Dearest Dad

The hour has come upon us 

The darkest of days

Consumed our sun.

With broken hearts we trudge along

As the longest days mesh with the shortest  

We tumble along in gusty winds

Despite countless thorns in our flesh 

One foot wobbles in front of the other

With our center gone,

We barely can stand straight.

But as you wished dearest dad

We'll keep moving on

We'll use every ounce of energy left to smile

Endeavouring each day to honor your life

By living ours to the fullest

Raising your flag high till the end of days!

Till we meet again,

Dearest Dad...

I have in my hands

I have in my hands

A chance to carve out my own success 

With God's hands on mine

Today I have the strength to climb the hill before me

My voice is louder than ever

My memory of the promises already granted in the heavenlies sharpened

My eyes see my destiny

My heart bursts with anticipation

My heels itch to run

My mind racing with dreams that consume me

I have before me a path

Made straight by my maker

My guide, my mentor, my father, my mother

I see fear scurrying away In the distance

Doubt shrunk to dust

I know

I'm sure 

I'm ready

Like never before. 

Today is the day

To decidedly brave the old path yet so new

To walk and never look back

To embrace amazing dreams

That I have in my hands 

Grief

Grief is but one color

And Pays no attention to race

Speaks one language 

Caring nothing for dialects too numerous to count 

Marks clear territories on fragile  hearts

Leaves a trail familiar to  mourners 

Scoffs at feeble attempts by high society to drown its sound

Squashes all efforts to hinder its hard work

Vanquishes all avenues that expose it's ways

Shackling the strongest of our lot

Spewing casualties along its tracks. 

An external visitor

Persistent and ever so relentless 

On broken hearts, it feasts

Quenching thirst on streams of tears

With Stolen dreams, it fattens it's purse

Shamelessly Dimming smiles along its path

Keeping the joy that once belonged to us

Chanting dirges in place of melodies

Ever Bountiful  with sorrowful gifts

Claims to cause no calamity

But only a candid collector from the valley of skulls

Seeks shelter in the crevices of fractured hearts

Capturing its light when darkness falls

Prowls cities searching for the silenced 

Whose loved ones remain in ashes and dust

Surviving but with limping hearts

Struggling on 

Though Dreading empty days to come

Shuddering at the notion

Of forever seeing the sun rise the wrong way

But grief glories in the agony of the soul

Disguised beneath wet scars

Wounds denied a chance to ever heal

Riding high waves of ancient rivers

In which many drowned 

But those that remain are many too

Centuries stood no chance against our kind

Running, marching, limping, crawling

We soldier onward

And Against the lot of us 

Grief stands no chance

The Girl Child

There walks the pride of our nation
A true princess of the people...
Etched on her bare shoulders
Is the very essence of our tribe
Her back bends bearing the brunt
From decades of war
Still she smiles
And takes a determined stride
Towards the sunshine of dawn
So distant is the sickening vibe
Of fathers, brothers, uncles & sons’
Sinful breaths mutilating the virtue of blameless virgins
She sees but chooses blindness
Building a bridge over all wrongs
There stands the sincerity of the motherland
Indeed, who could contend with such indomitable strength
With honor that shields over nations as a mantle?
Arise! Let all people Arise!
And salute a true soldier
A heroine of our time
Our mother, sister, aunt & daughter
For at last!
The blazing torch belongs to the Girl child!

Take A Bow

As seconds stretch
Tears burst to streams
And days fill with more daze
Dare to smile
Squeeze some lemonade out of those lemons
And take a bow
For every ending must bring a beginning
As you run the race
Scowl at the shame
Skin it away from your soul
Speak to the winds
Say your story
Just the way you want it to sound...
And to that dark emptiness
That slakens every step
And to those places of hopelessness
Where dreams never see the light of day
Sing your song
Hum a tune true to your heart
Pay homage to the defeats of yesterday
But humble yourself
And allow them to make you stronger
Embrace the courage to close olden doors
Then take a bow
And own your future

Your Hand On Mine

I stare at the door
feet frozen in place,
fingers trembling and
knees shaking.
My mouth dries up
as voices grow louder.
Tears blind my large brown eyes
as a surge of adrenaline
pounds on my poor heart.
My hair rises
and teeth clank.
At the back of my mind I know
I must get in there.
But I'd rather die
before taking a step closer.
Courage fails me
and my feet stay stubborn.
Sweating, shaking,
I continue staring.
The door seems larger
the crowd more impatient.
I take a deep breath
and reach for the door.
As my shaky hand hits the steel knob,
a warm sensation suddenly
slathers over my ashy knuckles.
I sigh in relief
realizing I no longer stand alone.
And with Your hand on mine,
I turn the doorknob
and step into the floodlights of the Arena...

Finding Me

I sit here, mersmerized by moving waters

In the glassy pool, distant eyes stare back

So empty and aching for help.

A faint spark in the distance slowly fades away

With the fire burned out

Only shadows of past glories stay

The chase is gone

The hunger, the uncanny desire,

The energy to bulldoze through any obstacle...

I wonder

Where did the confidence go,

The strength of purpose 

The individual so driven

Bulldozing mountains standing in her way.

The eyes well up with tears of sadness

Frustrated!

From having run the race,

Hoping to go far only to be held-back by fear.

All that stubborn courage,

Gone!

In the glassy pool, my brown watery eyes stare back

I look closer n' can hardly recognize myself

Who am I

Where am I

Where am I going?

Sad to admit, 

I seem to have lost myself.

I best be on my way then,

On a new mission

Of finding me.