Tag: picture prompt
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the multitude’s departure
same silence that healscan also hurt same darkness that shieldscan also flare shifting phases require fixing gazes on sifting facesto find the good in the ugly that waywhen the multitude’s departurecasts a lot on our fatelike the moon, every phasewill be a journey through silencethrough darkness through solitude to wholeness https://wp.me/paf3ao-nsU
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love made of wax
our love, made of wax, dwindled the longer it livedlike an echo, i disappeared when ignoredyour promises kept coming but never arrivingkeeping me awake like a riverhaving a bed but never sleeping others used what belonged to memore than i didyet i’ve never grown afraid to keep givingbecause my love grows the more i sharethe…
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The one who returns
It’s Our Daythe last day of the semester for pupilsevery child carries a basket of food, drinks and smiles, dancing cheerfully and tugging at their parents’ dressheading to school my little sister watch them pass byshe’s told mom she won’t be goingwhich is so unlike herunlike the restI watch her, thinkingperhaps God is shielding her…
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Temporary escape
The tourist site we were to visit was changed at the last minute, a day before the D-day. Naturally, our youth leader was furious. He was making the final announcements in church on Sunday afternoon when suddenly the changed destination was mentioned by a woman in the congregation, confirmed by the mother of the assistant…
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inferior
a foot in its bellyhands feeling its tips and sidesthe tweaking foot pausesseems a fitlots and lots of hagglingand counting of what looked like crumpled sweat-softened notesfinally, off the shelf and into a polybaggoing through twists and turns blindfoldedthen into a new home, unto a new shelfnights and days pass bythen the familiar feet returntheir…
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The confinement
I did not know the couple were childless. I had assumed they were recently married. And so when I got the mild rebuke to stop being friendly towards the children on the compound, it made no sense to me. “This is my spiritual father. He came all the way from Mali to attend my wedding.”…
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strange times
It all started with village folktales. Of ghosts loitering in the silence of midnight, stalking a wandering stranger or a lone recalcitrant youth returning home late. As mother lowered the wick of the lantern, the darkness in the room loomed large. I shut my eyes tight, careful to not think about dark tales of the…
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Isn’t a struggle a story ?
I stare at the picture,wondering what to write,noticing my first lines do not rhyme and have no consistent metre I question my motives.To express, or impress ?Maybe I digressto thoughts with no themes. Isn’t a struggle a story?Shouldn’t this writers’ blockbe time to pause,to see beauty even in what seems sordid? https://wp.me/paf3ao-n9y
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same sleep unites them
they gave her water and clayand she molded out history and storiessitting in the soil for centuries… they went to bed at different timesbut the same sleep unites them different facessculpted on different daysmolded out of same clay Different beginnings Same tale from dust they camenaked and not ashamedone by one they withered and felllike…
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night falls with its eyesores
as night falls with its eyesoreshawling memories of the day beyond the horizonhordes of people return homesome to mess, and debtsmurmuring in low tonesothers return with relief,glad to have found the holy paycheckto purchase their daily breadand peacesinging Hallelujahloud enough to be heardeven in Californiabut however your day may beI hope the lessons can be…
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Her name is Samira -part 2
Genuinely, I meant every promise I made. But fate was bent on testing every alphabet in my words. It all started with the withholding of my salary over some friction I had with the secretary. He made some deductions from my salary because I was absent without permission. I explained that I was too ill…
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Her name is Samira
My weakness was that I couldn’t be discreet. Which was why when I fell in love with the cook, the affair was like an open secret. Was it love? I couldn’t tell what label to put on a mixture of lust, loneliness and desperation. She didn’t resist my advances, neither did she give me the…
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boredom is a blessing
boredom is a blessingfertile grounds for sowingconsistent habits into daily routines just aseverything has a nameso doeseverything has its place just aseveryone has their tastesso doeseveryone has their pace soevery time you face delaysin your hasty climb to famejustlock your focus onto that Rock of AgesWho never fails, never shames, never wanes
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A lonely trip to Tripoli
a lonely trip to Tripoliwhere abandoned motel light bulbs dangle in violent windslike the balls of a bull in motioncasting concrete eerie shadowson squeaky doors with no keysscreaming softlyas if mourning the death of a once buoyant city a lone guitarist plays for the listening windsmessages that never reach the earsof the sleeping, heaving wavesof…
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Butukwen and his mother
Her son had a challenge. Physically, he was alright. Mentally, he was unstable, couldn’t sit at one place and behaved more like a toddler for his age. Personally, I felt his mother should have looked for a personal teacher for him, a teacher who taught him at home. Or maybe, the school should have separate…
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Tension
The receptionists were new. I exploited their inability to distinguish guests from staff. Slowly, I approach their desk. A stranger desperate to bypass them without being checked will try hurrying past while they were attending to some visitors, and this usually aroused their suspicions. I’ve been observing all this from a distance. And so, I…
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Last time I saw Uncle Maduk
The last time I saw Uncle Maduk, he told me he knew he wasn’t going to survive the operation, and that by the time I am back for the next holidays, he might be no more. He thanked me for constantly paying him visits, bringing him fruits despite the rumors that he was an evil…
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For how long?
