The End of a Love Affair
Photo by Jerry Riley
Credits:
“Suspend Me / The End of a Love Affair”
Music – Wambura Mitaru
Spoken Vocal – Ngwatilo Mawiyoo
Backing Vocal – Sara Mitaru
Produced/Arranged by David “Blackman” Muthami
From the album Introducing Ngwatilo, © 2011. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
When you are past the fuzzies, past speaking
each night – calling at dawn, past conjoining
your life to his by palm and cell phone;
When the memory of you two together,
after it’s over, protects you from others
who would block out the sound of your skin
– the small of your back, even – aching
to be alone, pores breathing air at last, grateful
while the shadow of him fades;
Silence will be yours to find yourself again,
the one you loved so fiercely before –
to whom you must eventually be faithful,
the one who will not accept shiny stones and flowers –
the notebooks and vocabulary you collected, scraps
to prove you learnt something useful on the way.
