Princely Poetry: Get IN, Get INspired!

Alone, Just Alone!

2009-03-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

When the lips of time
Are kissed by solitude
Loneliness
Fades into
Loveliness
!!

Time is starry-eyed when
It looks into her face –
Passion
Burns to
Nectarine dreams
!!

The mind is freed
By that divine kiss
To roam
The streets of
The immaterial
!!

The eye is bent
By the afterglow
It turns to
Look deeply
To the soul
!!

The soul is sole solace
Thus, man was made for solitude
!!

Aromatherapy

2009-03-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what step to take next
for I don’t even know where this journey might take
this man called me
Sometimes I wish I were just normal
just another kid on the block – not any more
of this man called me
I wish I didn’t know you love me, even when I am angry –
And that all I do is like eating ice cubes when you’re hungry.
I wish I didn’t know that all this journeying is futile –
maybe then I’d have enjoyed myself walking these miles
with this man called me
I wish I didn’t know that joy is a choice we make
and that it’s all vapor when your smiles are fake.
I wish I didn’t know – didn’t know what it takes
I wish I didn’t know it takes nothing but grace
and that it’s all already paid for – it’s a gift to embrace
that even as I run I’ve already won this race
I wish I didn’t know
Oh! This man called me
Sometimes he wishes the skies were pink
Sometimes he wishes that his poop wouldn’t stink
Sometimes he wishes that things were just a little different
Sometimes he wishes that he just wasn’t human
Oh! This man called me
The many words he is speaking melt away in his mouth
and the ink in his pen just slowly dries up
now only one sentence remains before he shuts up:

this man called me
loves me

The Reason

2009-03-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

and though
I know
that this question
is in essence
an act of reason
I still shall ask:

why reason?

Purple Streaks

2009-03-12T06:33:00.002-07:00

I am that purple streak in your hair
I’m that strand that stands out and makes them stare
and I am your thumbprints
and I am forever

I am unique.

I am the unseen halo that crowns your head
I am that one that dreams and sleeps on your bed
and I am those dreams
unknown to you

I am unmentioned.

I am the sun that rises from the west
I am the smiling one – greeting with a clenched fist
and I am the blue grass
the pink sky

I am weird.

I am the black hole that sucks the light in
I am a thousand drops of rain, the thunder, the lightning
and I am the one
you do not know

I am misunderstood.

I am your best friend’s best friend
I am the help when you are the helping hand
and I am a piece of love
marred by matter

I am wonder.

I am not the one staring at you staring at the mirror
that’s just a fragment, a piece, a part of me
I am not anything you see
I am your breath

I am invisible.

I am light and heat and water and air
I am now and then and here and there
and though a part fades away
I am immortal

I am forever.

I am unique
I am unmentioned
I am weird
I am misunderstood
I am wonder
I am invisible
I am forever
:
a purple streak

I am you.

PERFECT Stranger!

2009-03-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

Those eyes of awe
I wish they stayed like that for long –
finding beauty in every of my stride
and picking strands of joy
every minute I open my mouth to speak.
I have no fear when I come to you –
my first impressions are always striking.
I know you want to talk to me
I am different –
It’s not easy to find one like me
But you burn to cinders slowly
as you keep the coal of craving
deep inside
You want to get to know me.
I know.
I make the first move.
I smile from the heart
and you feel these rays warm
you up inside.
Softly, you try and smile back:
afraid that maybe you’ll be
fake again; but I, being me,
bring you to yourself
I make you discover yourself,
love yourself, want to have me
as your forever friend
Then two days pass
and you get to “know” me –
next time we meet
our heads are full of expectations
You’ll know how I’ll talk
and walk
and smile
and pat
and hug
and do whatever

And I don’t make you smile anymore.
Forever ends today.
Those eyes of awe.
I wish they stayed like that for long.
but today is gone
and forever has flown with it.

You are a stranger,
thus PERFECT.

Stay that way!

Working on Surrender

2009-02-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

It is a big deal...

watching your darling -
your beautiful caged darling -
shattering the metal frames,
and taking wing

It is a big deal...

sitting helplessly, watching your
dreams dash with graceful pace -
flying away -
smoothly soaring into arms
that aren't yours

It is a big deal...

choosing to let go -
to let go of that which you
have imprisoned in the red
cell of your heart -
which through desire
imprisoned you
too

your bird - your dreams - your prisoner

smoothly soaring into arms
that aren't yours
but still, you let go
for you know that the arms
it flies into are bigger than yours -

and those same arms
hold you

Oblivionated...

2009-01-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

First minute -
just one,
spent dreaming-
consumed by desire,
wishing,
calling to tommorrow
"Hasten!"

Second minute -
just two,
wasted looking back-
devoured by nostalgia
thinking,
remembering Yesterday

Third minute,
...
Fourth minute,
-
Fifth minute,
...
Sixth minute
-
SEVENTH MINUTE!!!
>>

wasted -
thrown away:

oblivionated...

The Freedom of Broken Wings

2009-01-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

I was born desiring
to soar,
to touch the sky,
to go beyond the seeming
and find the real -

which I thought was
far from here
far from now -

So I made wings for
myself:

Took some feathers from
a million birds
and some blades from
a thousand planes

I tossed and I turned
in endless dream
far into the day,
deep into the night
-
My eyes never failed
to see
a vision of me, flying,
soaring,
going far beyond
here and now

I wove my feathers
and hammered my metal.
I toiled and boiled
out in the Afrikan sun,
seeking wings -
making wings

I hammered my feathers
and wove my metal,

and
I beamed with delight
as I saw my metal become
feathers,
and my feathers become
metal -

I created wings!

then
I sat and remembered the sun
licking my face,
and the rain mixed with
my sweat:
pouring -
adding salt to a hungry Earth!

I sat and recalled the times when friends
would boo me,
and laugh at me,
and call my weaving futile.
Or woo me
into something else
more passive, more docile
more "worthwhile" -

or so they thought

Until they saw the wings
sparkling in the sun
looking at them
haunting them with deep desire
to fly,
to soar,
to serenade with the wind
and play with the birds

I remembered the toil
and I smiled as I saw them lust
for wings
I remembered the labor
and smiled,
for I had given birth
to wings

I had woven and hammered
and woven and hammered
and hammered and woven,

I had created!

I took my wings
to hide them from a bunch
of green-eyes

I locked them in my garage
and went to reward myself
with sweet sleep

on a bed of roses -
in the garden:

Aaahhhhhh!!!:

then I heard a clinking and a clanking
a dripping and a hammering
and a dropping

I arose from my scented bed
and rushed to see my sleeping beauty -
my love, my wings

I saw my wings,
I found them...
only, broken!

I watched in sacred silence
as tears washed my face
and fell to the ground,
the cursed garage ground
upon which my blighted wings
stood

I saw my feathers and my metal
I saw my weaving and my hammering
I saw my toiling and my reward
I saw it all that night -
I saw my wings:

broken!

The tears well up
now all I see is a fading blur

now I rest in
the agony of my sweet sweat
where I have learned a lesson
deeper than myself:

I can create!

I have discovered something
far bigger than me:

Love is here
Love is now
Truth is here
Truth is now

All I need is here
All I need is now

I take my broken wings
and fly -

to here and now

Upon Seeing A Picture Of Kellie And Me

2009-01-15T06:48:00.000-08:00

The beauty of life is that it gives us beautiful things,
but for a time -
it showers us with flowers in May
and snowflakes in winter,
with moments of love
and others of sweet serenity
and smiles
and sunshine
and the smell of soil after the rain -
times unforgettable as the infilling of his Spirit
or ones spent in love -
all these are for a time.

Life's a piece of meat -
sweetest at the bone -
so
drink deeply
and savor every moment!

Dance with your Cinderella. Take pictures with your Kellie.
Enjoy the beautiful intensity of now!

Ahh, sweet you!
I cherish these moments!

>>to Kellie Beal

"So I dance with Cinderella -
while she is here in my arms..."

Retouched

2009-01-15T05:34:00.002-08:00

Rrrr...

