Enjoy the ebb and flow of Nightfall in Soweto: BY Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali

"Nightfall comes like
a dreaded disease
seeping through the pores
of a healthy body
and ravaging it beyond repair

A murderer’s hand,
lurking in the shadows,
clasping the dagger,
strikes down the helpless victim.

I am the victim.
I am slaughtered
every night in the streets.
I am cornered by the fear
gnawing at my timid heart;
in my helplessness I languish.

Man has ceased to be man
Man has become beast
Man has become prey.
I am the prey;
I am the quarry to be run down
by the marauding beast
let loose by cruel nightfall
from his cage of death.

Where is my refuge?
Where am I safe?
Not in my matchbox house
Where I barricade myself against nightfall.
I tremble at his crunching footsteps,
I quake at his deafening knock at the door.
“Open up!” he barks like a rabid dog
thirsty for my blood.

Nightfall! Nightfall!
You are my mortal enemy.
But why were you ever created?
Why can’t it be daytime?
Daytime forever more?"

This was one of my favorite poem back in my days in high school. I can still recite almost everything by heart . Nice poetic work. I wonder if this wonderful poet is still alive.

Yeah. I studied dat poem too. Along with "salute to the elephant" and "Richard Cory" my best

Hmmm. Had to cram this for my exam.

A wonderful poem by a wonderful poet.