Written by: Oratile Ndimande
(with special thanks to Freddy Nyezi for proof-reading and editing)
'Boiling Point' is a poem from a devised performance, conceptualized and directed by Melisa Peter called, 'Pins and Needles'. Unfortunately this could not be performed. This poem is an adaptation of one of the monologues I contributed to the process.
No one else is awake at two o’clock in the morning
I
Must
Finish
Essay
Still
Ssh! – the tap hisses as I fill up the kettle
I don’t want to wake anyone up at this hour
I don’t want anyone to know I’m still awake
I must finish this damned essay still.
The kettle sighs like it’s catching its last breath
The water inside it lays still
The light by its switch no longer working
Only the kettle and I are up
And I stare into it as though it could offer me conversation
I wait faithfully as though it could spill some T on a hot topic
Something other than this damned essay
Just for a few minutes...
…
Then!
Tiny bubbles collect at the bottom out of nowhere.
After they’ve worked up the nerve, they glide silently
O kare di a ikutswa go ya menating [Like they’re sneaking out for the night]
The kettle’s sighs bubble into a bop as
the bubbles grow more confident,
They no longer worry about getting caught by their parents.
The water and the hot air dance together,
almost like they are making love.
But the hot bubbles grow too confident and destructive.
Their dance is too wild, the silky outline broken too many times.
Go matlhagatlhaga. Go tlhakatlhakanyo. Go ntwa.
This has become a fight.
The water is being boiled helpless in this kettle
The silky, steamy outlines are unable to keep a single shape!
…
No one else is awake at two o’clock in the morning
I
Must
Finish
Essay
Still
I remind myself as I make my cup of coffee
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