Rrrrrrrr...

tap - pat - tap - rat-at-tat

Rrrrrrrr...

Rrrr...

The rain drops touch
my silvery skin

AGAIN!

Dancing

2009-01-14T00:55:00.000-08:00

The music fades in
and my whole world begins
vibrating
to the strings
being plucked
in my heart

Time – in beautiful duty – moves
and we follow –
enthusing

taking pleasure in
the velvety moves

looking into eyes
that won’t be here
forever

man is mortal –
the silent noise of heart beats
is but a time:
why not dance to it?

Why not revel?
Why not
close your eyes to the storm (&)
let the rain kiss you
?

Why not
drink of the flowers
close your eyes to the bee (&)
let the nectar seep in
?

Time – in dutiful beauty – stops
as I hold the hands of my princess
and allow the sweet dance
to sweep me into the
intensity of now

the depth of the moment
the beauty of the here –
the now!

Life is just life –
sweetly steady –
unchangeable as it goes
I end deranged in attempts
to change it

so
I stop

I stop trying to live
and I embrace life –
I stop trying to not make
mistakes as I dance:
how else will I learn?
I stop trying to live
perfectly
… for can I?

so

I move my feet to the tunes that I hear
burrowed, buried deep…
swinging, swaying
stepping to melodies
of a different drummer:
my beating heart –

The music fades out
and my whole world applauds

the dance of life has ended

A certain joy haunts me sweetly as I lie:
I did more than clap, I danced
I did more than fall, I learned
I did more than be, I lived!

so I take a bow!

Endless Romance (Just A Relationship)

2009-01-14T00:29:00.001-08:00

He kissed me again with His lips
His lovely hand held me again
It’s just one day that I pushed him aside
but it felt like eternity –
One hour without him and emptiness
resounds endlessly within me
But here he comes again, his being
dripping with love – I tell him that
I want him, and he comes and fills me
up with the substance of fullness itself
One hour away from you, Lord, and
I resonate with nothingness!!
But it is beautiful, this our love,
and strange how you love me so:
and your word kisses my heart with revelation
and your presence surrounds me like the most
lovely – the warmest – the truest embrace!
It’s not a struggle this –
it’s just a relationship!

Life Is Milk

2008-12-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

So He holds it -
between His fingers -
and time to time allows it to spill:
We grow!

It splashes as it spills -
it colors as it grows -
and oozes into crossboxes:
We experience!

Yeah!
Life is Milk!!

Losing Princely

2008-12-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

Look at him Lord,
he is rising like smoke -
slow... choking... transient...
elusive smoke...
He fades...

I feel like I am loosing Princely -
that I am taking steps farther
away from him...
That my body walks this
sphere in opposing directions
with my soul - my spirit -
His struggles are different
Lord: of the intellect and
spirit...

I am moving away from myself -
I seem to forget my passion,
my goals, my needs - my wants!
I seem not to know what I am
here for anymore -
and although I know, I have
enclosed myself within the needless
borders of expectations -
which I am bound to meet

And the seconds carry me away
- from me!
Tears knock my eyes door...

But even in this journey away from
me - I find you! - so I find
myself again, for you
contain me...

Everyday Loveletters

2008-12-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

Like Schaeffer
teach me your handwriting
that I may read your loveletters
to me -
In the tears of this girl for
lack of school fees
In the noisy flight of the big
beaked hornbill
In the momentary flashes of
pure solitude
In the fresh outbursts of
reasonless laughter
and in the silence...

Sweet, Soft, Anonymous

2008-12-11T10:28:00.000-08:00

Blessings come anonymously,

call to us in sweet softness,

touch us with their flowery

feathery hands –

and though they always

leave us better

than they found us –

seldom do we see them!

All life is a divine romance –

Love calling us to Himself

in infinite serenade –

Pity only some see this –

The Search...

2008-12-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

Life -

It's not what we have -

it's what we're looking for!

-- is -- ??

2008-12-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

The truest statement anyone can make is: "this is this" or "that is that"

"Truth is Truth" - any attempt to describe it, no matter how close to truth it comes is not as true as "Truth is Truth," any more description fragments it and understates that which you attempt to describe.

What is life? "Life is Life" - that's as true as it gets.

"Time is Time" "God is God"

"Eternity is Eternity" - that's the truest statement we can make!

"I Am Who I Am" - that is absolute truth!

Therefore...

Nothing is Nothing!

If nothing is nothing, then what is nothing?

Depth (2)

2008-12-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

When you search and find that

what you’ve found is a search in

itself, and that answers give birth

to triplets… and the triplets are

questions… And you search and

find that your search finds only

searches… then… you have

found… [--]…depth?

Life?

…God?

As I Sojourn Life's Avenue

2008-12-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

When the rains of life fall hard on me
I'll be a seed and grow!
When the deepest of Darkness sets in
I'll be a star and shine!
When the scorching sun withers me up
I'll be a baobab and stand!
When I hit the solid walls of life
I'll be paint and beautify!
When everyone's feet seem to crush me
I'll be a rose ...mmhh!!!
And when death comes to reap me
I'll be dead and free!

Ta Waru Na Mũtũra

2008-12-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

Gwe dete
ta warũ na mũtũra -
Gĩririka nete
Gishog’aga
((Excerpt from Gĩkũyũ poem))
>>
I love you
like potatoes and mutura -
Even in my sleep
I am reminiscent of you
((English Translation of 1st verse))
>>
Nakupenda
kama viazi na mtura -
hata nilalapo
mwenzako nakukumbuka
((Kiswahili translation of 1st verse))
-------------------------------------

Ta Waru Na Mũtũra:
The Poem =

I love you
like potatoes and mutura
Even in my sleep
I am reminiscent of you

I dream of you
with endless fervor -
for every thought of you
is sweetness to my heart

Gashũgwa!!
you are the life of my love -
my heart beats for you
like the thumping

of hands on my chest
to save me from a choking
warũ - my soul leaps
in delighted gaiety

when I imagine
your sandals softly treading
upon the earth -
as chocolatey as your skin!

I am in endless awe
at the blackness of your lips -
like burnt firewood
between the hearth stones

of mother's cooker -
And your scent is powerful
It seeps through me like
the invigorating smell

of well-cooked mũtũra -
Your stride is melodious
It brings to mind the tunes
of kanyoni mũtĩ-ĩnĩ

singing its heart out -

In one of the
thousand dreams of you
I had the night before today -
We were in infinite embrace

You were a smoky
I was a chapati -
And you held me in your arms
like Chapoo holds Smoky

And even when life
opened its mouth to eat us
you did not embrace evanescence
or fade away from me -

you still held tightly to me -

Tears like liquid diamond
raced past my cheek this morning -
when I woke up to find that
it was just a dream

Gashũgwa!!
Wewe Mũrĩika wakwa -

My silvery wings dance about you
in silent serenade
I am a mũrĩika mũnĩnĩ -
the one they call hummingbird

and you are the flower
on whose petals I love to dance
whose nectar I love to drink -
tamu kuliko asali! *

Your love to me is like the sweet
refreshing summer rains
that fall on me -
a poor golden blade of grass

Shall I compare you to the snows of
Kĩrĩnyaga? for you have frozen
my heart with the beautiful
presence of your being -

Like the lovely bits of
nature on Tanzania's Kilimanjaro
your love, my love, is the
address of beauty -

So when they ask me where beauty lies
I can lead the way there -
and we shall swim like swans
through your fragile veins

to your heart! -

Gwe dete
ta warũ na mũtũra -
Gĩririka nete
Gishog’aga

Afrika -
wewe Gashũgwa gakwa!!
---------------------------------------------

>>to Julian, Jesus, and Mama Afrika!!

>>this poem begins with an excerpt from a Gĩkũyũ children's poem that I was told by my lovely Julian >>I have translated it into Kiswahili and English, then found my creative juices flowing in the cosmology of the excerpt's composer - enjoy!!!

It speaks the heart of a young Gikuyu lover to his beloved... it is written with much love from me (who, in this poetic fiction, is the Gikuyu boy) to Mama Afrika (my Gashugwa) - and to Jesus, for this gift of stringing words together, and pouring my heart onto paper through pen!!!

