Lonely.
Why rejected?
Why forsaken?
Why discarded?
Give me, give me more!
You want, you take.
You demand you expect.
Get all you want, give nothing in return!
Here I am.
All wrung dry.
Here I am, a husk discarded.
All essence sucked out!
PERFECT!
Weaknesses.
Flaws.
Blemishes.
Shortcomings.
I’ll have none of them.
I have no patience for the mediocre.
I loathe anything substandard.
Away from me weaklings!
Perfection is the only one allowed close to me.
I am perplexed.
Why does the reflection in my mirror seem off?
I am troubled by this anomaly.
Why does my reflection resemble your broken self?
Loathsome reflection!
It must be a mirage.
What a warped reality!
It cannot be the likeness of this perfect self, named I.
Perfection is the name of the game.
Thus you need to change to be lovely like I.
Is it the truth or am I deluding myself?
If only I can change you, then life will be perfect!
Is it the truth, or a big fat lie I tell myself?
I change you, and then I can improve.
You make a move first, and then I will step out.
Or is it the other way round?
I wonder.
MY BROTHER SIBUOR,
You made it to today.
You stumbled yesterday.
You crumbled yesterday.
You bumbled yesterday.
You made it to today.
You threw in the towel yesterday.
You had a pity party yesterday.
You mumbled, grumbled and whined yesterday.
You made it to today.
You feared and dreaded yesterday.
You envied and coveted yesterday.
You were jeered and rejected yesterday.
You tore asunder, blundered and plunged yesterday.
You made it to today.
Yesterday’s mistakes don’t define you.
They are manure.
They fertilize your future.
You made it to today.
You fell flat on your face.
You got the wind knocked out of you.
You are a winner, bounce back up!
You made it to today.
Make this moment count.
For today is the yesterday of your tomorrow.
You can create a yesterday that will bring you joy.
You made it to today.
Be grateful.
Be positive.
Be the best version of you.
You made it to today.
Paint your best work of art, on the canvas of today.
Then tomorrow you will enjoy.
The tapestry you created today.
You made it to today.
You are a champion.
You have what it takes.
You are a winner.
Go and live out loud.
CUT DOWN.
Dreams shattered
Purpose snuffed out.
Laughter cut short.
Lives snuffed out.
It is grievous.
It is heart-wrenching.
It is unfair.
It is horrible.
How do we live on now?
Lovely bird called hope, please do arise.
Peace and justice.
Lovely twins, please do come forth.
Arise like the Phoenix, from the ashes of our pain.
Give in to this horror,
We will not.
Give in to terror,
We will not.
We stand with your loved ones.
We stand with your families.
We stand with your friends.
We stand with your colleagues.
We stand together.
You have left us too soon.
Victims, you are more than that.
Casualties, you are more than that.
Numbers you are not.
You are children, women, men.
You are brothers, sisters, cousins.
You are wives, husbands, fiancées, lovers.
You are nieces, nephews, grandchildren.
You were loved.
You are loved.
We will miss you.
We will remember you.
OH! NAIROBI
Place of cool waters,
I mourn with you.
Green city in the sun,
I stand with you.
ME!
I hurt, so you must care.
I hurt, if you don’t do this or that, I am angry.
I hurt, if you don’t humour me, it means you don’t care.
I hurt, thus I am diminished and fragile.
I hurt, so I am in need of constant delicate care.
I hurt, please be at my service.
I hurt, so your needs met; I don’t care.
I hurt, thus what I want is a law, a priority.
If I didn’t hurt, I would care.
I do hurt, so for now, all eyes on me.
The rest around me is beyond my care.
The responsibility to deal with you all, I can’t bare.
WORTHY!
It is funny how love goes.
When the soaring, turns sour.
When the heady, turns hateful.
When the gentleness, turns gruesome.
You stay laying there.
Wallow in self-pity.
Whining, wailing, pitifully.
Waiting, in agony.
You hope they turn, with a loving glance at you.
You hope they realize, how valuable you are.
You hope they repent, regret, tearing, hurting, breaking you.
You yearn, wait, languish, hope to no avail.
They walk away calmly.
They walk whistling a lively tune.
They walk without a backward glance.
