Wednesday 21 November 2012

The Misnomer of 'Better'

Words of advice for my mirror image...

I see you, Lady In The Mirror
Ever concerned about Being Better
I’ll give you a hand then
This is what being better is Not.


Being better is not having the last say in a quarrel
Or delivering the blow that kills
Being better is not having the upper hand
Or conniving to stay that way
Being better is not owning
The appeal of a coarse voice
Or the sharpness of a sleek tongue.
Being better is not yelling the loudest
Or expertly throwing daggers with your eyes
Or how large your fist is
Or the charisma in your gait.

Being better isn’t the price of your perfume
Or its scent carrying with it pomp and circumstance
Being better isn’t in your last name
-Your tribal inheritance
Or which chunk of the country you hail from
Being better isn’t lording your wealth over others
Or using the sound of your accent
To label them lowly.

Being better isn’t in how well
You manage your high heels
Or how far you’ve travelled
From your hometown
It isn’t in being a certain race
Or boasting a certain complexion within a race
Being better isn’t reserved for those of the first world
Nor is it lodged in your background.

Being better isn’t being the best
Or being the worst
Or being mediocre for that matter
Being better isn’t about Comparison
But about Exchange.
Being better is understanding
How common you are
How fragile good fortune is
And that chance -like music- is universal
A gift awarded us by the grace of God.

Being better is stainless elation
When your best friend gets married first
Being better is admiration
When your nemesis wins the race
Being better is blameless pride
When your sister succeeds
In changing the world.

Is there someone you don’t like?
And for no particular reason?
Being better is neutrality with all
-If not outright fondness
For that stranger who could be
A beautiful person
Believing
That everybody is magnificent
Acknowledging
That your worst enemy is only so
Because of the weight of his worst days
Extract the color of discrimination from your vision
View the world in black-and-white
For you are the same as your worst enemy
And his too
-You are human.

By Tebogo G. H. Ndlovu (Zimbabwe)

photo credits; www.raymcdonald.wordpress.com 



Copyright © 2012 Tebogo Ndlovu

1 comment:

  1. A matured piece.Very inspiring and enlightening.

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