Today you have the power to squash someone underneath your toe. But the human spirit is unlike the body of an insect. It’s tough, refuses to die, keep coming, and will always strike back. Imagine the spirit of an entire nation. What is the sense in abusing power? No matter how powerful you are, how…
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Only believe
I’ve come to what seems like my endwhere patched hopes refuse to mendbarriers refuse to bendthe raging sea in my pathrefuses to part and all I hear in the midst of the rising tidesis a still small voice reminding meto only believe Holding onfeels like waiting for stones to ripenI do not know if I…
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Dawn prayers
Was woken up at dawn. Had to listen for a while before I knew what the noise was all about. Dawn prayers. At this point they were in the middle of a sermon. Was about to return to my sleep when I heard something amusing. The preacher was talking about how we black people are…
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Listening to Enya
Hit songs are addictive, forcing us to put them on replay mode for days. With time, the punch lines in the lyrics lose their energy and sparkle, the funny jokes in the songs become dry.I used to think this was the cycle of every good song until I came across some masterpieces. It was December…
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to the hospital
It’s my birthday. Unfortunately, I will be spending it in the hospital. Following my instincts, I do not leave early. Which is something nobody would do. Because, our hospitals are famous for having too many patients than any number of doctors can handle.Patients tend to rise early to make it to the hospital on time.…
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Wandering in the woods
A quiet afternoon. Two lovers drift into woods nearby. Intermittent giggling echoes through trees as they run on, as if to escape the prying eyes of the sun searching through trees swaying in the late Friday afternoon winds. It looked dangerous from outside. Now that they were inside the jungle, they saw things differently. The…
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wake every beast
honed every skilltried every trickcombed every streetwoke every beastcrossed every seatossed every diceate every lielicked every woundpaid every duesplayed every tunedealt every cardtook every chanceknocked every doorfought every dogticked every box yet for all my effortsa harvest of winds but I keep pressing onunrelentingly https://wp.me/paf3ao-m3z
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The lone bird is done singing
The lone bird is done singing,and the migratory season is here.It has joined its clanto sail across the sky,to a new land. We cannot help but keep lookingwhere it once stood, singing.The lone bird is no more,only echoes of its voice. Like nicknamesof old high school friendsheld together in indelible inkagainst fading classroom walls,your name…
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Love ripens slowly
Love ripens slowlyBonds deepen softlyAnd I, with my impatienceHave ruined many opportunitiesLike some black sheepdressed in greenTo light up the screenFor all to see InexperienceAnd the lack of humility to learnTwo rodentsThat have ruined many beautiful beginnings https://wp.me/paf3ao-lZh
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This nosy Tijani of ours
Watching him from the summer hut under which we grilled meat and prepared drinks to be served to customers reminded me of spy movies I watched a long time ago. He looked like a spy. Or maybe he was one. One could never be sure. We could predict when he’ll come, the things he was…
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Echoes of a forgotten past
It was the kind of place everyone dreamt of goingNot because it was a place meant for the richBut because of the peace, quiet, calmJust something about the placeCalling the soul to come take a look at least onceIn a lifetimeSo many stories about the placeOf how great friends reconnected thereOf how people met the…
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I prepare the food basket
As I hurried with the basket of food over my headin the direction of the farm, I imagine the scene awaiting me: Students scattered across acres of yam moundsSome tilling, others weeding, the majority (girls)carrying weeds further off the farmland to be burnt I arrive, after a long walk towards the outskirts of the village…
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Next step
The higher the heightThe deeper the discomfort of climbingThe next step is the reward of the previousThe longer the steps upwardsThe bigger the reward
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The Blast
It was a normal day just like anyWe were busy about our activities It was even the anniversary of a giant telecommunications network All over town people were in their colours, jubilant It was probably late afternoon Suddenly, there was a blastLouder than a bombOr anything that could be imaginedIt was the sun itself that…
