Sinethemba Mnukwa's poem follows a girl who needs three things: wisdom, courage and peace. At first she finds each one in a simple act. Writing gives her wisdom, painting gives her courage, and being alone gives her peace. These are her private ways of staying steady.
Then the poem turns on a flat, quiet line: "Times changed, she changed and everything changed." The same things that once helped her now feel empty. Her writing is "a waste of ink," her art looks unfinished, and solitude, once calming, makes her feel suicidal. The poem suggests she is losing the very things that held her together.
The mood is heavy and bleak. The short, plain sentences make the pain feel unadorned, and the repeated "No one" lines stress her isolation. The ending is stark and sorrowful, and it reads as a plea for people to notice when someone is struggling and to take a cry for help seriously. If this poem touches on something you are going through, please talk to someone you trust.