Kipepeo Mkononi

2008-12-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

Today is a butterfly
in my arms - preparing to
fly away...

>>written on my bed - near midnight

Speaking Their Language

2008-12-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

If I could learn the language of the flowers
I would ask them to teach me
How to speak beauty in silence

Depth (1)

2008-12-06T00:09:00.002-08:00

The mind, allowed, moves*
into the essence of infinity’s
substance…
Thoughts had, and captured –
Ideas put down –
…and memory refuses to fade

They will not forget you

tap… dip… seek… search…
every finding leads to another quest
(…mysterious mysteries)
…as you keep searching… it is
depth you have found!

Isn't life enigmatic?

>>to Udo Nsehe
================
*Allusion to "Life:Avenue?"

Beneath The Floor Of Heaven

2008-12-05T23:30:00.000-08:00

Beneath the floor of heaven
lies a land where trees can talk
Where stones debate with the soil
And leaves chat with the wind
…and marvelous things happen

A land of stars that speak
of the past, and its glory
And the gurgling brooks narrate
colorful stories of tomorrow
…and lovely things are everything

The waves dance as the ocean
sings with a voice deep and mellow
They move to salsa with the sand
and bejewel the beach with shells
…and beauty is reality

In that land, beaches give speeches
And icicles create articles
that inspire the stones to sermons
And make the brooks write books

A man and his boy join hands
on a chainsaw and fell a tree
As the tree crashes…
the leaves crumple in complaint, and the wind howls in pain
His large flip-flops wallop the soil
His tiny feet hit the stone
– they both are deaf to the debate

A band of girlfriends reward themselves
with gossip on a glittery night
As the darkness flashes…
the moon removes the blanket of clouds, to admire the starry crowd
But the ladies do not hear the stars
narrating stories of glorious times of yore;
They pass the gurgling brook
clueless of the message that it shouts
A guy and his girl walk holding hands
And kiss on the romantic beach one night
As the waves splash…
ocean’s music gets loud, and the pretty shells applaud
Yet the guy and girl fail to hear the
deep voice of the waters
They are blind to the salsa of the sand
and sea.

People are too concerned with the here and now
that they fail to see the eternal…

Scientists busily search dinosaur prints
yet fail to see that all nature is God’s footprints…

Materialists are too drunk on the physical
And walk staggeringly through this meaningless existence…

And we all, absorbed in the “critical problems” of our world today,
loiter futilely into another day.
Deafened by our troubles to the speech of the beach
Blinded to the article of the icicle
Paying no attention to the sermon of the stone
And failing to read the book by the brook

Beneath the floor of heaven
lies you and me

Creation has God’s thumbprints all over it!
See them?

That Poem!

2008-12-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

Did you know
that the poem you are reading
is sooooooo interesting?

Why?...

…because…

By the time
you
reach its end
you
discover that it wasn’t a poem after all.
Just a poet trying to play with your mind!

hahaha

Ask your friends, "Have you read 'That Poem!' ?"
Which One??
"That Poem!"

>>Enjoy!

Mapenzi Ya Neema

2008-12-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

Wala sistahili
Kuwa hapa mbele zako mpenzi
Wala sistahili
Kuwa mbele ya huu utakatifu

Ni mangapi nimefanya
Ambayo kweli yakuumiza roho
Ni mara ngapi nimekuwa
Nacheza cheza tu na moyo wako

Kwani ni nini nikifanyacho
Kinachokufanya tu unipende
Kwani mimi ningekuwa wewe
Ningenyanyuka nisepe – niende!!

Wala si – stahili – mimi si – stahili
Mapenzi yako yananizidi
Wala si – stahili
Pendo lako lanijaza
Lakini...

Wala sistahili
Kuwa hapa mbele zako Yesu
Wala sistahili
Kusimama mbele ya huu utakatifu

>>to Jesus - the life of my LOVE!!

It All Speaks of You!!

2008-12-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

I am in love with the sun's rays
as they race past me to embrace
the sad ground

In love with the weaver bird as it struggles -
in long lone selection of the perfect blade of
grass to create a hanging beauty for her
baby to live in

I am in love with the joy of music
and the heart touching moments
of gaiety and happiness -
moments that cannot be captured
by words or the mind -
only the heart!

I am in love with the flowers that dance in the rain
as everyone else hides under umbrellas and
in houses

In love with the log that swims joyfully in the flood

I am in love with the big blue sky -
the playground of kites as they're pushed slowly
by the wind -
and of eagles

In love with the night sky - deep and dark -
playground of the stars

I am in love!

I am in love with light and time and space

I am in love with life and death and eternity

So in love with these daily reminders -
this great design -
this beautiful beautiful earth...

O God, I am SO in love with you!!

A Mysterious Gift | For Michelle Ayuma!

2008-12-05T01:10:00.000-08:00

My dear friend
I am trying to weave
Chords of beautiful truth
Herein – for you to
Experientially know that
Life is a mysterious gift of
Love and beauty packaged
Excellently within the soul of man.

And open souls receive this gift I speak of
Your heart and mind should be readied to
Understand this extraordinary
Mystery of life:
All God’s beauty lies within you – reach in and enjoy!

>>to Michelle Ayuma - I love you... more than imaginable can even mean!!!

I Kissed The Sky

2008-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

Did I laugh?
Or did I cry? -

I am mesmerized by the hazy lazy beauties
of luxury into the darkness
of oblivion -

...so I cannot possibly remember!

How can I?
How do you expect me to?

Sitting on this computer -
clicking - moving to another one -
rotating... clicking... then
moving to another one -
realizing -
the truth that all I have done is -
NOTHING!!

How can I remember the sweet dance
of the tears -
mama tear and papa tear -
as he serenaded her
and she ran gracefully down my cheek
...so he followed closely behind! -
how can I remember that??

It is impossible for me to remember the
delicious sensation that - in bitterness -
choked my throat -
How can I remember this laughter?

The problem with you is that you want
so many details -
and my problem is that I do not
remember -

...so you remain with your questions
for I -
I did nothing but kiss the sky!!

---
"I did nothing..." you say, -
how can one "do" nothing?

Captured!

2008-11-28T10:43:00.002-08:00

Forgive me…I have captured you…
with my pen.

Now the reader captures you in his
mind…

captured

…again!

Sleep

2008-11-28T10:43:00.001-08:00

Sleep comes like those tiny raindrops
that develop into a flood:
drip… drop… tick… tock…
Symptoms of tiredness first knock the door
in my head then suddenly…
I am carried on a blanket of dreams
onto a bed in the gardens of paradise!
Good night, Princely!

>>written on my bed by a VERY VERY tired me!!

Kisses Better Than Wine | Divine Romance!

2008-11-28T05:58:00.000-08:00

You have trapped me in your presence
and locked a smile on my face
My heart beams with joy
jolly rays radiating from within
Your desire is me…
…and I desire you
We are deeply in love – stuck in joy –
swimming together in swamps of satisfaction
– running in prairies of peace –
and dancing…
…in a wilderness of wonder
You are a mystery I do not want to solve
– I cannot, even if I try!
I know that I am lost in blessedness
I cannot run away from the infinite
grasp of your love…
My spirit feels you like the wind, I cannot
touch you but I feel your touch,
Bless me again with your kisses…
…they are better than life.

>>To Jesus

The Death Of Time

2008-11-28T05:57:00.000-08:00

If time dies will we all die with it?
Where will we go?
Where will we be?
Where will we do?
Where will be the avenue of life?

Do we hold time?
Or is it time that holds us?

Does time move?
Or is it we who move in time?

Who are we?

What is time?

What if time dies?

But time will never die,
For all things exist in time
(And things will always exist)

Because…
If time dies “nothingness” will exist
…and it will exist at that time

So time can not cease to exist
And existence exists only in time

Which is the mother? (and which the child?)
The chicken or the egg?
à none is the mother (and none the child)
…both are beings

Which is the mother? (and which the child?)
Time or existence?
à none is the mother (and none the child)
…both are!