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Deliverance
Woke up terribly sick. So weak I am unable to move or even scream. It was all so sudden. Went to bed feeling strong and well. How did all this begin? I tried to sit up, with great difficulty. Perhaps it was malaria. All over the room, I vomit, having no strength to go to…
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Tomorrow is a scam
Never put any piece of your life on hold. Tomorrow is a scam. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. And those two in the bush are yesterday and tomorrow. Right now in your hands is today, the present, in which you can do good, forgive, repent, adopt new habits and strategies…
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The night before the excursion
The night before that excursion, Ghana played against Uruguay, a key match in the 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa. The Black Stars of Ghana had built up so much hope in the public and in many Africans. They were the only African team that had not being knocked out yet. There were even…
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One Sunday evening
It was a Sunday evening. I was alone in the room. The lights were off, and I lay on the floor, half asleep. Then came a knock on the door. Wasn’t expecting anyone, so I wasn’t particularly bothered about waking to see who it was. Besides, my roommates had gone out. But the knocker was…
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Performer and Spectator
What does a game teach us? To not wait till we are down by many goalsAnd suddenly start playing with all our heartsA few seconds to end of game A game is won off pitchWhere there are no spectatorsNo applause, only sweat and silenceIt’s where plans are rehearsed, modifiedCodifiedA large room for mistakes and improvement…
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Celebration bells chime
Celebration bells chimeCrowdsIt’s the sound of a multitude’s feetRushing to a chapelCuriositySeemed impossibleLike strange news in strange landsAllergic to happening on home soilYet here it wasThe season when the impossible blossomsAwakening the sleeping faithOf many doubtful onesIt’s a weddingThe kind that gives hopeTo many singlesThe long hand of faithClasped in patienceIs long enoughTo reach fruitsOutside…
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Married to the Game
I saw him everyday. In the mornings. Very early. Between 6 and 7am. The place I met him varied depending on the time I left the house. But so far as I stepped out around those hours, I surely bumped into him. He seemed to have no holidays, no breaks. Always in same clothes, soaked…
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Married to the Game
I saw him everyday. In the mornings. Very early. Between 6 and 7am. The place I met him varied depending on the time I left the house. But so far as I stepped out around those hours, I surely bumped into him. He seemed to have no holidays, no breaks. Always in same clothes, soaked…
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A battle of double standards
It’s a sad trend. You set up a school, and to convince parents to enroll their children, you must prove the percentage of students who pass the final exams conducted nationally. School has become big time business. And so, schools will go to all lengths to get parents to enroll their children. Students know that…
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The fallen grain
Old habitsDisguisedAs impulsive urgesIt’s the same old trapTo get you goingNowhere Grow upFirst attempts are always clumsy But stick to tryingDay by dayOne day you’ll look backAnd see how every attempt Was a step forward Even those that led to a fallIt’s a fallen grainThat has a chance of Being nurtured by the soilTo grow…
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Gloomy night
I heard her. Splashing water into toilet seats. Kicking and knocking washroom doors to be sure no one was in there. Rolling mop buckets. I could smell the scent of detergents, and her grumbling. “So a human being really did this!” she blurted. I’ve always complained about the poor maintenance of the washrooms. Here was…
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Strangers
We sometimes dream of one day making great connections, friendships that are deeply rewarding or important business contacts. In our mind, that ideal some day will be perhaps our first trip on a plane to a new land, a special dinner or some miraculous coincidence. We may even fantasize that during such special days we…
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The Games
It was a family fun day. But the arrangements under the canopies were not according to families. This was the Body of Christ so every person under each canopy was seen as family. I knew no one. Threading cautiously, I entered the venue, a park. Things were done differently in this new church. There was…
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The wedding at Baaltazar
