SECURITY

Cry,

the beloved country

when #thoughtcrime descends

upon hapless souls

of dejected netizens

and pens drained 

of all journalistic bloodline

what the rents the air
are all sounds of dirges

cry the beloved
when you cross that invisible line
standing within the gates of a city in mourning
is it time
to join in the strained dirges

cry

the beloved country

when security breeds insecurity

and yesterday steals possibilities

of beautiful tomorrows

cry the more

no more

cry

and rise.

© May 2015

KIAMA

With our feet dangling
dangerously by the water of the Lolwe
and Heineken takes its rightful toll
on our creative faculties

we shall sit  unstill with Kiama
and others not before the court
and there,
gazing into the patient waters of Lolwe
dare to imaginate new possibilities

and the weakened Nyanza sun
sensing our impatience with lightness
shall give way
- albeit reluctantly -
to exciting ways of the dark night
Kisuma!

© April 2015

SUBTERFUGE

I turn and swirl in endless motions

grasping at spineless dreams

clasping reeds of needs

gasping for elusive airs

my mortality affirmed

by this whirlwind of needs

deeds, not needs

still

the worst of me cancels

fades out in the face of the best of me

what then is immortality

we are in this together

even though
the viciousness of old dogs

now flirts dangerously close

to the carelessness of you

we are in this together

my mortality
affirmed

by this whirlwind of needs.

© April 2015

HEAVENS COMING, YOU SAID

You amaze me, you said
give me a season, i danced away
slumped on the puffy couch
nodding and thumping
we found strange harmony
in the ancient beats
of Coco Tea's Hurry-up-and-Come
give me a reason, you said

again.

i don't know why
but give me a reason

thousands of reasons
a thousand seasons
who am i but a servant
unquestioning of the gods

humility beckons
like a serpent, resistance slithers
there-after
Nirvana was all but domiciled

Hurry-up-and-Come.

© March 2015

TIRED WINGS?

We spent shared lifetimes
in lovetary confinements
gave much away to all another

are we now empty with naught
for our unsuspecting successors

burnt fingers
dying embers
periodically prick
to sustain my chosen unforgetfulness

does the charred remains
of a shared abode
poke you into self-pity

succumb not to the dehumanising
allure of erasure and unmemory

live.
in the past
in the present

live.

© March 2015