The Jabberwock

Born between two worlds, neither here nor there
A child made by forbidden love, skin both too dark and too fair
Impossible to choose a side, for him others did not care
Where to walk on the street was a daily affair

In the shadow of the apartheid, he had learned to survive
Like a chameleon child, he adapted to stay alive
From Xhosa to Zulu, and Afrikaans – he danced through every word
Through many languages woven, his voice was heard

A mother who taught him to stand up and fight
With laughter and grit through the darkest of nights
As faith was her armor, and resilience her song
Guiding him forward where others were wrong

From stolen CDs to the tales of the streets
His comedy grew from hardships beats
He found that humor could pierce like a knife
And learned of shared truths in the struggles of life

A journey from chaos to our television screens
From the rough streets of Joburg to new heights unseen
He was “born a crime”, but a story reborn
A story of breaking the chains which he had worn

Trevor Noah, the rebel, the joker, the host
Giving people laughs from coast to coast

MESSAGE FROM AUTHOR:

Well I originally created the poem for a resubmission on an older assignment. However I was told to submit it here for a chance at being published. What inspired me at the time of writing was the prospect at an improved grade and attempting to impress my teacher which may or may not have worked, I’m not entirely sure. The poem is about the book Born a Crime and the poem mostly covers Trevor Noah’s early life and how much he struggled through it, but persistently held on and found a medium in comedy to alleviate his struggles.”