This is my seventh year living in this desolate world
Yet it feels like I was here since the beginning of time
If I had the power, I would have begged the one who brought me here
To just let me be, I wouldn’t have come to this godforsaken place

I always fantasise about having a better home
A family filled with joy, love, hugs and kisses
Not sorrow, quarrelling, fist fights, love and hate

The people who know how to love are always receiving
Horrible blows, kicks on the face and body
She screams out loud “Please stop you will wake up Sihle”
But that does not make e drunk man stop giving her bruises everywhere.

I have been with her for as long as I can remember
She has taught me what to do and what not to
Mostly she emphasized that I should not rely on a man
“You must work hard in anything you do, so you may get a better life than this”
All by herself she provides food for everyone even for e man who beats her up each and every night .
She makes sure I never miss a day of school though she might be late on fees

She once told me stories about how she met the drunk man
“We were really in love, especially the time I gave birth to you. He was very happy to be a father”
It was hard for me to believe that the man who hardly looks at me can be my father
I still cannot understand for I have always known him to be the DRUNK MAN

You have made my life a horrible tale
Even though they call you my father, you have never been one to me
At school my eyes become watery when others speak about their fathers
On my way home I burst into tears as I watch other children go home with both their parents

You have taken my mother away from me
She works like a horse just for us to survive
You have given her your task of being the provider
Now she has abandoned hers to be a mother to a seven year old girl

You have a beautiful and loving wife but u give her a new set of bruises every day
She is hopeful that one day you will come home sober and tell her you love her

You were lucky to have her
She is my MOTHER
They say you are my father
But to me you will always be the DRUNK MAN