Time will not die, it will always exist;
And existence will always be in time
(another proof for eternity)

Eternity | Through The Eyes Of Time

2008-11-28T05:55:00.000-08:00

-->-->-->-->-->...

…the ellipsis symbolize a territory unexplored
by the mind… where travelers wander in
wonder… and find… [--]… more ellipsis…

If Tears Could Cry

2008-11-28T05:51:00.000-08:00

>>one of my old onesAug '08

If tears could cry…
If emotions could feel…
If pain felt pain…
If smiles could smile…
If laughter could laugh…
…and dreams could dream

What if they could?

One’s spirit knows him full well…
…for it is him

If tears could cry they’d cry so hard
Because they know the value of tears:
…the release that they offer
…the consolation they bring
…the power they carry and express
If tears could cry they’d cry and cry and cry…

If pain felt pain it would savor every moment
It would dive into the depths of each second of pain
For it knows the value of pain:
…the lessons learnt
…the experience gained
…the character it brings out and develops
If pain felt pain it would indulge in the moments…

If dreams could dream they’d do so every time
For they know the power of dreams:
…the inspiration
…the revelation
…the innovation
If dreams could dream I’d dream to be one

If smiles could smile they’d do just that
They’d swim in the ocean of smiles
For they know the worth of a smile:
…the love it shares
…the beauty revealed
…the joy released
If smiles could smile I’d smile at them

If you could cry, and feel, and smile,
And laugh, and dream…
…wouldn’t you do all that?

But wait! Can’t you??

Cupid's Eyes

2008-11-28T05:50:00.000-08:00

Peep through the windows of your heart.
See yourself -
LOVE what you see!

And your heart’s door will open for you…
…you will be able to give love
and receive it!

Look at yourself, and love what you’re seeing:

Look into the mirror, and love what you see!

Look at your reflection in water, and love what you’re seeing!

Look into a friend’s eyes, and love what you see!

Peep deep into your heart, see yourself, and love what you’re seeing!

Alchemy | ((Unveiled Edition)) | Enjoy

2008-11-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

Alchemy

2008-11-26T03:40:00.000-08:00

Heavy trickles slowly down
And I in patience pine
Seconds run infinite to Town
For mercy’s strange to time –
But Town is not, so seconds frown
And Heavy still oozes fine –

My head aches as thoughts break
And I pull Ale and Cake
But Stomach fails to hold
And Ale falls, and Cake rolls
Down an endless Hole –

Eureka! –

I stretch my hand and wait to hold
From Heavy a weighty lump of Gold
But even Heavy now grows old
Even Air now is sold
(And still there is no Gold) –

Distraught I hop from my shop –
All life is Dope, there is no hope
And so I throw my Hands in Wind
And this void now becomes a friend

Touching Wind – holding Wind –
I cannot – but Wind touches me –
It holds and embraces me

Now in all, I see gold
In myself and in my world –

--all we do is Alchemy until we touch Wind--

>>One of the deepest pieces I've ever written!!!

Letter to...

2008-11-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

Do I even know your name?
Yet I fear you!
Do you know mine?
Yet you scurry away
Every time you see me
Trying to get to you

You do not know my language –
I can’t even learn yours.
The only way we could talk
Is through the glitter of our eyes
But can you look into my eyes?
Cause I’m reading fear in yours

Let’s then speak the language of love
I’m told we all can speak it
And perfect love drives out fear
You won’t need to shy away

But will you give me a chance to love you?
Will you speak in love with me?
Because even if I love you
It’s your choice to receive it…
…or to throw my love away

I see you stretched on the rocks,
Basking in the Sun
I wish I would lie next to you
I wish we could talk…

I see you when I go for lunch
And as I scan the halls of academia
And many times I’m worried…
…worrying because I’m wanting:
(I want education, balance, progress…
…cars, cash, candy – and so much more)

I wish I had your life – simple yet complex!
Simple in that it lacks the complexities of wanting
Complex in that it is far too simple
I wish my needs were few, like you:
Air, food, and water!
(Really – isn’t that all I need)
Love removes boundaries.
But what if they are invisible?
What if the confines are hidden?

Let us face our differences
Let us search out the basis of our fears
Let us see the boundaries
And allow love to remove them

From the first day I saw you
I tried to guess your name
I said “maybe you’re a hyrax”
But I really wasn’t sure

Are you “Hyrax”?

Will your eyes ever tell me your name?
Will I ever peep into you, and see the beauty of your soul?

Why did we have to be different?
You a hyrax – me a man!
Wouldn’t it be better if we all were the same?

NO! It strikes me now as truth:
“The beauty of our Universe lies in its diversity”

Whence the Hyrax?
The same power that brought you brought me…
For the same reasons we live…
And the same beauty we all contain…
The same God gives meaning to both our lives…
…however different they are!

Letter to...
---
...a Hyrax at Daystar!!

The Artist Continues | This Time With Black And White!

2008-11-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

This time he pulls a black canvas
And stretches it as far as the eye
Can see…
He then splashes a misty dark substance –
Adding depth to the plane surface
On which his art is emerging…
With a wave of his invisible hand,
Tiny shiny white dots appear –
Bringing life to the dull pitch blackness

He lays aside his paintbrush –
Waiting for tomorrow …

…and men go to bed

The Artist And His Paintbrush

2008-11-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

>>I love this one

Using a voice I cannot hear
he calls me outside
and stuns me as I walk
by him in his workshop…

…his invisible hands reach out
and dim the lights
as I stand in silence
– my breath slowly seeping away

I adore his being – though
unseen – eyeing his palette –
picking his paintbrush –
and starting with orange…

…with magical whisks of the
intangible brush – held with
hands unseen – he transforms
the dull canvas into a play of colors

The orange turns to pink as the
fluffy whites become a fading blue
and time unnoticeably escapes
with the light – into a hazy blackness…

…and men go to sleep

When Titles Don't Matter

2008-11-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

My eyes are fighting these tears
but the tears win the battle
anyway…
There’s a wind blowing in my
heart – and it hurts – breaking
down things for long held dear
…
There’s a storm raging in the
hole in my soul; splashing
angry waves…
A thunder disturbs the delicate
internal balances that hold my
sanity and the essence that is me
…
Bolts of intangible pain electrify
my being – “Me” feels it strongly
within…
Like seismic waves they shake
me up – disturbing the equilibrium
that I consist of – mind, body and spirit
…

-------------------
>>God came in this day - and changed tha rest of my night!!
Thanx Dad!!

The Homecoming

2008-11-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

>>written the day before recess!

Every drop of sunshine
Reminds me of the warmth
I feel in the hands of the one
I call Mama

Every bit of cloud
Reveals a silver lining
Reminiscent of the shiny gases
That wreath my beautiful
Mountain

The seconds smile at me as they pass –
Running in slow-motion
Bringing memories of a home long left

I get on the bus
…finally…
…
Home:
…Here I Come!!!

The Best Things

2008-11-24T06:03:00.001-08:00

The best thing about me…
…is that I love the best thing.

The best thing about you…
…is that you’re the best thing!

I LOVE YOU!!

A Loud Silence

2008-11-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

The silence is so loud
…it’s the only thing you hear!

The sound of silence resonates
softly on the walls of my heart
where passions rage
with vehemence...

I am a pantomime -
acting out my life:
The storyline is a deadly reality
but I play my part - mute:
I can do nothing -

Can I?
I can do nothing but play
this horrid rehearsed silence -
as directed

The Play of Life:
Starring: Me!
Director: Me and ThaW!
Stage: The World

I star as a black star -

There are shackles in my mind
that I need to break from -
and my heart is locked away in
a cell called Life -
I need to break free!

But all I do - all day, all night -
in my daily fantasies
or in my tossing-turning dreams,
is play myself!

Silently!!

I speak silence -
I walk silence -
I eat silence -
I dream silence -

I am loudly silent!

I am ravaged with the feet of
oppression - crunched like a
crisp leaf in an Afrikan* summer
or like kribaa za mihogo in the
mouth of a desperate form two
- but I cry in silence!

