Category: Poems
-
Retracing the steps – 5
For a long time, I kept turning down girls who were interested in me. I thought their expressions of love were immoral. That was what my Christian upbringing made me believe. In my little head and small mind, all I saw was me waiting for that day when I had my own apartment, a secure…
-
Many unread chapters
Hard, wooden faceYou tell me moving stories I’m not moved MotionlessEmotionlessLike a treeIt’s not that I’m toughOr heartlessI’ve cried so many timesNow tears don’t comeEven when they’re supposed toI’m not bitterI’m gratefulTo God for all the trying times enduredSome show gratitude to GodThe instant He does something for themI like to keep my gratitudeChopping it into…
-
Damaged reputation
Those momentsYou look backAnd wonderHow the hellDid I descend so lowTo these pitsHow did I bring myselfTo such humiliation To do such an abominable deedThe very things I speak againstPreach againstWas I under a spell? But instead of blaming fateBlaming othersBlaming circumstances I take responsibility It’s all my faultNow that I accept my ugliness And…
-
Hope chimes
LostIn the search for selfLostMany friends wounded inadvertentlyLostSo many years learning so littleLostTrying to make meaning of failuresLostAll energy in staging a comeback LikeMidnight bells, hope chimesLikeA morning star, I shall ariseLikeThe blazing sun, I shall shine againLikeA raging bull, I shall win this race https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2023/06/26/what-do-you-see-192-june-26-2023/
-
A collection of memories
me, over thereon grandma’s lapsGeorgina, our puppy,the house help,didn’t knowa picture was being taken he. he’s no more. snakebite here, under these treeswe held a simple prayer ceremonybringing along food and drinksand flowersplucked from trees along the roadwas the custom every Christmas there! mom in her teensher once pretty facenow taken overby cobwebs of wrinkles…
-
foggy path
she strutted through the open doorto a photograph on the room walla supermodel in a nude pose starreddown at hershe had come to say goodbyeto years gone by every girlhe’s tried to bendinto a relationship, brokeno choice but to let it all goseems he too had come to the terminusof writhing in wrath and endless…
-
Flight mode activated
Eve of RamadanGrandmothers, children and half a villagePursue a sheep in flightLucky runners winning blisters from hot collisions along the way“Catch me if you can!”The sheep seems to bleat in mockeryAs it narrowly misses sticks and insultsHurled at itThe villagers pursue harderMumbling prayersMumbling strengthFrom Allah the Most Merciful
-
If you believe
in every heroyou saw yourself, Rambo,Van Dame, Beastmaster,Schwarzenegger, Texas Rangerand the hustler in a ghettowho believed in a brighter tomorrow why have you let a few tearsyou’ve shed over the yearsdampen your belief in yourselfand steal the joy in goals you’ve set?give ignitiononce again, to your ambitions autumn is timefor shedding leaves, go ahead and…
-
Temptation
have you seen a Phariseein a pharmacy?ever heard of a rattlesnakein a milkshake?or an ice creamfrom a wet dream? saw it in a Hollywoodmovie staged in InglewoodCaliforniawhere the protagonist had herniawho ever thoughthis idle mind would be the next stop for a devil on a guilt tripsuch a weird filmof how unbriddled inclinationscould be tools…
-
wind of change
unspoken ruleswoven into lightening whipsland mercilessly on the backsof storm cloudsthey charge across the skylike chariots of fireracing after the windit’s a race for timein a wind of changedisguised as a thunderstormwhich won’t be here for long https://amanpan.blog/2022/09/27/moonwashed-weekly-prompt-thunderstorm-september-27-2022/
-
call me Caesar
call me Caesarruler of the wild and unconventionalanointed with scars into a starand symbol of dominionmy genes are allergic to defeatborn to keep risingbecause kings do not falleven in the noise of warmthand comfortwe hear the call of the wildto return to the greatnesswe livedon rough roadsin tough jungles https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2022/09/26/what-do-you-see-153-september-262022/
-
#NatureSpeaks: 30 Poems in 30 Days – Day 1: Hot Ashes, by Benjamin Nambu
These same streets of loveYou once roamedWith your head bowedStewing in the hot ashesOf burnt hopesIn these same streetsYou shall walk againHead raisedAs if to see what the narrow pathAnd heat were trying to revealLessons and blessings, nestlingIn ashes Hot Ashes was inspired by the poem Butterfly Love. You can read more of Benjamin Nambu’s…
-
One sea, Two scenes
Birds on a seashoreTweeting gleefully, like kids on a seesawFamiliar notes, like those of a theme songPositive vibes, for the weak and strong Waves, heaving like a sleeping dragonIts patience, creaking like a weeping wagonFuming, like a seething PythonAll its theatrics, fleeting, bygone https://amanpan.blog/2022/09/20/moonwashed-weekly-prompt-theatrics-september-20-2022/
-
How does it feel?