“I paid 10,000 cedis to rent this place for the wedding reception.” the groom told me. “Wow! That’s a lot of money.” I remarked. In my mind, I was calculating how many months it would take me to raise that amount of money. At least 12, if I were determined to keep my salary whole…
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Medieval Chapel
I enter a medieval chapelTrapped in the ancient architecture A distinctive atmosphere I grope for a labelI marvel at the mysteryAnd mastery Of the designsThe dexterity The pain and passion pumped into the projectImpressively appealing A signature of past lives and past timesIn its walls, I sense the sweat of the workersAnd the desperation of…
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It’s an empty market
Hungry, I hurry to the marketAll along the way, I imagine the things I’ll buyOccasionally drifting off to think of other thingsI arriveAn empty market greets meHow?! Oh! I suddenly remember whyAs I look up to windows Of nearby hostelsAll shut, except a few squeaking in the gentle windsIt’s vacation today for the studentsDamn! Where…
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I fear these dark valleys
I fear these dark valleysWhere echoes of footstepsHaunt meI dread these lonesome journeysWhere pieces of broken promises Jab meI fish these empty spacesFor something to fill the emptiness withinPalpable emptiness, all I catchI’ll revere these formative yearsAnd the tears, uncertainties and testsThey fed me Email:Benjaminnambu1@gmail.com WhatsApp: +233 541 824 839
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Mark and Tiffany
Mark thought deeply about what he was about to do. Risky, no doubt. But it’s in trying you increase your chances of success. But this trial was no ordinary trial. Failing will be unbearable. He thought deeply, slowly. He and Tiffany had been friends long enough. At first, whenever he asked a girl out, the…
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Life different from ours
In the city where we live, life happens so fast. There’s hardly time to pause and remember even one’s own name. A month passes by like a silent wind, impossible to clutch and account for what one did with them. You’re neighbour’s with strangers for years and friends with people far far away. But here…
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The Missing Keys
One Christmas evening, we were returning home after a visit to one of our aunt when I felt my pocket and realized the bunch of keys to our house was missing. “Oh! “ I exclaimed. ” I forgot the keys at Aunt Regina’s place. My big brother was the kind that hardly smiled. And it…
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No filters
Each time I’m woundedThere has always been a tendencyTo shut myself inBut a covered plantCannot blossomEven if it doesWhat healthy growth could that be?That’s why I keep shining, I keep smilingEven when it’s difficult dilating my lipsThat’s why I keep doing goodEven when I’m paid ingratitude in returnSee the many things I would have missedHad…
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This too shall pass
Was like some sort of rebirth. Finding oneself in a new land, a strange land. Many of the strongly guarded values back home do not hold here. It’s like some new set of rules for living, tailored to the needs of the people, existed here. A stranger, Louis strolls through the streets of his new…
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You’ll go mad
They say if you read too muchYou’ll go madOf courseIf you drink too muchYou’ll be drunkButDepends on what you’re drinkingAnd what’s fueling the thirstCould be waterFueled by a good workoutIn which caseDrinking is good for healthLike good books to the mindDrink too much practical, useful knowledgeGet drunk with wisdomGet drunk with passionTo see your dreams…
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The inner compass
We’ve come farThough miles still lay aheadBut the view from here is beautifulThere are those who sayIt’s taken too long to arrive hereListening to such voicesHas never produced any progressShut your ears, look only aheadOne stride at a timeIt’s an unusual journeyWhy should those who won’t travel this pathDecide how we journey on it?Listen instead,…
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Respect everybody
The little things of yesterday Grow to become important The confusion of yesterday Clears, and wisdom grows In its placeIgnorance is not staticFools grow wise over timeThese tiny little plants That are indistinguishable From one anotherGrow into thick, giant treesA mighty forestDespise no oneDiscriminate against no oneUnderestimate no oneThere is no soul that has no…
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Some days
Some days I have nothing to saySome days I have no strengthTo push onSome days I’m confusedSome days I feel left behindSo many of my friendsSeem far aheadSome days I find so many things around meAnnoyingSome days I wonderIf I can make itTill the endSome days I have a line-upOf exciting thingsTo look forward toSome…
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Not my Africa!