My Harvard degree -
and presidency of the world -
does not help me
- I am strangled in silence!

My chidren's blood splashes like
the tomato juice that spills erratically
from a goat's mouth to the walls of
a dung-smeared hut
and I am the one who shoots at them
with spears and AK-47s -

I walk like Johnny Walker -
staggering softly through
the invigorating aroma of
fresh human urine and the
delicious stench of faeces
in a compost heap of flying
toilets -

while my wife's at home
by the hearth stones -
baby on her back -
blowing the cold ash with hope
that it will magically turn to fire

and my son silently shouts,
"Usijali mama, puliza tu!"

"Puliza tu Mama, moto utatokea!"

Mama's smile reveals her crooked
teeth, and the tears in her eyes
narrate the story experience has
taught her - again and again -

Pain rains -
daily -

The neighbors come and take
my goat away - then they put a red X
on the door of my dung hut -
then they pour water on it - and it
evaporates beneath this Afrikan
sun that bites -

then they smile at me - then they say
they want to "develop" me - then they
take my flying toilets away - then they
keep directing the play that is my life

Oh!
I forgot to thank them for this jojo in
my stomach - they say they'll make me
throw up - and take it away - then make
me eat the dust...
and the vomit, too

and I play my part in silence!

They love me!
Both the audience and the director
I am their favorite actor!

They love my "obedience" -
and my mastery of miming
as a theatrical device -
they adore the sweet art of my silence!

And I - writhing in pain - take a bow

They shout their appreciation as I am
abased - to the ground -
they shout - but we do not hear!

The silence is so loud...
it's the only thing you hear!

When will I let my beauty arise??

Why Be Blind To Beauty??

2008-11-24T05:53:00.000-08:00

>>another of my old ones; Aug '08

There’s a flower somewhere out there
…and a bee is landing on it
There are clouds right up above you…
…those fluffy cotton balls, completely thrown onto
an infinite sea of blue

There’s a giraffe somewhere in Tanzania…
…slim and tall, eyeing the acacia tree it eats
And a Zebra lies beside it…
…enjoying its reflection as it drinks
from a dirty little pond

There’s an endearing girl right next to you…
…and an adorable boy in front of you
There’s something so so beautiful…
…that lies within your reach

There’s so much beauty around us
crying for our attention…
…waiting to be seen!
But there’s so much beauty within us
lazily sleeping…
…lying undiscovered

But can we see all this?

We do not think we are beautiful…
…but I am wondering: then who is beautiful?
We do not love ourselves…
…how will we love anyone else?

Discover yourself, and so enjoy the beauty that resides in you!
Love yourself, and see how easily you will be loved (and love again)!

There is so much power in what

We do not see the beauty around us
Because we have closed our eyes
To the beauty within us
----------------------------------------

Partly inspired by these quotes:
"Loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance!" - Oscar Wilde
"Never underestimate the power of your dreams!" - Kellie Beal

>>Dedicated to Kellie Beal, my BEAUTIFUL friend!!

Beauty In Tangles

2008-11-24T05:44:00.000-08:00

Life is like a bundle of interwoven strings,
each adding to the beauty of the tangle,
– some see the beauty others the tangle.

Some see a beauty, some see a mess -

A Freezing of Moments!

2008-11-24T05:43:00.001-08:00

>>this is another of my old ones; Aug 2008

She bends over the sink,
allowing her long hair to flow onto its wet surface,
then she tilts forward and her head knocks itself
on the tap –
She opens the tap:
A flood of a colorless existence pours down angrily
She stretches her hand, and touches the water.
And though her skin can feel water’s soft caress
Her thoughts are traveling to a non-existent land

She is looking at the water – seeing it – yet not seeing it
Vision looses sense

Thoughts in transit
Her brain is active but her mind is away

Before she returns to the commonplace
She dives deeper into the anti-ordinary
She touches her skin as if to ask
“Am I really here?”
She is convinced that she is not dreaming
– but she cannot prove that!

She looks around herself,
and touches her skin again
…No – she is not dreaming!

But maybe she is in someone else’s dream
Maybe life is just a dream God is having
- It is not!

She is.
She exists.
She has life.
(Or maybe it is life that has her?)

Life is not what we have – it’s what we’re looking for

Time moves us closer to truth

One day we will be able to answer all our questions!
I can’t wait for that day, God!

Seventeen! | Entering Unknown Beauties! | ((reentry for Seventeen Series))

2008-11-24T05:27:00.000-08:00

#4 of the Seventeen Series

>>I wrote this on my birthday! (Princely Day '08)

And so now I AM seventeen!

The winds of change have blown me
and I have floated
endlessly

I have flown on the wings of time
to this place
called today

- beautiful!

And I am faced by a faceless tommorrow
it peeps through the window of a today
that's climaxing into darkness as twilight
knocks in

My heart desires light -
and so it imitates the setting sun
as it sinks -
down...down...
down the bottomless road of the earth

I desire light but darkness seeps in - mightily!

So I become a star
and as the dark gets darker -
I shine brighter

I paint the skies with light -
no matter how small I seem!

Like a marionette - 'cept with free will - I have
been sustained with strings invisible:
holding me - leading me - thru dusks and dawns:
He guides me!

Eternally - at least until now -
the light of day has faded
into the unknown emptiness of
the night -

Even now -
the lucid brightness of sixteen
is immersed in a quick evanescence -
it invisibly rushes past me - slowly:
it rushes slowly - and seventeen -
like a beautiful darkness -
comes in -

Seventeen:
I enter you boldly!

Coldblooded Murder | At Bethel

2008-11-24T04:35:00.000-08:00

I was in the corridor when
I heard a thud…
Minutes later I picked a note
…and it read:

Why did you have to disturb
me as I read my poems?
Why did you just come into
my room and disrupt my thoughts?
I was seated on the bed – in the
room – alone! Why did you come?
I was reading silently – absorbing
thoughts – seeing minds at work
and you came with your
mouth – humming and shouting.
Why did you come?

I needed space. I wanted time to
be alone. I didn’t want visitors.
You came.
Why?

You disturbed me. It was your fault.
I wouldn’t have harmed you if you
respected my privacy. I wouldn’t even
have touched you! You went around
touching things in the room
– without permission!
And you made a lot of noise.

I wasn’t even angry when I killed you.
I was just a little irritated. And I didn’t
hit you badly – just one simple blow.
My aim was to silence you – but not
silence you forever.
Forgive me!
I ask for forgiveness!

It was just a single blow
then you cried… then you
stopped…

Why did you have to die?
Forgive me… but you... you are dead
…you can’t even forgive me – I just
hope guys will understand me:

I killed you because you disturbed me
…you silly wasp!

A Note to God

2008-11-21T06:34:00.000-08:00

#3 of the Seventeen Series!

> by Zoe
--she wrote this on my birthday--

>>

Thank you,

For nice sunny rains

For the hyraxes everywhere

For big soft towels

For these big savannah landscapes

For sunscreen (SPF 40+)

For flip-flops with fuzzy threads

For the day I saw a rainbow round the sun

Like a beautiful jeweled crown

For that day when the setting sun colored me peach

I know you did it for me :-)

For the occassional perfect score

For Linda when I can't tame my hair

For knowing why, when I cry

For keeping me together even when I feel I am in pieces

For Princely: to cry on
[make more of these Lord - haha]

For Sing Afrika: joy

For the Wednesday Night Worship

A place where I can be me, with you

For friends like Michelle,

Moze, Hilda, Dave and Lyn:

They make Daystar worthwhile

For roomies that fetch me water

For the Borehole, Lord (can't take it for granted)

For rocks everywhere:

they remind me of you - My Rock!!!!!

For quiet Saturdays

When everyone's not there but you

For handling ever so gently,

they that matter most to me!

Thank you for the Dining Hall food (though I detest it) -

For chips being in the menu

and for Afia (Lord, you knew I'll need it)

For Chapo Smokie (don't like it) -

thanking you for those who do

For good books that tickle,

Little Inn's guacamole,

and this world full of funny people.

