DREAM KEEPER

watching life from the sidelines
dreams sweep thru my blinds
a walk thru the raindrops
           i now must take

it is difficult to run in shackles

but what is freedom
when we're frightened by our light
more than our darkness
asking always:
          who am i to be loved so
          to be forgiven so
          to be cherished so

always
instead of
       who am i not to be!

it is difficult to run in shackles.

© October 2010

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

The past is but a smoke of horror
Parasitic ideas of advancement
Now plague an erstwhile purity
         of conscience
What is youth without error
What is youth if not dissent

Your neck now aches
From months and months
Of bending over backwards
Trying to reach for dreams that nolonger matter

Dreams long lost in exigent
    craze of daily survivals
And visions
Missions no longer coherent
Missions?
Visions now lost in misty mists
         of ethnic allegiance

But on you search
Catching none but the tails of winds
Winds nolonger inclined to you

Winds whose whistles
No longer find your tunes fathomable

Winds whose luxurious hisses
You'll now find preponderant!

© October 2010

LA DOLCE VITA

So here we are
in this place so famed
along East Genesee
La Dolce Vita it is

acting like life
is truly sweet
yet our minds float and swirl
in whirlwinds of uncertainty

we sit side by side,
still,
stolen glances
and cocktail glasses
our singular companions

this is crazy!
didnt we drive together
to this place so grand
me on the wheels
and you?
my gorgeous passenger

so we must speak our minds
before the night consumes us
and we fail
to consummate this thing, tonight!

©August 2010

CEASEFIRE

We,
You and i
for far too long
have danced around the fires
that fed the cacophonous crowd
of 'friendly' cheerleaders

Now we stand or sit or squat
separated
here and there in these
   indeterminate spaces

The vultures must now stand down
spent spectators in this game of lust
and us?
we must gaze across the dying flames
       and lick our smothered
but shared soul

Admittedly
we both lie prostrate
exhausted and consumed by this duel
   of strong egos
And pride!
pride that congests our rational faculties
tearing us apart
splintered into smithereens
  of micro-pieces of humanity

Tell me
did you know
like i do now
that though the flame may burn low
though the light may dim
as it will sometimes,
the heat and warmth of us will never fail?

We must now a ceasefire call
our eyes to meet
our hearts to embrace in renewed vigour

Expunge the bile of betrayal
         bile of mistrust
         bile of vengeance
vengeance that kept us warm at night

We must now a ceasefire call
our eyes to meet
our hearts to embrace in renewed vigour

© July 2010

PRETTY WINGS

Love withers
in the scorching heat
of insatiable materialism
big cars
grandiose lifestyles
conspicuous consumption
and talk of 'Missions' hold sway
in the persistent search for success

their dominion the key
that flings open
hitherto hesitant hearts
their allure
the fountain that whets expectant thighs

aah!
like the rhetoric of morality
the fleeting aroma of wealth
now stands universal
inconveniently juxtaposed
with scavenger horns
as emblems of actualization

'love is not enough'
she said 

we are a generation of exuberance
love of money endures
in this our bleeding breed of greed

we are but a riotous generation
propelled by endless insufficiencies
and endless rationings
rationings of power
of responsibility
of opportunity
rationings too of morality

Which way shall we turn
when love. alone. is not enough

© July 2010

AFRICA LIBERATION DAY

A few not so ordinary folks
Got busy hanging out
With ‘watu wa kawaida’
In a place as ‘un-kawaida-like’
As Nairobi Safari Club

Big names
A kaleidoscopic mix
Of humanity and every nobody
In pursuit of somebodiness is here
Committed spirits
And invocations of ‘–isms’ reign supreme
Isms of coloniality, of race, of tribe etc
All but the ‘-ism’ of sex feature

Aah!
What a double-speak on liberation
And justice
Equality and camaraderie

And so a fine sister is choked
By tentacles of homophobia
       and deformed masculinities
Clothed as patriotism, religiosity, and ‘africanity’

Sadly,
I must leave
For in the spirit of Ubuntu
I too suffocate

© July 2010

KWAHERI-NI

Nazunguka hata napaa
Huku na kule nakaa
Nikiwaaga marafiki
Wajane waso manafiki
Warembo wa vitendo
Na mayatima wa kiakademia
Wao watakaosalia nanga ning'oapo

New York mjini hakunitoshi
Atlantic City mradi nielekee
Ila tu maCasino siingii
Itanikoma basi nauli
Kwani 'Ujaluoni' nako hakusalii kamwe
Washington DC kuingia
Kaka Barry kumgotea basi ni lazima

Kwaheri na makumbatio
Machozi na mate ya tamati
       yote siyapendi
Duniya tu ni barabara bali
Maisha hii kweli i safari

Mwendo wa kasi hapo awali
Sasa keshaingia tamati
Kujikokota tena siwezi
Ila bado fursa sipati

Na kusindikizwa kwa ajabu
Kweli raha ama huku tena hawanitaki
Mahenge tuandamane hadi Dubai
Daudi Nairobi ndiyo kikomo

Mtasemaje mlosema sitarudi?

