What do you wake up to? Because I wake up to whistling trees. And a beautiful sunrise. I wake up to a blue sky: Omnipresent & majestic. I wake up to the dawn chorus. Birds singing their little hearts out. I wake up to earth. But I also wake up to heaven.

I used to wake up to a woman's sleepy eyes. And a serene smile. But she left some time back. She carried our daughter with her. So lately, I have been waking up to the cold, hard ceiling. I wake up to icy pillows. And ruffled bedsheets. I wake up to hell.

I wake up to the road: deserted and bending. I run for miles. Over hills and valleys. I wake up to a river. Glittering like the black snake. And kids running in their shorts. Kicking a little ball with their naked heels. I wake up to laughter. I wake up to brotherhood.

I wake up thinking of my family sometimes. My father and mother. I went to see them last month. After two years. I woke up to mooing cows. And gusty winds. My mother would tap the windows: "Tim, tea is ready". I'd wake up to the smell of lemongrass. And big, round buns.

I wake up to Tshegofatso. I met her last month. I wake up to her texts. And funny emojis. She is teaching me Setswana, so I wake up to "ke a go rata". I am teaching her Swahili. She wakes up to "nakupenda". We wake up to hope. We wake up to each other.