Thank you for the La Flams,

for my Sunday pals -

how I have grown to love them!

Doulos: papaa - thanx a lot,

MA!!!!

The High Table boyz:

It can't get any sillier...lol!!

For pillows, and faded jeans,

For friendships that outlast time,

For hearts that continue to love mine

For arms that stay wrapped around me.

Thank you for the quiet moments,

when I forget all the projects due,

close my eyes, and - inevitably - find you!

Thank you for being unchanging

and when I am changing - for understanding!

AND!!!!...most of all

Thank you for days

that the server is down -

Lost all my work -

TWICE!!!

(...imagine!!!)

And all I can do...

...is write all this for YOU!!!

Reply

2008-11-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

# 2 of the Seventeen Series

>>

Much Love!
May the light in you shine soooooooooo bright -
to illuminate you -
to show you where to tread -
to allow reflections of the beauty that your are -
but to blind demons, and the Devil -
and to burn your troubles ((and dragons??))

----------
In reply to Dan's "Wish on Facebook"

A Wish on My Wall on Facebook

2008-11-21T05:52:00.000-08:00

#1 of the Seventeen Series

>>

Long may you live -
conquer the dragons of your world,
find the light,
that your end may be more glorious
than your beginning.
May your Death be quick and painless,
and may you long foresee it,
that you may make ready ere the end
...
but before that time comes,
have a wonderful ride through this "Life"-thing!

By Daniel Mugo
------------------

//This is the first poem I received for my birthday!! - on my wall on facebook//

------------------------
with tiny apologies to Dan, my friend

Welcome to The SEVENTEEN Series: Celebrating ME - Nov 13th

2008-11-17T05:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome...

...where do I begin??

Nov 17th marks the opening of the Seventeen Series (limited edition) - enjoy:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 13th of November is Princely Day, and to celebrate it a new series has dawned: welcome to The Seventeen Series!

Designed to appreciate and celebrate my seventeen years on this beautiful planet:

<<Rewind: Nov-12th-2008, a Wednesday! (exactly one week after Obama's win)
Morning: an almost-boring Math class. Get results for the last CAT. Not good: a B+
Class ends!
Afternoon: Very hungry organism. Rush to Dining Hall. First one in for lunch!! (haha - that means I get soooooooo much french fries, and sooooo hot too). French-fries and burger - mmmm - delicíosó!
After-lunch: Go to Imani. Read about Obama. Discuss Obama with Manius (I have strong reservations towards Obama!!). Very heated discussion! We forget - for an hour or so - that we were to do math! Obamascussion continues... OMG we have to do Math! Math for an hour!! I remember promise to Titus. I have to go for prayers at Anne-Marie's. At 2:00. OMG: it's 3:00.
Rush rush rush!! Zoom off to off-campus! I am surprised to see almost all my friends (including ORAY and KEVO) at the "prayer meeting." I am a very happy fella. Somebody takes my iPod
...so iChat with Nancy.
Gotcha: then cakes and sodas start coming in, and being hidden. I see them. Nothing crosses my mind though. Then, boom: "SURPRIIIIISE" - I join in the chant. In my mind I'm like "who is it we're surprising."
Soooo??: "But why are all eyes on me??" "Umm, could it be... NO! They can't be surprising me!! Why would they? It's not even my birthday or death day or anything!!"
After two minutes of loading, my mind finally understands. The person being suprised is actually me. They couldn't do it on the thirteenth. Being the genius that I am (or so they think) I must have known that it was MY surprise party. (Well, Linda also prayed that God blinds me so I don't even guess anything!) These feelings of... surprise? - shock? - what??... run up and down my throat. My heart freezes. I can't even show anything!! OMG! (at least it was Julian and Monique's party too coz I also got a few laughs when the two froze in a shocking "you too!!")

For all of you who almost made my birthday a deathday - thanx for the surprise!
Thanx Anne-Marie for the house; thanx Zoë for being big sis (and all the "benefits" that come with that) for seventeen years now; Michelle - my Daystar Mom - I thank God Linda didn't claim me for her son (si unamjua ana watoto elfu kumi!) - you're a blessing; thanx to all my friends for almost killing me, for adorning the party, for being yourselves and making me a better thing by allowing myself to fluorish around you - you're the greatest gift I have (is this true?? - haha!!); and - very very much - to Linda, for being Ramboo and orchestrating all this for undeserving me, for being a dustbin of my old not-so-funny jokes (and enjoying it), for washing the dishes (even when I ask you to help), for bringing Nduko and Mwumbuo (incorrect spelling?), for listening to God, and for...____________fill the gaps bwana nimechoka...

Mami and Papi, where would I be without you? (literally):

For being the change you want to see in this world.

For allowing a fusion of your genes to create this beautiful soul called me.

For giving me the most handsome name the world has ever boasted of.

For praying for me even before I was born.

For being supportive of me in almost all I do.

For never ceasing to believe that I am a genius - especially when I got straight-Fs in math in high school (and now, at sixteen - youngest in my varsity - and getting straight-As in math except for this one B+) -- well I just turned seventeen (sweetly sad).

For loving me so truly, and teaching me that love is not an emotion but an act of the will (I see you choosing to love each other every day).

For shaping me into whatever I am today (though God, frenz, school, myself and some other entities have played a big role in this too).

For chapaing me, teaching me, strengthening me, and even playing with me.

For being the sort of parents I can hug and kiss and play with and love on without fear, regrets or doubt.

For laughing at my "dey'spozedas", giving me money to buy clothes you think are WEIRD (in capital letters).

For giggling your hearts out when you found me on my PS2 at 3:55am then sterning up and saying, "nenda kalale we mtoto!"

For helping me see my strengths and discard my weaknesses.

For beleiving in God even when we don't have anything to our name then seeing God give us all we need. (That IS faith!!)

For practicing what you preach.

For giving me your iPod when mine got lost!!

For writing desperate emails every once in a while: "I am writing to know if my Princely got safely to school. Or did he die on the way??" (haha)

For all the tears we've shared, and all you've shed (most were from me).

For the fights and the reconciliations.

For teaching me to take the bitter pill when I know it's the right thing to do.

For caressing my sweet tooth.

For...

doing...

all...

this...

for...

SEVENTEEN...

years...

now!!!

Isn't that a BLESSING!!?? (Note: the "that"refers to me! - haha)

Now, jealous folk are wondering why these two peeps get a whole book of thanks. These folk knew me before I even knew myself.
--Once upon a time, a guy with a tail met this other one, and then... (you know the rest of the story)--

God bless you!!

--------------------------------------------------------
The next few poems are part of The Seventeen Series, this is a collection of poems, writings and pieces given to me on Novemeber 13th: Princely Day!

--------------------------------------------------------
Read, Comment, Enjoy!!

Back to Black (unplugged edition)

2008-11-17T04:29:00.000-08:00

This is one of my old ones, written>> August:

Sue: Now you're making me turn red!!
Me: Okay - get back to black!
Sue: What do you mean "get back to black!"?
Me: Wait and see!
----------------------------------------------
Above is the dialogue that gave birth to this poem!!

A friend comments on a guy we like
then all heaven is loose:
We turn red...
Red with love
Red with passion
Red with blood...
We feel our faces heating up
and our cheeks becoming hot wet paint -
Red paint!!

(Nobody else sees it though
for our beautiful skin -
colored like the soil - hides all
the redness!)

At times we struggle:
Every step we take seems to take us
either closer, or farther,
to, or from, the one we love
We fight a battle every centimetre -
every inch's a strife!

Our days are spent in blissful thinking
and hopeful wishing...
Every second's a desire that the one
we love may notice us
...and love us back!

Our dreams are wasted happily
Our time is lost in joy
We throw our thoughts away, with smiles
...all day we think of "us"

We imagine "us"
We wish "us"
We dream "us"
We love "us"
...and pray for "us"

We feel like running to this human being
Running to embrace them, hold on to them,
and just love on them.
Our bodies become kettles
and our blood is heated up -
It playingly runs around our veins
...mastering a childish grace

(All that just because our eyes met theirs!)