They ignore the wallowing, whining, pitiful you.
Merely walking away, turning the pages, letting the curtain fall.
Will you stay down?
Will you let you down?
Will you give up on you?
Will you abandon, turn away from you?
Walk towards yourself.
Turn over a new leaf.
It’s time to raise the curtain.
You are worth it.
Love, you!
ADVANCE!
I cannot give up.
I cannot give in.
I cannot let despair creep up on me.
I cannot go down and cave in.
Live? I must.
Survive? Without a doubt.
Thrive is the name of the game.
Down? Up is the way now.
LIVE THIS YEAR, MY DEAR!
Dream on, dear.
Dream big.
Dream crazy.
Dream impossible.
Reach out.
Latch onto, dear.
Never letting go of this crazy possibility.
Keep it close, dear.
Outwards.
Inwards.
Upwards.
Always.
Run for it.
Run after it.
Run with it.
Run, run, run.
Expand.
Extend.
Expel.
Dispel.
Expand your possibilities, aim for the stars, reject limitations.
Extend your horizon, look up and banish negative thoughts.
Dispel the doubts that assail and torment.
Expel the naysayers, who discourage, diminish.
Dreamer, dream on dear, don’t stop.
Hold onto it tightly, don’t let it slip away.
Keep the dream alive and thus live.
Don’t exist!!
STAND STRONG!
I rushed home and turned on the radio.
I heard about the solemn march of my peers.
They did not give in to fear.
They stood firm and shed a tear.
They vowed to let the whole world hear.
That, though the killing of colleagues dear.
Had made their hearts profoundly fear.
Had made them, against violence to forswear.
They would still let nothing steer.
Nor move them from the goal that was dear.
They wouldn’t turn away, from the purpose that was clear.
Standing firm, they affirm that all life is precious.
Therefore, nothing will ever justify destroying it.
RAW GEM!
There is a miracle in me.
That is what she said.
I held onto those words.
I latched on, like a drowning man to a raft.
What did she see in me?
That she would say such a thing?
What precious gem is there?
Locked inside this earthen vessel, called me.
I roll it in my mind.
I look at it from all angles.
I look back at her perplexed.
Why don’t I see what she saw?
She looks deep into my eyes.
She looks straight to my soul.
She smiles and whispers to me.
If you don’t believe you are, you’ll never see what I see.
For, I believe in you.
You are a miracle.
MY DEAR LIFE!
Life, how are you?
What are you?
Who are you?
Where are you taking me?
My life, you take me on a roller-coaster.
You bring me up.
To throw me down.
These highs and lows are driving me berserk!
Life, why leave me empty?
You make me yearn for something more.
You dangle a treasure beyond my reach.
Life, oh life, do share the treasure and let me live!
NO ESCAPE!
Wow!
It doesn’t matter which way I look.
It’s always there.
There is no escape.
Tell me.
How do I run away?
How can I escape from myself?
It doesn’t matter how hard I try.
It doesn’t matter wherever I go.
There I am!
FACADE!
She laughs a lot.
She shouts a lot.
She cries a lot.
She yells a lot.
She has no middle ground.
She goes all out.
She goes the extra mile.
She pours herself out.
She’s empty often.
She’s lonely always.
She’s mistaken sometimes.
She keeps it all in.
She is self-sufficient.
She is resilient.
She is a fighter.
She takes it all well, you think.
She bounces back up from all.
Unscathed, whole, uninjured.
It’s a mirage; all is make believe.
She morphs, she changes.
She is a crab.
Hard on the outside and soft inside.
She is an oyster.
The hard shell guards the soft flesh within.
The soft, delicate flesh of her yearning heart jealously guarded.
She smiles a lot.
She laughs a lot.
She jokes a lot.
She listens a lot.
Don’t let these different facets fool you.
For she is hiding, in plain sight.
OH! THAT TIME OF YEAR
Ding dong.
Bells are ringing.
Choirs are singing.
Streets lighted.
It’s that time of year again.
It’s the same old story.
It’s a frantic rush, to get the present, the gift.
Preparing us a meal, the perfect feast is urgent.
It’s strange how this time of the year,
We sing about sharing good cheer.
