I STOOD UP                  

                                                                             BY: Apostle Thabiso L Mamabolo

Broken by words

Spit on like a pile of dirt

Consumed by hurt

Feared like a darkest curse

I stood up

And told my verse

Yes I’m positive

Not opposite

Why try to avoid me

While still breathing

While still dreaming

Let me continue giving

The best within me

I stood up

Torn apart by loss

Raped when I was four

Left aside by the side walk

With no where to go

Calling the night my home

Under the blazing cold

Until I found hope

It gave me a home

I started to belong

I said no more

I sang my song

I stood up

With a virus within my blood

It gave me a fresh start

I lived life in colour

I called it my own e-khaya

It made me kinder

It made me wiser

To stand up for myself

To make more sense

That I’m not a death sentence

And will not succumb to rejection

Because I found my own determination

I’m standing up

And I’m speaking out