IF I DON'T ARRIVE

For man is forever imperfect
So are contraptions of his hands
Yet only God guides His flock
‘Cross the skies above the seas
Atop dense tropical forests
Above mountainous terrains
Beneath and above the nimbus

All humanity aboard man made birds
And so we pray too
That if we must perish
Let it be Ooh Lord,
In one major bang!
Not the grueling heat of jet fuel
Or the shrill cries of drowning voices
Neither the smell of roasting flesh
Nor the chilling waters of the Atlantic
None of this I wish to bear
So give us a bang! Just once
And snuff the thread of life out of me

Ooh Lord, if I must not arrive
Give courage to my Lov Eternal
To face the loss n’ agony
Some strength to bear the pain Lord
And a lil’ wisdom to move on

Yet I know I shall arrive
Not in pieces many but one
I know for sure we will
Transcend the fate of KQ 507
Or any others of similar fate
For such tidings we pray

But if, only if
We must go Lord
Then a swift execution let it be
Ooh Let it be!!!

THE JOURNEY BACK

Today we all stand, here
In the wharf of salient sorrows
To count the stars of our dedication
To wipe the sweat of our toil
To kiss our yesteryears good-day

Today is the eve of my voyage
To set sail for uncertain destinations
My knowledge and spirit my sole preparation
Today we disentangle knots of a lifetime
May the thunder of our breaking hearts guide us eternally

And come tomorrow, will I be strong
Brave enough to survive
The cataclysmic onslaught of cultivated vices?
Yet for sure now I know
That I too must penetrate the vanguard of social sanity
For that, was the promise of my mission

We have held each other close
Shared in the warm embrace of each others’ hearts
We have traversed the borders of knowledge
Trampled upon anthills of ignorance
Proud mountaineers we stand here, today

Today, we all leave here
In the flurry of solemn departure
Towards the mighty exit,
Out there to the open seas
My feet shaky, my strides heavy
With poignant memories of shared moments

Will my youthful voice rise above the calls of corruption?
Will my heart resist the seductive beckon of ill morals?
Will the aroma of purity
Conquer the miasma of tribalism?
Yet all I can say today is:
May the power of the promise tow me to the shores of our collective vision

I send greetings to you
My supple and humble successors
I send greetings to you our captains
Professors and rebels in this crusade against ignorance
May the icebergs of turbulence sink in allegiance

And now,
The trumpets of my arrival calls
Permeating the forested plains of my Mamaland
Now the smell of my sweat awakens my kinsmen
Prompting them on my imminent return
They must harvest the fruits of their expectation

NIGHT OWL

The skyline recedes into safety
In the land of the living dead
Where bittersweet memories
Inconvenient truths
And guilty streams
Must now mingle
With strategic forgetfulness
And a generously forgiving heart
If only for your survival
To halt conspicuous weight loss
Secure for you a temporary return to sanity

To sleep when awake
You walk the night in bowed head
Counting nightbirds
In their glowing wings in the dark
Is it a dream or a nightmare
Reality or actuality

Crisscrossing the streets
You search for answers to questions
Only yesterday
You never thought possible
And now,
You stand still, again
Absent-mindedness in a daze
Compelled only to a rampant denial
of imagined realities

You sit and sigh
The trees nod in acceptance
The wind
The wind begins the torture, again.
--------------------
And when suddenly
All the battle is done
And I am bloody and sweaty
I'll look up into the open skies
    my benediction to declare
---------------
And suddenly you realise From a thin ray of light
Yes I can
---------
...for i too
am a child of the gods
needing their love against the odds
should i now not take a deserved rest
assured of life's greatest desires
or should i dance upon the mangled wreck
       of Jericho's collapsed walls?

ETERNITY

Life is full
Of seasonal rivers
Best laid plans
Lay scattered beneath
The feet of cruel goddesses

Humanity diligently
Searches for an elusive perfection
Yet the lucky few
Now know the joy of clawing at the air

Searching ... Grasping ... Hoping
Naively holding on
To pieces of expired
Promissory notes

Divided attention
Shared affection
And illicit submissions

And Eternity? ... Forever?
And Milele?
Here.
Now.
In this space,
Eternity remains
But an oxymoron

DRESS UP SIZ

I saw through the paper towels
You often wore to special occasions
The handkerchief of a top
Barely covered your heavenly
    Essentials

I saw through the covered nakedness
    Of your tempting resources
Standing here, sitting here,
Carelessly jumping over there

The bell
It must have rung
Just before you could finish

Or did the wardrobe get burnt
Perhaps forced out by a fire
Now you walk the streets naked
In the midst of imaginary sirens

For I see no approaching fire engines
Or plumes of rising smoke
Nor the acrid smell of burning matter
Just your justified insanity
And refusal to cover up
Your heavenly essentials!

AT THE METRO

Two cans in my couch
And I still am restless
Its Saturday
My legs want out
My head wants out too

The allure of Metro beckons
The attraction intoxicating
My legs begin to wobble

I must go now
I succumb, ungladly so I think
Called back to the organized
    Noise of the Metro
Called back to the jazz night
Or is it Interstellar Funkateers
I must oblige
Go now I must
Akuma Reggae band too
They too lay claim to my soul
Positively tormented i am
Go now son, go!

