Poems and Poetry Weekly Newsletter: 09/02/2025
A soulful contribution by Oganga Mangiti.
WHO ARE YOU WITHOUT THE PAIN AND TRIBULATIONS?
Who Are You Without The Pain And Tribulations?
Who were you,
Without the pain?
Who were you really without the tribulations that made a home of you?
What else could you call your life without the heartache?
This pain made a home of you,
And that is all you have come to know for the days and months leading to now;
It's different when all that has consumed you is pain,
And you have somehow found some sort of reprieve,
But that reprieve never seems to be enough;
Searching, constantly searching,
Hoping to find an identity outside the pain,
But it's only pain that you can comprehend;
It's the only thing that feels familiar;
It's the only thing that somehow makes sense;
It's the only thing that has given you purpose; living to feel pain, and pain alone.
© Oganga Mangiti
SEARCHING AND TRYING TO BE
Searching And Trying To Be
It's going to take a long time,
Before you can sound like yourself;
You'll go searching for yourself,
In places where you won't find anything that resembles you;
But you have to keep searching,
You have to keep seeking yourself;
And maybe one day, if you are lucky;
You'll catch up with the being you spent your entire being,
Trying to be.
© Oganga Mangiti
THE BATTLES WE HAD TO FIGHT ON OUR OWN
"The Battles We Had To Fight On Our Own, is a poem that comes from the realization that we would always live this life by ourselves, that our pain, struggles and battles, would only ever be ours, and ours alone to bare.
No one would come, no one was coming. Not strangers, not friends, not even family. We were all alone, and we had to accept it."
The Battles We Had To Fight On Our Own
We now,
Somehow only see life through this lens,
One in which we are all alone,
With no one to help us,
Nor, give this life reprieve;
Fighting battles,
That we once thought;
We wouldn't have to fight by ourselves,
But looking outwards, we realized,
We were all alone in this fight;
The ones,
We once relied on;
Nowhere to be seen;
The expectations we once held,
All disappearing with each dawn;
The pain of fighting for your survival,
Knowing far too well,
That no one would come to save us,
No one would share in this struggle with us,
It will always be ours alone;
Knowing and understanding,
That this was now our reality,
Accepting both our cross;
And the pain of solitary fight;
All in the name of living another day,
The world's forgotten children,
The wretched of the earth,
The ones that never seem to live,
Only here,
To see others through their journeys,
The non-playable characters.
© Oganga Mangiti
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS VERSION OF BLISS
Let Me Tell You About This Version of Bliss
It's funny, isn't it?
How bliss comes from hopelessness;
When we lose all hope;
We accept our fates,
When we lose all hope;
We no longer look forward to anything,
And that was bliss,
Bliss because we couldn't be broken anymore;
Bliss because,
We couldn't be disappointed anymore.
© Oganga Mangiti
THESE EXPECTATIONS ARE THE REASON I HATE YOU
These Expectations Are The Reason I Hate You
I hated the disappointments,
I hated the longing that came with expectations,
And I hated how every unfulfilled expectation broke me even further,
Do you know what it's like,
To gain hope,
Only for it to be snatched from you?
It was pain,
It was mental torture,
It was the purest form of cruelty;
And this is what you did;
This is how you destroyed me;
With your false hope and broken promises.
© Oganga Mangiti
WAS THIS DEPRESSION?
Was This Depression?
Should I really blame you,
If tomorrow comes,
And I choose a hopeless life?
Wasn't this my path?
My path of least resistance?
Wasn't this the path I accepted as my fate?
Living a life devoid of dreams,
Living a life without hope of a better tomorrow,
Accepting that maybe we were always meant to be a statistic;
Just another number,
No soul,
No purpose,
Just here waiting to die,
Here, because we were the living dead,
Beings who were dead within.
© Oganga Mangiti
LETTERS TO OLUDHE
Letters To Oludhe
Parts of me,
Wanted to keep going;
Wanted to keep pushing,
And not give up on me;
Not give up on the dreams we once held,
And still do;
But life with it's curve balls,
Have come and made a home of me;
And now hopelessness is all I desire; all that maybe will keep me going;
This wasn't the life I wanted,
But the one thrown at me,
And accepting it,
Seems like the only way to keep living;
But deep down,
I hope that one day,
Maybe,
We will somehow not live like this anymore.
© Oganga Mangiti
“This has been my solemn contribution to you this week. I hope these words have rang true to you, as they have for me. This has been my saving grace and show of love to you, my beloved.”
What piece stood out to you the most? What poem or string of words resonated with your core? I would love to hear all about it in the comment section!
I constantly appreciate the love and support.
Get a copy of my latest poetry and short story anthology, To Heal A Broken Heart, here, and you can learn more about it here.
You can also get a copy of my very first poetry anthology, Love & Pain, here, and you can learn more about the journey thus far here.
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May your days be gradually filled with more and more light. May your aperture be wide enough to notice.
Always with love,
Oganga Mangiti.
Lovely! Thank you for sharing!