What does it meanto be a mother? To what can labor pains be comparedfor a man to understand? How does it feelto mother ingratitude,to raise an ungrateful child? How does it feelafter 9 monthsof 9 hellsto be unwelcomed homeby an abusive husband? How does a mother feelseeing her childthat reminds herof how far they bothhave…
-
Festival of dreams
Inhabitants of villages in the darknessof a dark continentof black peoplewith dark hopesin the city of lights for the first timethe mesmerizing effectsmake a people feel guiltyfor staining the bedazzling sightwith their inferior skin and identitythey wonderif there’s space in the lightfor the blacksomewhere in the massesstands a little black boyblind to critics, racists,politricks,politics, and…
-
Eighteen Long Years ( Published at MasticadoresUSA )
I am pleased to announce that my poem “Eighteen Long Years” has been published at MasticadoresUSA. I would like to thank Gabriella Marie Milton and the team at MasticadoresUSA for showcasing my piece. Special thanks to Grace Y. Estevez ( GraceoftheSun ) Here’s the link to the poem: https://wp.me/pbttrx-18O
-
seventies
born in the ninetiesattached to anything antiquewatching a music video of the 70sa disco in Cape Towndazzling streets, hypnotizing sounds of artists, young, gifted, and blackmusicians with incredible knackfor releasing subtly lustful trackstracks on weedfor dancers on heat vanityinsanityof the seventiesfantasies ofa nineties born https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2022/09/12/what-do-you-see-151-september-12-2022/
-
Like men that dreamed
Is this Salemor another Harlem?Looks like a priest in a frockOnce stood there, flocked By masses seeking greener pasturesBattling cold, hunger and fracturesFrom ethnic clashesAnd backlashes The stones there, perhaps for namesThat bravely fought for their fameMaybe this ground symbolized toil, screamsLoss, and the fulfilment of long lost dreams https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/
-
It’s great to be alive
The birds rise in unison Hugging and hooting the arriving winds They skate on the soft south winds Across the shimmering river below Some of them occasionally pooping Into vantage points in the river As the inspiration within guides Living their life mission Doodled into their genes It’s great to be alive!
-
Drink extra
Some take alcohol To give them courage To carry out daunting tasks A person must drink extra If ordinary must be done extraordinarily That’s why I drink inspiration In suicidal doses Got a big life to live https://amanpan.blog/2022/08/23/moonwashed-challenge-ambitious-august-23-2022/
-
A wild child
A wild bird is away Grandma casts perfunctory glances every now and then At its home She’s heating the hearth The smoke snakes out through the window Stinging impotently at the thick foggy air outside Wild bird roaming the woods like a wild child Will soon spot the fumes Beckoning it to return home To…
-
Have you heard?
A boy of Teeth so big as if with secrets That two lips could not keep together Teeth so long They made the day of all kids that met them You can imagine the relief of the little boy When Babylon finally fell When Mother Nature fired those clowns Oh what joy! Those incisors have…
-
Thousand Years
The moon sits Like a firstborn whose place has been taken By her father’s sun Simply because she is a woman August night is her birthnight And no star is here to give her wishes Even the ducks have turned their backs on her Take solace, opalescent moon Breathless and sultry On a humid August…
-
Peace
Tell my little kids Mama wishes them the best in life Tell all my friends who believed in me That I’m sorry Tell those who stabbed me in the back That I forgive them My clansmen have a saying That when travelling Hold no grudges Peace, I leave with you https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2022/08/15/what-do-you-see-147-august-15-2022/
-
Patriotism ( Published at The Writers Club )
Death In the belly of a bomber Floating across the sky As if contemplating The morality of what it is about to do Suddenly, Rains down hell Upon mothers and their children And fathers returning from hunting daily bread Brothers, sisters, and grandmothers burn up Like piles of firewood The screams of little children burning…
-
Travel and C
Travel and see We’ve travelled and we’ve seen That stories of love and of heart breaks Are respecters of no race Travel and see We’ve travelled and we’ve seen What we took for granted Back home Travel and see We’ve travelled and we’ve seen That lands falling behind us as we traveled Were not just…
-
Aching for a walk
It’s a hazy Friday afternoon End of a long fasting and prayer Under mango trees in the bush Hurrying home ahead of my parents To break my fast before my fast breaks me Having filled my belly, my legs ache for a walk In the stretches of vast Savannah grasslands I stroll in the woods,…
-
Footprints in harmattan winds
Trees, yawning in drought Forced to repent their decision to remain rooted instead of fleeing Their once wet barks Branded with scars from sharp gun rays As they stare down At footprints of families gone farming Fading in harmattan winds
-
staring straight at a new dawn
Was growing up into a great donkey A sweet donkey everyone sat on And decided which direction it should go Walking miles in heat and discomfort Swallowing my complaints, careful to not spit them on gold diggers Didn’t even know I’ve got places of my own to go Finally found my path rather late Finally…
-
Time passes by