SOLDIERS NEVER DIE

Soldiers never die
they sleep in the soothing feel
of the evening  winds
Soldiers never die
they live in the rumbling terror
of smoking guns
Soldiers just never die
they endure in the confident gaits
of comrades in distant lands
            still fighting on

Good soldiers never die
they live on
in the toothless smile of orphans
and the innocent laughter of toddlers
growing without a motherly
or fatherly touch

Good soldiers just never die
they are reincarnate in the sparkling tears
of widows left behind
to tend the farms and the kids
in the widowers’ unspoken sacrifice
and in the awkward silence around dinner tables

soldiers never die
they endure in the spirit of new recruits
the words of our anthems
and the causes they ‘died’ for.
Soldier never die.

DO NOT

Do not turn away sneeringly
From the homeless in our midst
Those forever condemned
To sweet slumber in the alleys
Of glittering cities

Never spit on street tenants
Those sentenced to perpetual begging
By heartless fate

Do not cajole the jobless amongst us
Those whose brains choke with ´-isms´
Hearts searching for relevance of ´-ologys´
Resumes wasting away
In the dust of forgotten shelves
Do not cajole them
For only they know the pain of waiting

CHANGES

FEBRUARY:
Receding tides or calming waves

FEBRUARY,
You who held sway in life with beautiful memorials

FEBRUARY,
You whose true meaning now shifts under sinking sand
Turning into vanity the laughters of yore
The promise of rainbows
And chapters that will forever
                    remain unwritten
In the memoirs of togetherness
14th of the Saint
16th of an Angel’s birth
24th of the Flowery nights

FEBRUARY:
Receding tides or calming waves?

CASCADES…

As the roses rise
And blossom tomorrow,
And Lianas sway
In the morning dew,
May your affection
For loved ones
Join in the Serenade
Of enduring oneness.

May your path,
Forever so special
    evade the prickly shrubs of solitude
Let the fire…. and the ice
Of tomorrow’s passion
Mingle to consummate
Your vowed
COMMITMENTS!!

BROKEN. . . .

Sitting here, In this night lecture
My heart and mind strays eastwards
Yet none knows it perhaps
Not the enthusiastic Prof,
Not this lady beside me so fair
And none for sure can
But me
May be Anne Abaho too
For Uganda seems as far
Like a bird my self wanders
Through the vastness
Of time and space
Seeking out connexions
Or is it reconnexions
But alas!
I get lost
My spirit lost above
The cold Atlantic waters….
Nothing works, Life as cold
People no less, but some
An authentic soul staggers
Searching….
Searching for a foothold
No easy task I say
This outsider business

REMEMBRANCE..

Remember us
When the wind has gone away
Blown far into silent mortality
When you no more
Can hold me by the hand
Nor I embrace you in silence

Remember me
When no more day by day
We tell of our future hopes
When,
On each sunny day;
Away from one another
We reminisce in vain
The past unable to regain
Only remember Us
It may be late to change
But never too late to pray
For then, As now
There will be hope beyond the mountains
And your help from above shall come
Forget not the beauty of the journey
Even though without destiny we now stand
It is time to Lift your head high
Gaze into the scintillating
Yet uncertain future
It is time
To bend down and smell a flower
Inhale.

Remember us I say
But not always I know

Yet,
If you should forget for a while
And afterwards remember
Do not grieve for me
Or us
Or for what now shall never be
For if betrayal and loss
Leave a vestige of my care upon you…
And not the selfishness
      You so gently pronounced
Then,
Better by far you forget and smile,
Always,
Than remember (me)
And be sad!

BLEEDING

Even though you may choose
Myself not to greet
Even though you may choose
The embrace of cheering crowds
Know STILL that to me you belong
Just as to you i know i belong!

In the silent passage of time
When the doves are silent
The fog is cleared
And the waves threaten no more
I STILL will gather the courage
To dare say 'Hello Luv'
To the one who mocks my patience
Often with wholesome laughter
So long a night i say .... ...
So long!

A FLIGHT OF DOVES

You will come to me When,
Tired of endless wanderings
You will discover truth
When you,
Tired of wild escapades
Will remember truth
And you will come to me.

These long journeys will cease
You’ve been gone
Long gone among the Northern hills
Up where sunsets rejuvenate
On unblemished doves

You’ve been gone,
Long gone
Deep into the caves of plenty
Among men of generous passions
You shall come to me
And I shall be gone,
Only in dreams and hallucinations
Will you possess me
My ghost
Then..!
You will return to the caves
And the hills and the valleys
Of those whose ‘love’ you cherished
In the comfort of shared treasures
You will seek solace

But though I shall be gone
Whenever in the hold of vile men
Whenever their hurried caresses
Will charge your hairs to erection
My image will flood your essence

And when you shake and shudder
In bouts of spasmodic breathlessness
You’ll wish that I
I were the source
The source of your liquid
Your liquid ecstasy

I shall be gone!!