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!