But...
we choose not to start the fire
...not to get burnt to ashes
by this ever-blazing flame
We choose not to awaken love
...not to arouse this beautiful beast
until it so desires

We cool our emotions down
telling them to wait:
"for my time has not yet come"

One day we'll share this truth

One day we'll be free to fly on
the red wings of love
seated on the red coach of hearts
with our prince or our princess
beneath an Afrikan sunrise:
Red clouds, orange sky,
and golden twinkles in our eyes:

A beautiful day comes to an end
and another one begins!!

But today...
...we move from red to black:
Back To Black!!

Afrika, The Baobab!

2008-11-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

Afrika - like a baobab - big and strong:
Outwardly withering away
Inwardly refreshed and renewed -
day by day...
The scorching heat of the unending sun -
The crazy storms of life -
The poverty in greenness - drought all around;
But Afrika, the Baobab, never dies!
Filled with enough water to last all droughts...
...with a beauty uniquely your own...
...lone...misunderstood...underappreciated;
yet alive and strong!
An unspoilt virgin: Afrika, the beautiful!
Now, as the sun sets behind you
A beautiful silhouette of dry twigs - stretched out -
like a maze of a million lifted hands is all that's left!
The dark has come. All is gone.
But the strength in you remains - my Afrika!
The heat! Storms! Droughts!
You remain beautifully you: My Afrika!

Beauty - it's what's inside!!!

Choirmaster of The Drones

2008-11-17T02:48:00.000-08:00

With your low humming voice – sweet
and mellow – persistent and clear –
you would make a dreadfully great
choirmaster!
…and choreographer too!!

Dancing in widening circles – projecting
your voice higher with every turn – odiously
you invite two more yous – and they join –
humming harmoniously to your wordless song!

The good thing is that no matter how loudly
you sing – with voice so strident and deafening –
I remain undisturbed by your tiny presence –
(except the noise made by the flap of your wings)

…we could even use you in Sing Afrika!

Rusting Staple Pin

2008-11-17T02:32:00.000-08:00

(picked between the cracks of the pavement leading to our college library)

If only I knew the story behind
this rusting piece of metal
abandoned – thrown – into the cracks
of this olden pavement
Maybe…
tears would roll down my cheek to the ground
Or maybe…
I would jump up and down, laughing hysterically
Or maybe…
I would shine with enlightenment
Or maybe…
nostalgia would hit me – and I’d envision a long lost friend
But maybe I’d throw it down and wish I never knew the story –
or picked it up in the first place!

[haha – stuck in the futility of wishing things would be different! “Different” isn’t necessarily synonymous to “better” – but why want anyways]

Seventeen | Entering Unknown Beauties!

2008-11-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

I wrote this on my birthday! (Princely Day '08)

And so now I AM seventeen!

The winds of change have blown me
and I have floated
endlessly

I have flown on the wings of time
to this place
called today

- beautiful!

And I am faced by a faceless tommorrow
it peeps through the window of a today
that's climaxing into darkness as twilight
knocks in

My heart desires light -
and so it imitates the setting sun
as it sinks -
down...down...
down the bottomless road of the earth

I desire light but darkness seeps in - mightily!

So I become a star
and as the dark gets darker -
I shine brighter

I paint the skies with light
- no matter how small I seem!

Like a marionette - 'cept with free will - I have
been sustained with strings invisible:
holding me - leading me - thru dusks and dawns:
He guides me!

Eternally - at least until now -
the light of day has faded
into the unknown emptiness of
the night -

Even now -
the lucid brightness of sixteen
is immersed in a quick evanescence -
it invisibly rushes past me - slowly:
it rushes slowly -
and seventeen -
like a beautiful darkness -
comes in -

Seventeen:
I enter you boldly!

The Drop:

2008-11-13T04:27:00.000-08:00

Without - 'tis one that wrestles
Within - one content!

(this is written in reply to Emily Dickinson's "I saw a drop wrestling in the sea - ")

Read the next "Behind the Poetry" for more from this poem!!

Mixing The Wines:

2008-11-13T04:08:00.000-08:00

They spend their time
staggering in laughter
- ridiculing those who
use only eyes and disregard
the body
Arriving at "well-calculated" conclusions
that the body without
the eyes can move
towards truth and grasp
it...

...who will use both the
body - to move - and the
eyes - to see - the truth
he is moving towards??

I will...
...you?

Read the next "Behind the Poetry" for the story, inspiration, mood, literary devices, expounding... and so much more on this poem!
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Read, Comment, Enjoy!

Behind the Poetry >entry1<

2008-11-10T06:16:00.000-08:00

[[[[[Scroll down past this article for the poems discussed in it -- Zoe; Poetry in Motion; and Sunset]]]]
--------------------------------------------

"The universe is made up of stories, not of atoms!"
{I forget who said this}
---
[[[[[Scroll down past this article for the poems discussed in it -- Zoe, Poetry in Motion and Sunset...]]]]
Every piece of writing has a story behind it!
To enhance your enjoyment, appreciation and understanding of the poems I write - for you - a new series has been born. One that will unveil with great intricacy the beauty of every poem... one beauty after another! And because my poems are mere reflections on the great richness of the human condition - the intricate design the greatness of the human spirit - and the immense beauty of truth, all they do is reflect you - the beautiful you! My poems reflect you! So the more you enjoy them, the more you enjoy yourself - and the more you understand the infinite truths: that you are powerful beyond measure, that the spirit in you is strong, and that your real beauty is the beauty of your soul!

The Behind The Poetry series will be written in prose form - unlike the other entries in my blog - as it seeks to capture the inspiration that stirred me towards the writing of the poems that precede its entry. I will paint a picture of the inspiration, the mood, the essence, the setting, the picture, and just a slice of the intended meaning!!

The world is like a painting - and every color, every shade, every hue, every saturation, every contrast - yes - every little difference adds to its beauty and depth. Every one poem is uniquely different from the next, and this difference is its beauty. Its difference is its contribution to the great painting! For you to enjoy it to its fullness it is, therefore, vital that you understand and appreciate the difference it brings - and the uniqueness that it is! The beauty of the universe lies in its diversity; and the beauty of the universe's diverse entities lies in their unique differences. This series will repaint - with greater detail and lucidity - the beauty of the poems you have read and enjoyed - making you enjoy them even better!

Here we go!!:

Behind... "Zoë"
Written? >>Nov-2008-9th
Where? >>Lecture Room 10 (at the Lukenya Complex - here at Daystar University)
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>>this is a Behind The Poetry entry for "Zoë" scroll down past this entry to read the poem itself
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It was a beautiful evening, which is November's natural bias, and the sun - getting closer to the western horizon with each ticking second - was about to set. Now beautiful November is the month where everything in this part of the world has a tinge of green in it - the flowers bloom, the grass springs, and the trees hold a dance in the wind - and our world is BEAUTIFUL!
Now, seated like a statue on one of LR10's cobweb-void corners was I. I was lost! Completely lost in that lovely world around the corner of our minds - the one we call IMAGINATION!! The world where the impossible does not strive to happen! A universe of possible impossibilities. It is in that world that I began to see the gorgeous face of my sister Zoe on a matching moon-lit night. The first thing I saw was the silvery glow of the moon's-light on her delicate chocolatey skin! Silver and chocolate - mmmhh!! - lovely combination. It is from there that the "real world" began to fade in my eyes - the evanescence began - and I traveled beyond the corners of my mind to the land whose sun the poets love to bask under! And the whole story of a worldwide beauty icon, with her cameraman, beside a pool on a silvery night taking pictures developed bit by bit. At first, I wanted to call this poem AMINA - which is the name of the lead character in my play "The Lovechild" - but every step of imagination that I took convinced me that the girl I was describing is my sister Zoe.

I wanted to end the poem after finishing the first stanza - then a wicked idea lighted up my head (haha Zoe) - instead of letting the narrative end in the well-established romantic mood, I would spice it up a bit with a dash of reality!! And so that is how the part where Zoe wakes up into a dull reality came in - she has to "lazily push her blanket away / [and] lazily walk towards Daystar's dirty depressing toilets" and then she goes on to face a day "full of dead-ends and deadlines" with a "tired face" (haha Zoe - again!)

