BINTU

beloved bintu

permit me not to dawdle

here the screaming silence

has only me as an audience

shackled in this residence in who shall i place my confidence

when your much desired presence continues to linger in absence?

with whom will I share the fondness

a gale of togetherness pleasurable and immeasurable

in this screaming silence?

the dusk’s chill intense

my intent transcends concupiscence

loneliness is what attacks me with fierceness

in fairness i want you in earnest

beloved bintu emotion rushing high

your approach not nigh

and like a pestilence this screaming silence

is hitting hard against my faithfulness.

TELL ATISHA

tell atisha 
tell her that the silence hurts 
like a dead knife cutting through 
the flesh 
tell her that mother-hen does not 
look on while her chicks go astray

tell atisha 
tell her that she cannot cuddle 
the tail of a cobra 
for when an idol becomes too proud 
it is shown to its face from which 
wood it is carved 

tell atisha 
tell her that many moons may pass 
but the past she left has no where 
to go 
 
we shall tell atisha 
we shall tell her the words that have 
eluded our tongues.

IN THE GLOOM

the genesis of an undergrowth
an offshoot out of the depth of darkness
the revelation of a nightly firmament
an implosion from the heart of the heavens

metamorphosis of meaning in space

lightning thunderclaps of storm
cumulus of clouds wind of sandstorm
fifth a whistle of hurried breeze
preparing the way for the sixth
a surge of deluge

helpless fragile bloom in the gloom
of an unsparing storm
a violent blow to the right
another to the left
a vicious shove forward
wicked one to the back

in the heat of the scorching storm
the bloom is bowed bent but not broken.

THE PRAYER

may the iceberg of realities  
 not shatter the ship of our dreams

may the frigid fingers of time  
 not tick against our magic moments

may the harsh hands of hunger  
 not stir our stomachs

may the fiery temptation of mammon  
 not lead us astray

may the ogling eyes of sex  
 not entice us into pits of paradise of promiscuity.

may the silent night

not empty us into the hands of hell

may the day dawn

not behind but before us.

BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS

my life is a boulevard
i am a piece of broken dreams

my life is a bough
i am a piece of shredded leaves

my life is a road
i am a crossroad of chaos

my life is a space
i am a void of evil thoughts

my life is a waste
i am a face of an unwanted child

my life is a test
i am a failure

my life is a root

i am a debris of broken dreams

my life is a shoot

i am rising against interred nightmares