Tag: wdys
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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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Sandra
As I descended the narrow hilly road leading home, I tried to imagine the scene behind me. The shop that was always open and yet I never saw any customer buying anything from it, the fenced land overgrown with weed, the house where funeral canopies, drums and decorations were rented out, and the main road…
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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
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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Good bye my friend
Today my heart is saddened. News. Of the loss of a close friend. How strange she would have found it, seeing posters of herself on walls of houses and electric poles, and on WhatsApp statuses. Obituary. If only she could see it all coming. Just last year we were home together, I unemployed, and she,…
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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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Family
Their mother did not know her birthday. She was born in an era and place where no priority was placed on keeping records. And so when she had to get a national ID, their father guessed a date. On WhatsApp statuses, her children see other children post their moms on their birthdays and feel unable…
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Default colour
To the uneducated, the scholar is a nuisance Like love birds to one who cannot find loveLike a single unemployed mother and her daughter Seated in a corner of the houseWatching children rushing to welcomeTheir fathers returning from workEnvy is the default colourWhen one is sketched beside things one cannot haveBut scholars have their problems…
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Maturity and silence
In its youth, a river is violentIt rushes, forwardSometimes destroying many good things In its pathWith time, it maturesExpands, and moves slowly, quietlyThoughtfully, towards a precise destinationAn unlimited sea https://wp.me/paf3ao-kRE
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Good things take time
I used to force many thingsTo fit where they did not belongBroke many precious items in the processPride, dignity, self-respectTo fill an empty stomachTo fill an empty holeThe things hunger can push one to doThe things loneliness can force one to accommodateNow, I give up tryingI allow many things to take their natural courseMaturity cannot…
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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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The New Chairman
It was offertory time. And before a song was raised for us to dance and give out our monies, the pastor read out some information. It was a breakdown of our offerings for each month from the various local assemblies. Apparently, he was pleased with the figures, adding that he didn’t want members to become…
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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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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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Rebuild
I see themStudyingFor hours by a lanternLate into the nightMosquitoes hovering over their headsLike some angelic choirSinging lullabiesFor children determined To stay awake After the long toilAnd hard climbUp the educational ladderBehold their shining trophyOf unemployment And disillusionsAnd the constant strivingTo no progress Ah, the system But you and ICan recreate the systemThat inspires hardwork…
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Earn your name with respect
Earn your name with respectTurn your pain into successYearn for fame, not regretsTell your tales, they impressSet the pace for the rest When your face is depressedAnd your game is shatteredAnd your days are numberedAnd you’re labeled a bastardLearn the mistakes, start afresh https://wp.me/paf3ao-k7w
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Excuses
When times are tough, many things are hard to come by: money, loyal friends, encouragement. But one thing remains in abundance. Excuses. Excuses to not keep up reading books you planned to finish by the close of the year. Excuses to not keep up working out four times a week as scheduled. Excuses to divert…
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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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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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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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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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Enigma
Her attitude towards me and the gift she gave me. An enigma. I was leaving the country. A rather embarrassing exit. Things hadn’t work out like I hoped. But life goes on. As I stood at the bus station, about leaving in a few minutes, I hugged her, said a few final words and got…
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Shine
Invasive lightsfrom mighty heightspenetrate the darkdistinct like a dog’s barkat midnight A pair of palmsstocks of armsand swarms of antscan never stopthe shine of a rising sun
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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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When courage frays at the seams
Like a clockAmbitions chimeLike a frogI’ll take one leap at a time Turning back seemsInviting, but forward is forwardEven when courage frays at the seamsAnd pressing on seems awkward I’ll pat my own backAnd carry on with faltering stepsOn this narrow pathWith its twists and turns
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*Akwaaba
Kwame shifted his eyes from the fly buzzing against the glass window to the stack of dirty clothes on the floor, then to Amina who thought she had found a good listener, a listener whose mind was far away, as far back as the years he thought his dreams were made of sand, to be…
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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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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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She isn’t picking up
She isn’t picking up. Just like yesterday. Everything seems normal till it’s late night. That’s when it all starts. Is she seeing someone? He sighs. He shouldn’t be the only one calling and texting all the time. Yesterday she said her phone’s battery was empty. That was why when his call went through for a…
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Old walls
Where has she gone?The little girl singing in the rainSailing in the sandPlaying in the sunWith a smileRadiating innocence and purity Where has it gone?The beautyThat sons and loversOnce flocked to seeOne admirer getting a black eyeFor all his troubles Where has she gone?The fair LadyFace of glitz and glamourIn the citiesIn the sixtiesIdol of…
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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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Perhaps
It was her first time visiting him. She was hesitant in going, wondering how he would react to the ugly scars and stretch marks on her back, buttocks and breasts. Pretty face. Fine body shape. But many did not know what she sees when she stands before a mirror, naked. It was the reason she…
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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/
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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/
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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…
Diary of a Wanderer 