Tame hawk

Excuse Romeo's folly
In a blissful moment of kisses,
Clouded by sensational sighs
Of Juliet's fiery talons
Meanwhile, she preys in the small ponds
While her wings grow unnoticed
Soon she'll soar high above the skies
Preying on fish in the large seas

Quelled by exorcism,
Enchantment fails and fades
Romeo awakes from slumber
Bereft his soul and heart
In the darkness beyond
Lurks the ghost of cupid
Cursed and tormented
Its scornful laugh
And the gawking eyes
Reek horror and death

Mother, I was Shy.

Once a year, on this very day
I religiously sent a text
When I should've called instead
To let you know what I felt inside
It was something so strong and profound
Yet deeply buried in my heart,
Concealed like a top secret
I never told you, yet I died inside
To let you in on this thing
How could I mother?

Mummy I love you so much
I only hope you knew,
Boys will always be boys
Proud. Stubborn. Unfeeling. Selfish.
Being alone has taught me though,
To love myself and those I care about.
A lesson I never got when you lived.
I've had my equal share of these,
Pain. Anguish. Sleepless nights.
A price for not saying this thing.

And all because I was shy to say.

Murder In The Second

A little puff, they say,
Of this trifoliate magic,
Will steady your nerves, and
A little sip of that stallion pee
Will steal your memories
I bid their will.

Still they urge,
knock her down
Teach her the lesson of her life—
A man is a lion in the Mara
I bid their will.

One puff of the ghostly fumes
And a sip of the devil pee
Stole my sense of reason and judgement
And I set the roof of my hut ablaze

You are the man now, they said
She will never forget this day
As long as she remains buried,
In the debris of burnt thatch
And collapsed walls—
And that is how I murdered it.

Supreme Appeal

Lord I implore you,

If they cannot heed my pleas,

Let them hear the roar

Of my unbroken silence,

The cry for justice—

I weep not for me

But my unborn child,

Nipped in the bud,

Strangled by the cord

Lord I implore you,

If they disregard my opinions,

Let them respect my wishes

As is every dying man’s last request

I wish to be laid in the sacred groove

Besides my fellow fallen heroes

Their company will console my soul

And I will forever rest in peace

Lord I implore you,

Lend your eyes and ears

To the fury of my oppressors

Do not allow them the satisfaction

Of rejoicing in my afflictions

Struck them Lord, O father

With the ten plagues of Pharaoh

Withhold their healing and salvation

Till the seventh bath O'Naman 

Midnight Thief

You cruel monster,

You who maliciously

Like the shrewd serpent,

Stealthily crept into the beds

Of our very loved ones

In the middle of the night

Without warning or clue,

And stole their souls,

What do you want from us?

You snatched them away

Before our watchful eyes,

And delighted in our sorrow

With murderous relish

Your malevolent spirit is accursed,

You wander the width and breadth of our land

Prowling and growling like the leopard in the moo tree

Tormenting the living with your doom and gloom

Your insatiable greed for blood has no edge

You have robbed us our loved ones—

Children, parents, relatives, and friends

With one lick of the tongue, you made us

Childless, orphaned, widowed, and lonely

I Want To Write

These words, they say

Will be the end of me

I want to write and write

And write again and again

Yet every word I write

Takes the very life I owe

Every second does count,

‘Tis the tief man of my hour

So let me write a little more

Till I breathe my very last

These words, I say to you

Have a soul of their own

I breathe my soulful life

Into each and every word

Creating a whole new being

With every new sentence

Like babies, killing mothers

Every word kills me a little

I die that these words may live

Speaking to every one of you

Even long after I am gone

I want to write, I tell you

A poem without any words

You will sense it and feel it

But you’ll not read it out aloud

I want to write a love letter too

To the one woman I really love

It will be engraved in the stars

She wont read it out aloud either,

But she’ll get my message clearly

With every beat of her pulsing heart

The Sun Goes Down

Clad in a dark, gloomy face, the sky frowns at us—

The sun goes down, casting crowns of shadows

Darkness sets in, suddenly swallowing up the earth

The hooting of an owl, piercing through the night

Spells the inevitable doom and gloom

Lightning strikes with furry, lighting fires in the sky

Thunder cracks a whip that tears through the atmosphere

And the curtain in the temple is torn in two

Surely, she was a good woman- a loving, caring mother

Hollowness grips our souls in a cold embrace

The loss and pain are unbearable, 

The future, grim and dim, stares and grins at us,

With a mischievous relish written all over its face

The iroko tree has fallen to the ground

Our pillar is gone and our cords are loose

We fall apart and scatter, scampering like rats

The rains come and go, children are born and named

Soon afterwards, time steals our sorrows

Even the crying stone of Khayega weeps no more

We rise to the sounds of Isukuti in the heart of the night

The ground shakes and we stump our feet in rhythm

Chants of Mulongo render the atmosphere gay with celebrations

It is the eve of circumcision festivals of the Abukusu

The fierce bulls of Ikolomani, mad with weed

Make dust off the grasses of Bukhungu stadium

The crowds cheer in maddening uproars

Flagged by Kwalwale, the bull fighter

Who can dare resist life’s enchantment,

And the magic of our native land?

The sun goes down,

Yet, it rises again in the wake of dawn-

We are swallowed in the darkness of today

Only to wake up in the sunrise of tomorrow,

With fresh dreams and aspirations

It is a new dawn, and a new life awaits,

Beckoning with promises of brighter days