It was at the reading room I first met him. I couldn’t help but stare. At the dreadlocks. Dirty, unusually bushy, on his tiny, skinny skull. He stood out. In his shabby clothes. A sharp contrast to the atmosphere of decency and order and respect in a room filled with serious students. I wondered what…
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Take a deep breath
Sometimes we try to read meanings into many things that happen to us. Oh, the unusual way we met that old friend? That must be a sign. Or the way an incident occurred thrice on the same date in three years, that is definitely a miracle. We think the way our name rhymes with that…
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A lot has changed
Giovanni, a lot has changed since you left. Mango Street is no more what it used to be. Remember the spot where Alima and Saada fought one New Year eve? We woke up one morning to find a thief lynched and tied to an electric pole there. We did not know how the whole incident…
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Emerge victorious
I’ll pretend all is wellI’ll return to where I fellI’ll rehearse all I’ve learntI’ll recover all I’ve lostI’ll defend it with all I’ve got I’ll assemble all the meansI’ll discover all I can beI’ll travel wherever this path leadsI’ll be tagged notoriousI’ll emerge victorious
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Sophie
Her job drives her nuts! She tries to keep calm, tries to act normal, tries to blend in with the others, but the cracks in the pretense are too visible. No wonder those who worked there for over thirty years were tight friends with alcohol. At night, it’s hard to stay awake at work. And…
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Unbroken streak
The headlamp in the skydims, another day goes byAn unbroken streakThat’s outlived the strong and weak The next chance to trybeams, whether it lays so nighOr buried very deepThat’s for tomorrow to reveal The best tides to rideis sleep, in order to riseOne must sometimes kneelblushed in the harrowing ordeal https://wp.me/p4GQQl-AUR
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Pages flipping
An album, pages flipping as its owner narrated the stories. Of how they met, when he proposed, how many times she turned him down even though she liked him, the games and finally the trophy, which is her ring she got for winning. “What about you, Paul”?“Me? ” I asked, stunned.” Yes! “” Tell us…
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Date
She told a jokeAs she held up her cokeTo toastIt wasn’t funnyI raised my glass clumsilyAnd smiled, out of courtesy What is courtshipIf one cannot talk shitWithout burning a friendshipTo a crispTelling the truthAnd tight turns, in my hoodFeedback on cooked foodIs never done by the cook https://wp.me/p6HvcB-cbB
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Embracing the twists
Yesterday was a party Today I retire to solitude And uncertainty Embracing it all with gratitude https://wp.me/p4GQQl-AHa
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Missing cigarettes
I used to steal from my father’s pack of cigarettes. I hid somewhere to smoke. I remember the sensation as smoke escaped my lips, into the air. It felt great. Especially the effect of the heat on the tongue. This went on for weeks. Little did I know that the old man was aware but…
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Seasons together
You and Ihave witnessedso many seasons togetherI’ve seen youreturn from townjoyousbursting with newsof an old friendyou run intoand how he had promisedto assist youin your new businessTrue to his wordshe did help youHow we laughedand celebrated that new chapter How disappointing it waswhen we discovered his true colorsAnd what lookedlike a new chapterflipped many pages…
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Dilemma
The fortune-teller reshuffled the cardsI pulled out oneA bereaved sparrow on a rooftopNot a good cardI contemplated the contents for a whilebefore handing it backDropping a coin into his bowlI walked awaytoo saddened to be distractedby the sudden commotionat the market square Why invest in somethingThat will only be washed awayOver timeLike a sand castle…
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Glistening in the distance
Maskyour hurtsTurn your backto all they’ve saidbehind you The mask will chafeIts pain will fadeNo condition is here to stayYou’ll soon forget your sorrowful daysAnd what the wasted years took away Glistening in the distance, a medallionRaise your head, tough stallionObstacles do not define a championEven if they seem unmovable like Mt. ZionEven if they…
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What have we grown into?
