100 Forms of Heartache

By Manqoba Mthethwa

This is a book four years in the making – representing a journey through hopes, fears and disappointment, all precipitated by love.

In 100 Forms of Heartache, Dr Manqoba "Mbori" Mthethwa makes sense of what love does to our minds and how we deal with the heartbreak it brings – helping you to better understand your own actions in love, or guide your healing from a pain you thought you felt alone.

May this be a start of a beautiful new storytelling journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Manqoba Mthethwa
• Release date: May 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224024018

Book preview

Synthetic Love

We always knew

theirs was a synthetic love,

far from authentic.

At times, pathetic

they weren’t fooling anyone

but they were foolish enough

to carry on, reproducing

hoping someday soon

a child could unite them,

hoping we would believe it

while they were faking it.

Suppressing their resentment

with parties and presents,

therapists and good friends

but in the end, it had to end

because you can’t cage the truth.

It will always overpower you.

Now they are single, searching.

Stuck together under shared custody,

and hoping to find the real thing.

That Cinderella Moment

Looking at the mirror

wishing I could shed my skin.

Dreaming of a me

who is not cursed with blemishes.

It’s a teenage life crisis,

they say it’s a phase

and it’s your brains that matter

but you can never take maths to a prom.

I want to be the girl with perfect skin.

Destined to be a homecoming queen

with the whole school looking at me

and every girl wishing they were me.

Even if I end up working in diners

everything will be as it should be

because what matters is

I will be living my happy ever after.

I keep dreaming of that Cinderella

moment,

the fairy godmother brings the dress,

my beauty is enchanting,

We dance the night away

and for that single night, everything goes my way.

Your Face is a Poem

Your face is a poem

I’ve been reading all day long.

Your eyes are a metaphor

for all the things I am hoping for.

Your smile is a rhyme,

your nose a syllable.

I dream of the time

your body will be visible.

Love at First Sight

You think it was love at first sight,

but what if your eyes lied

to punish your heart

for being so promiscuous?

The Chemistry of Love

Love is a back and forth,

you give and you take

you risk and you save

you love and are loved.

But what happens when you find

you have been living a lie?

All that devotion spent

was never kept.

All the memories you shared

were stolen.

All those romantic nights

just a well-written play.

What if you gave yourself

to someone who already sees beyond you,

not because there is another

but because loving you is not enough

and the best moment of your life

was merely a scientist experimenting

with the chemistry of love?

Before Love was Discovered

Before love was discovered

mankind was like children

waiting on God to extract our women.

It was a strange time

when men had no