Alone, Just Alone!

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
!!

Retouched

Rrrr...

Rrrrrrrr...

tap - pat - tap - rat-at-tat

Rrrrrrrr...

Rrrr...

The rain drops touch
my silvery skin

AGAIN!

Endless Romance (Just A Relationship)

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!

Ta Waru Na Mũtũra

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!!!

Beneath The Floor Of Heaven

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?

Mapenzi Ya Neema

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!!

I Kissed The Sky

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?

Kisses Better Than Wine | Divine Romance!

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

Letter to...

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 Best Things

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!!

Back to Black (unplugged edition)

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!!

Zoë:

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!