Nib of the Oozing Quill
Dear son, dear daughter,
life did I give to you, but
live it for you, I can’t.
Spend it, not at the mercy
of grief and self-loathe,
but in the lawn sit,
at the moon proudly gaze,
and loudly belch out,
“Live my life I will,
for my father’s pride to win.”
Dear daughter, dear son,
many things can I teach you, but
Sordid and filthy did they see me;
but a neat, elegant, exquisite
and smart me my mirror saw.
Wretched in squalor they said I was;
but a hopeful, secure, joyful and
well-polished me my mirror reflected.
Poor and deviant, to them, I looked;
but my prosperous destiny,
only my mirror could see.
Instinct, it must be;
that’s the only way to explain
what goes through the mind of a boy,
regardless of age;
with or without a beard.
There’s never a time to waste;
mischief must be explored, analyzed
and implemented with perfect precision;
especially when their fertile minds say,
When days are good,
in a daze, they rest,
on their laurels, they wait,
for their target’s downfall.
When down, they rejoice;
When in need, they jubilate;
“The fly of your trouser is open Mr. Engineer,”
so whispers the street boy just before
the engineer enters to be interviewed for
the job of his fancy.
He can’t hide how grateful he is to the boy
for the heads up.
He needed that kind of help;
Don’t we all?
We are all wet, but afloat, finally; the countless attempts to rise up notwithstanding; safe from the dire mire; waiting patiently for the cloud of sour adversity to pass; my white-feathered brother and I. We can now look up to the skies from where the perch came, the straw to grasp; and each other’s warm…Continue Reading “THERE IS HOPE”
That hunch that whispers to me
what is right and what is wrong;
it tells me when to run, walk away
or to stay put.
It shoots straight, and candidly,
unapologetic for any pain
that hurts my heart;
it tells me who my real friends are,
when to say yes, and when to say no.
Kwa nini mwanilaumu na roho kampenda yeye? Kwa nini mwanishtumu na macho kajichagulia? Si haki kabisa. Mimi mwenyewe nishaamua na moyoni ashaingia. Niacheni niringe naye. Ikiwa penzi ni wazimu jamani niacheni niugue. Hata mkinidhalilisha; sitotengana na aliyenipenda. Niacheni nitambe na niliyetunukiwa. Katu sitaachana naye, kwa sababu moyo kamteua.
I remember when you were a rose;
ruffled then the feathers became;
under the weather you slowly cruised;
the sunshine faded;
and the flower withered.
Life hit hard; it lied, played games,
brought regrettable connections,
and distorted the truth.
You’ve seen and done it all,
you hurt deep and you wept.
Walisema penzi letu
mwishowe litopunguka.
Walisema jua letu litazama
na giza itatanda.
Walisema rohoni utanitoka.
Walisema penzi letu litafifia,
libaki mazoea.
Waongo hao.
Waongo hawajapata
kuvutiwa na penzi.
Waongo hawajapata
kuridhishwa na penzi.