Was watching an old movie A song of the good old days was playing Slowly, softly, in a bar As everyone danced their hearts out Most of the actors and actresses are dead The rest very very old Wondering if they could see today when they shall be no more Would they have danced more…
-
Machine hearts
“I want to be a soldier!” It’s been his song since childhood Inspired by Batman And the other guy who gums and ‘degums’ himself from buildings to save a girl in danger Little did he know that soldiers wear uniforms Much larger than the passion to defend the defenseless It’s only from high up here…
-
Surrender
The sermon hooked her and squeezed tears from her backslidden soul Her hard heart became a punching bag for the preacher’s punch lines Many times she’s come to this point On her knees Where she’s laid it all down She hopes That this time she’s come back It will be the end Of borrowing without…
-
Sometime in July
I remember the first day your luggage was brought in You were newly married to a man you’ve never met A strange man who had a room in his house he forbade you from entering And who never saw your nakedness I was your servant Curiosity and loneliness recommended me to you I remember that…
-
Buying extra time
Nobody ever gets there overnight Taken lots of fast lanes that led to nowhere Back home and now in bed Sipping coffee and reading stories of other travellers So many detours, so many dead ends And so many dead along the way trying to get there As I put the pieces together I see where…
-
Two naked hands clasp a third
Many hands have clasped mine in theirs Like tenants of a room they have come and gone Taking with them my eagerness to forgive and let go And my faith to be healed again You have brought it all back in one clasp I have read the unspoken message in your warmth And you can…
-
Forever
A doorway into afterlife An ugly exit Where everyone has gone with the wind No man’s land where every man lands A door with a post only those inside can read So much talk about this place At last, this is how it looks Not impressed Response to Sadje’s picture prompt on What do you see #144 July…
-
this life
Life is a riddleYou give the impression you’ve solved it when you are dead Life is a questionYou must act like you’ve got the answer. Life is a journey to nowhereYet you look odd when you live like you are going nowhere Life is a performanceTo put on the best showYou must try not to…
-
She isn’t listening
In his heart lived stories he’s told no one Stories he’s lived and stories he’s seen He put these big stories into a small book And on this cold winter morning In this small coffee shop by the roadside Overlooking a couple of people waiting for a bus He opens his little book to tell…
-
The introvert
From roaming from one church to another I met you Was looking for a perfect church You were always seated somewhere in the middle there Hardly greeting anyone after service You only looked at me And I returned your look No one said anything to the other Until the day pastor organized a seminar for…
-
Difficult Times
Hunger echoes the sun’s rays in my ears My stomach grumbles It’s the sign That I am near the end The finish line where I get knocked out I tighten my grip on the loaf of bread Wrapped around my shoes in my sack As the sun brightens with more heat It becomes clear That…
-
Born for the rough roads
I was born for the rough roads To roam them And to rule there I was destined to go places Even hell, cracked and cooked I was built to master The roads of rules and conventions To their dead ends And create new paths into the future I was born to win That’s why I…
-
I know a place
There are places a person goes And you just know They were driven by more Than just a head and imagination You know These are places you only get to Standing on great books That draw much more from your soul Than you ever thought you had Places you only reach Bypassing barricades of meanings…
-
Beautiful just the way you are
The fair fine ladies of America Camping in hip-hop stars’ swimming pools in bikini They have imported without transporting The magic of bleaching creams Fatima, Abena and Ifeoma Transformed into Beyoncé, Micky Minaj and Cardi B respectively In just two months and two minutes Black is beautiful They only see when cancer writes it on…
-
Radio Me
Tune in to your true self The version of you unafraid To be criticized Just do your job Of living your life And let your critics do their job Of criticizing you You have no time You only live once So get busy Being you You’ll feel lonely sometimes You’ll fight the urge to return…
-
There will be days
There will be days everyone will be against you Including someone you love deeply and who loves you too so dearly It isn’t that they seek your downfall Perhaps they do not understand you Or a decision you have taken The only faithful dog keeping you company In your journey when everyone leaves Will be…
-
The 143 code
Gagged feelings Tied to whispers Soft moonlight peeps Through a window of the night At the beauty of silence The beauty in coloured voices
-
We came to play
Left the lecturer alone in his lecture hall to socialize with an empty class, noun clauses, phonetic symbols, and bogus theories he’s fabricated to hide his insanity Traded the picture of God sold by the priest for the Living One wearing an apron and guiding the cook, holding the rudder and guiding the captain Experiencing…
-
Crossroad of life and death
The true pleasures of life They live in abundance On the edge of life Where you can easily cross into death Don’t you see Why orgasm is called ‘la petite mort”? Why working out can sometimes make you feel like you’re dying Yet longevity and good health drips from such habits The higher you climb…