Yet, many are shipwrecked.
Many are forgotten.
Oh, how strange it is.
That when there is so much light around us.
There are many hidden in plain sight.
They’re sidelined, abandoned by me, by us.
For it is dark beneath our lamp.
Our tables are full.
Their tummies are empty.
Our bags overflow with gifts.
Their hands are empty.
Our soul longs for more.
Their soul longs for more.
We meet at the same place.
We yearn for a soul that is not lean.
We desire a soul that is well fed.
We feed on the same thing.
These are our nourishment:
Love, companionship, healthy relationships,
benevolence.
Wholeness we so hunger for deep inside.
So, ding dong bell.
Open my soul.
Lights bright.
Brighten my heart.
Gifts abundant.
May I share more.
Sharing fills me up.
When I give, I receive.
It is that time of year again.
Season greeting.
Sharing and being of good cheer.
We reach out to receive more.
Oh, may we, may I, open my heart and genuinely care.
A STATEMENT!
She is three in one, or maybe even more.
She’s unapologetic, unwavering.
She morphs, transforms.
She peels off layers.
She adorns new ones.
She is more than a woman.
She is a queen.
She is a girl at heart.
She is a princess.
She is reserved.
She is water.
She is fierce.
She is fire.
She is the wind.
She is independent.
She is nourishment.
She is a mother.
She is free.
She is a cat.
She is wild.
She is a lioness.
With each transformation, she puts on her armour.
She puts on her adornment.
She wears her precious makeup.
She puts on her statement, her lipstick.
She adorns her lips and morphs.
Read her lips, and you will know who she is today.
Are you game?
SHOW ME!
I want you.
Not the frills and things, you offer me.
I want you.
Not your money
Yes, your time.
Yes, your presence.
Yes, your smile.
Yes, your whole being!
I want you to inhabit the moment.
Share your brokenness, your mistakes.
I want you to show me how to laugh at myself when I fail.
Share your discouragement and comeback moments, after failing.
Teach me how to love me.
I learn when I see the way you love yourself.
I see it in the way you interact with me.
So, be entirely and naturally you.
That way, dear parent, I will finally be me.
DREAM ON!
Long tunnel.
What a lonely, dark, dreary tunnel I am inside.
An endless tunnel that twists and turns.
What an oppressive tunnel I am navigating.
How long must I walk?
How long must I tread?
How long must I dread?
How long must I balk?
Dreams shattered.
Dreams withered.
Dreams evaporate.
Dreams dried up.
Like dew drops in the noonday sun.
I scream.
I cry.
I yell.
I groan.
Oh, my dear dream.
Let you go; I can’t.
No matter how far you seem.
No matter how futile you appear.
No matter how stupid I seem.
For you see, dear dream.
You are my lifeline.
You make me see life differently.
You reveal to me new possibilities.
You make me come alive.
Lonely, yes.
All alone.
Misunderstood, yes.
Disregarded sometimes.
Even most of the times!
But dream on, I will.
Fail forward is the motto.
One day, at a time.
One dream moment, after the other.
So, let’s go, dear dream.
Let’s conquer the world.
Reveal to me, who I am.
Let’s be the best of who we are!
LIFE!
You are a fragile shoot.
Snuffed out in an instant.
You are a tenacious weed.
You stubbornly hold on.
You don’t let go, till your last breath expires.
Oh, life!
You are high.
You are low.
You are a joy.
You are a pain.
You are plenty.
You are lack.
You bring happiness.
You are sadness.
You are companionship.
You are loneliness.
You are calm and appeased.
You are mad and enraged.
Oh, life!
You span short.
You flow long and broad.
You are so hard to grasp.
You are untameable.
You are elusive, like holding the wind.
WORK OUT!
She hurled angry, resentful words.
She wanted to rip off his face.
The laid-back demeanour he portrayed.
The calm and collected air he exuded.
She wanted him to react.
She needed him to act.
He had been passive for a while.
He had been grating on her nerves for some time.
It takes two to tango.
She knew that.
Disrespect was his fault.
Did she respect him?
Facing herself now, she must.
Stay the same, an option no more.
Facing each other’s core is a must.
Healing together is their joint goal.