. It demonstrates that with the right mindset, it is possible to transcend lifelong hurdles. I listened to my inner voice and the result is ‘Petals and thorns’. This experience adds another episode of proof that I can. Which in turn amplifies my inner voice of resilience.