-
Concentrated milk
He forgot He was in a hurry His last can of concentrated milk He hopes will last him an eternity and a few days + He forgot to properly cover it Forgot to close the window Forgot to turn off the light in the kitchen But the little ants They don’t forget They never forget…
-
I love the rain
Rain Drumming against our rooftops And windows Inviting us to come outside And see Shadows of the sleeping sun And nature Taking her bath While her children snore And the sky, distributing raindrops The wind, rustling and moving every tree To ensure no piece of earth Goes to sleep thirsty Whiles abundance rain Whiles abundance…
-
Fabricator
Designed for fireworks The wiring in your brain Each time in crises You scratch your head in desperation And an idea lights up You may admire the brilliance But don’t forget to look up And salute the Engineer
-
The sun travels west
The sun travels west Shadows of darkness flocking him to see Where he’s headed Stretching his long legs over continents He journeys over distant lands Not seeming to know what he seeks
-
I saw a movie
Yesterday, we went to see a movie Returning home, I marvelled at the creativity of the director and crew I realized the movie was great because Each one of us saw ourselves in that movie Nobody spoke about the movie as we walked home We all had a secret, personal relationship with the story That…
-
Accidental thoughts – 8
Father in heaven For every smile we put on a face We discovered your face Smiling at our faith In our brother’s fate
-
Accidental thoughts – 7
How shall we honor a master? By decorating him with a badge The badge of a sack of mistakes Mistakes he’s made And now learnt to avoid And in avoiding each previous mistake Traced his path to mastery
-
Accidental Thoughts – 6
It is where trust comes from A long journey So when you see a fine woman Remember, she was not always that fine Someone took her Raw, full of defects And saw beauty Where everyone saw flaws So you too Be mature And stay And work on your woman Stay together through thick and thin…
-
Dues to pay
A thin thread Threatening to break Flames of hope, flickering To soon burn out Gasping for breath On the verge of breaking apart Give up The best motivational quote I ever heard But someone Still believes That I will make it Damn! And she’s not alone I’ve got something to prove to haters too An…
-
I like me
Tune your identity To the new definition of crazy: Be you You’ve tried for too long To be what you are not Prune away stress Be you The wisest doesn’t know it all Your true worth and destiny Lies in no man’s advice You only discover you By being you Sometimes, Conquering the world Winning…
-
That song speaks to me
It was a cold, wet, Saturday evening I had gone to campus to study all day And was now headed home Tired and hungry As I exited the university campus I heard an old English song Playing softly on a radio Hanging in a security post I could not understand What the sad old white…
-
Your past came knocking
Your past came knocking It came with a message packaged in the person of your Ex The urge to open it was strong But I resisted Wanted you to read it and tell me what it means for us Whatever you decide I just want you to know Darling, my collection of happiness That you…
-
Creativity is a child
A true artist Doesn’t impose His lyrics On a beat But let the beat Speak to him A true sculptor Is an emancipator Granting liberty To beauties Trapped in wood and clay A true writer Is always a guest To inspiration His guide On an adventure To unplanned destinations
-
Give me space
His mind An iron mold Casts words into poetry With impressive designs I marvel Starring down at mine The works of my mind Ugly designs Indents here and there From blows of low self-esteem And as I gaze At the stars in the night sky Stars of achievements Achievements of my predecessors I wonder If…
-
Pass it on
She cannot read She cannot write Imagine the wealth of potential Locked behind her walls Of illiteracy If you can read this Help another to see
-
Ripe girls
Love mailed me her glances I hadn’t learnt to read To read her signs The same glance Kept coming In different persons I couldn’t I couldn’t see The message Boldly written On each opportunity One day whiles gleaning lessons From the footprints of time I came across a plantation of ripe girls Seeds of love’s…
-
Adventures within
With outstretched arms Planes fly over my head To embrace Lands I have never seen I stare silently At the giant air sharks Across the sky Sailing away Far away I head home Saddened by visions of adventures I cannot afford Oblivious To adventures within No plane can see or reach No matter how high…
-
A path calls me
I was born running Running with the masses In a race to nowhere And in the middle of nowhere A path calls me Something about this path Like a piece of me has journeyed it before Naked, Unashamed of labels Of being perverse, odd, wild and unruly.
-
Madmen’s Song – A poem
For my breakfast I ate books Lunch was music Movies for supper For dessert, I took the advice of wise friends When I went to sleep, I dreamt ideas And when I awoke, I saw many good things I could do with the pile of junk that filled my world I must get to work…
-
Your past came knocking – A poem
Your past came knocking It came with a message packaged in the person of your Ex The urge to open it was strong But I resisted Wanted you to read it and tell me what it means for us Whatever you decide I just want you to know Darling, my collection of happiness That you…
Diary of a Wanderer 