From the beautiful november blooms, to the entry into IMAGINATION, and the little wicked idea that sucked the romance out of this word-painting - THIS is the inspiration that stirred me to write "Zoë"
It is obviously dedicated to Zoe - my darling sister, who I was seeing the whole time I was writing this poem - and, somehow, to Rosey Nadima and Nyamburah Mwangi - my lovely friends who I was thinking of just before I wrote this beauty!

Well, see beyond the romance, the diction, the movement, and the imaginative prowess - all elaborately involved in the making of this poem - and find truth! What is the meaning in this poem?? Despite this being mainly an artistic endeavor aimed mainly at making you see something - the picture you just saw - there is so much depth that can be extracted from it. You need only look beyond the obvious!

A shade of the intended meaning>>
Many times we enjoy our dreams more than our lives. We are drawn to the colorful realities of our imagination more than the seemingly dull realities we live with. This poem is written in praise of the powers of imagination - the ones that ensure the thriving of our spirits - that embellish the human condition with a stubborn hope! Hope is that our dreams can be turned into realities. Hope is that, if we wake up - face our lives with positivity gained from our dreams - aspire to follow our hearts, then follow them - we very can make our world a better place. It is dreams that keep us going even in our darkest nights. It is our aspirations that fuel us to move towards a brighter tomorrow - because we can!

It also shows how Afrika is heavily polluted with western culture (look now - you even think I've misspelled my Afrika), with western ideals and western lifestyle-definitions. Look at the "stilettos", the evening gown, the catwalk, the "wind-blown hair"... all these are regarded marks of elegance, and beauty - as defined by the West. Even in our dreams! We aspire to become "better" - but according to western standards. If I described the girl in authentic Bantu definitions of beauty - the romance, the exquisiteness, the elegance - in your mind - would fade away! We view things from a very western-polluted angle. Afrika needs to redefine itself! But before we do anything, let us first be aware of the greatness of our cultures and appreciate them!

Okay - no more expounding - scroll down to the end of this page click "Zoë" and enjoy the search for more truths in this poem - Read, Comment, Enjoy!!

(P.S: I have written a descriptive literary analysis for this poem, and copies are available - if you are reachable!! - contact me @ princelyforchrist@gmail.com)

Behind...

Behind... "Poetry in Motion: How Poems Are Written!"
Written? >>2008-November-7th
Where? >> On the newly-built pavement to Bethel Place
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>>this is a Behind The Poetry entry for "Poetry In Motion" scroll down to read the poem itself
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I was coming from Bethel - the Hostel which I live in here at Daystar - one evening and then thoughts started to "erratically drop" in my head! I had just met Linah and Aunt Kathé and I was very happy to see them for as long as it takes to my room and back. These thoughts began their "dropping" as I got out of Bethel's gate and said Hi to the gatekeeper - and, at this time, there existed no hint of nostalgia - I could not think, let alone remember, anything. My mind resounded with these words, "The mind makes a move / and the hand mimics it..."

Now, I remember the cold hand of the wind rubbing on my face very very hardly - chilling to the bone! And I am nostalgic of a slight drizzle - as if the clouds were just beginning to piss - which, added to the continual chilly breeze made me rattle and shake!! But, I couldnt make another step without sitting down and writing the words ringing in my head. "The mind makes a move / and the hand mimics it..." (This is a very stubborn poem!)

This is how this poem found me. (I was not looking for it - it found me!) So, I remember, I sat down on the pavement - whose cement was still quite wet (haha) - and I wrote this poem.
And even now...
"A journey is made - again and again -
as the mind moves, the hand moves"

I began to see thoughts oozing down from the brain - "down the nerves" - to the hand; and the hand mimicking the mind's movement and writing down a beautiful poem!
This poem summarises the conception, fusion (of words - the gamettes), and delivery of the poem - or at least I know one man who gives birth to poems like this. It also discusses the main purposes of a poem - and brings to light the infinite worth of an idea captured in words, employing three simple words towards that end: "for latter use."

A Sunset Watched From LR10 - Through The Window - Festooned by The Shadowy Figure of An Acacia Tree in Bloom
Written? >>2008-November-7th
Where? >>LR10
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>>this is a Behind The Poetry entry for "A Sunset..." scroll past this entry to read the poem itself
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This poem has an unusually long title - I know! It is probably the first thing one notices as he begins to read it! Another thing of note is that it is written in very fine sincerity, and employs a subtle humor to achieve a certain effect in the careful reader. I wrote this poem as I was copying "Zoë" into my notebook - and this beautiful ("beautiful" is an understatement) sunset comes out with all these rich colors fading into one another in a hazy gaseous tangle. I remember running from my chair in the "cobweb-void" corner I was sitting towards the window to the west of LR10. I cried out with exaggerated exuberance, "Oh - a sunset!" Hoping that the girl seated infront of me - her back bent to her books and calculator - would explode in similar joy. She turned with a disgusted look on her face (sorry this is an exaggeration) and roared at me - "I don't look at sunsets." "Why not?" I asked with a surprised joy. "Why?" she rhetorically replied and continued with her mathematics.

The very long title is used to complement the brevity and simplicity of the poem itself by providing the reader a picture of the entity that made me cry, "why did you have to be so beautiful...?" (I have to admit another instance of west-pollution. When I first saw this beauty I exclaimed, in my heart, "O so National Geographic!") And the queer humor is well rounded up to the concluding question, "- dont you know I am a poet?"

The whole poem is a single sentence with a single question. "?" Some things in life are so overwhelming that the language of the mouth, and paper, fails to express them. It is only the language of the heart that can actually "express a pinch of the grains of the beauty" embedded within these eternal moments.
Enjoy!
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Gotta sign out now, somebody's waiting to use the computer (ndiyo ubaya wa comp lab!!)
Thank you! Princely loves you!

Keep Getting IN and Getting INspired!!

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Read, Comment, Enjoy!!

This entry is a Behind The Poetry entry; for the poems discussed herein scroll down and enjoy!! If you do not find the one you're looking for click on "Older posts"

A Sunset Watched From LR10 - Through The Window - Festooned By The Shadowy Figure of an Acacia Tree in Bloom:

2008-11-10T05:57:00.000-08:00

Now - you sunset -
why do you have to be so beautiful
that I cannot find words to even
express a pinch of the grains of your beauty
- don't you know I'm a poet!?

Poetry in Motion: How To Write A Poem!

2008-11-10T05:26:00.000-08:00

The mind makes a move
and the hand mimics it –
pen moves on paper –
erratically, thoughts drop –
a poem is written
for latter use –
for people to find meaning in it
And through the brain –
down the nerves –
a journey is made – again and again –
as the mind moves, the hand moves…

Zoë:

2008-11-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

The moon shone on her cocoa-brown skin
and a silvery sheen settled on her bright pink lips.
Light played on her shiny black gown as she walked past the silent pool
and her shadow danced to the musical tunes of her movement.
A leaf crunched beneath the feathery tread of her stilettos
while other leaves rustled as they wrestled with the wind
and she kept walking – ting… ting… ting…
…gracefully…
With a subtle spring in her step – and legs crossing each other –
she walked towards a handsome guy kneeling beside the pool
with two red roses sleeping gorgeously next to him
…and a camera in his hand…
which clicked –
as her luscious lips parted to show off bright milky teeth
and as she bent to play with the water
and as she posed with the roses – pretending to kiss them
and as she closed her eyes to reveal the mascara – and the pinkness on her eyelids
and as her delicate brown fingers bejeweled her wind-blown hair
…
she was a supermodel

She rubbed her still-sleepy eyes when she woke up –
at 6:00 to try and finish the assignment due –
at 8:45 – and this lecturer is very strict!
Lazily pushing the blanket away and walking towards
Daystar’s dirty depressing toilets to ease herself – then wash her tired face
…
another long tiring day – full of dead-ends and deadlines – is about to begin

…but it was a beautiful dream!