A child in my class walked up to me and told me that he spotted me walking to school and he told his dad to pick me up in their car but his father said they were late and the stop would delay them further. It’s the second time on two separate occasions he’s told…
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Gadji’s wife
Gadji’s wife, Olivia, needed a nanny. The girls were off to boarding school a few weeks after she gave birth to her only boy. Soon, her in-laws would be visiting. She had sent a message to her mother to come and spend some days with her as the business of housekeeping was becoming overly burdensome.…
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A stone at God
The stillness of a lazy afternoonInterrupted by the hissing of bulletsFrom a thirsty gunCoughing and bleeding regretsWriting on woundsThe story of a lone riderOf virgin loveAnd uncultivated passionsOf a young lady he tried to bendInto a sweet marriageA marriage broken andSullied with infidelityHis reward for sheltering an old friendAnd for loving a womanA hot court…
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This is your land
This land belongs to all of usLet us not sit idleAnd watch savage dogsTear it apartIf our leader is an iron beastWith no emotionsWe must show himThe road to the zooWe may fly to greener pasturesBut let us rememberTo come back homeAnd build our motherlandin rubblesThanks to talented thievesin our officesWith long noses and empty…
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She is mine
She’s been mineSince nineShe’s thirty and still thirstyOf my affection Cold and dusty hazeTried to turnOur relationshipInto an old and rusty cage Our love will not be tamedEven if it were caughtIn the metal teeth of a trapOur bond will never break https://wp.me/paf3ao-i9d
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It’s no coincidence
Life is a long lecture. You may choose to sleep in class, but you will eventually wake up to find your mates ahead of you and bills to settle, including lessons you’ve missed. Nothing is free. A new life costs lots of pains to birth. Whenever you are fed up with an old life and…
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Bloom with cheerfulness
Funtime and sunshinePotions to help cope with daily motionsDon’t wanna look back when oldWondering, where did the days go?My wrinkled face, an attraction of gloominessLike money magnet Why let time slip byWhile you sit, doting on silly notionsSpread from head to toeThat all worries must lose teeth and holdOn your happinessBefore you can bloom with…
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One starless night
Dark melodies, playing over and over all night from a nearby cottage. Anna sat in their little farmhouse, attention fixed on Grandpa recounting dreadful tales best left untold, and hoping that evil spirits will catch a whiff of the incense mother was burning and be warded off. “For years she had no news of her…
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Fertile connections ?
To passers-by, this was luggage. To Awal, it was his destiny wrapped in a box, carried on his shoulder. What he once called homeland is now a stretch of empty hopes he’s given up chasing. Initially, when the idea of abandoning his shop first occured to him, he thought it was his impatience speaking to…
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On the airwaves
It’s Earl Nightingale on the airwaves and his talks of strange secrets.As I listen, my mind wonder off. It’s been three years now since I left home for greener pastures. The pasture here is no greener than that of home. Damn! And I haven’t saved. Only once have I sent money home. Shame on me…
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Sip by sip
Strong facesare baked in tough ovensAnd tough feeton rough roadsYou and Ihave come from afarAnd if this strugglemust mean somethingwe’ve got to hold ontill the very endThose who have come a long waystarted out with a single stepfollowed by anotherIf you must drink this bitter cuptake it sip by sip
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Date
It was weird. The food, the music and her attire that evening. What was on her mind? There was something odd about her movements as she served the food. The food tasted nice. She didn’t use most of the spices on the market. Chemicals. And chemicals have become the bulk of what we eat these…
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Beyond the noise
Whatever new field you enter, it will be filled with noise. The noise of beginners like you, pushing hard every day and making very little progress. You are not the first in this field, neither will you be the last. But remember, the footprints you leave behind, will be like no other’s. Keep in mind…
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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/
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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…
Diary of a Wanderer 