Want To Want Me

Nostalgia,

Jason Derulo hits a note

‘Just the thought of you

Just the thought of you

Gets me so hiiiiiiigh’

 

I am sitting alone in an empty classroom,

Chairs piled arranged as by someone

who was suffering from acute diarrhea

but had to get the job done

and to distract my loneliness

I whipped my phone and played Jason Derulo

And then the message came through

The lecture had bounced

 

I cursed

I missed a few hours of precious sleep,

For this?

Betrayal.

Betrayal.

 

A while early, the unwelcome sound of the alarm

Made me think ‘It dawns so early these days,

I just slept a few minutes ago.’

Back then sleep was not elusive

 

 

I tossed my belongings inside the locker

My roommate was also awake, sitting on the top bunker

Also wondering why dawn comes early

A quick shower and moments later I am out

The day dragged on as days always do

And when evening came

An ominous foreboding washed over me

The door to our hostel room was unlocked

Unusual

I checked my locker and my laptop was missing

And now, so many years later

Listening to Jason Derulo

I reminisce that dark morning

And I miss my laptop who we got unceremoniously separated

My precious poems went with it 

When You Mind Your Own Business

 when you mind your own business 

slipping like a shadow through the maze 

leaves them weary, ever wondering

who is this stranger?

what does he do?

why doesn't he have a girlfriend?

gosh! what's his name?

but then you slip through them

like a ghost, never saying as much as a word 

it bothers them 

it bothers them that you do not bother about them 

it nags their empty brains 

and when something goes wrong 

it is that quiet guy 

who does a good job at minding his business  

The Moon

 gazing at the pale in the dark 

and wonder what secrets it holds 

or sees in the hideous souls of men 

and women, 

prowling in the dark

the moon sneaks behind the moon 

as though going to bed 

with a secret lover 

but then it emerges again 

and shines as though nothing happened 

and life goes on 

the throb of the night life 

sings its tunes and dirges 

awaiting another day 

and another night 

Hook Me To A Drug

hook me to a drug 

as potent as opium 

hook me to a drug 

a drug that is 

extremely addictive, 

yet costs nothing 

hook me to a drug, 

a drug I can inhale like air 

hook me to a drug 

as addictive as life 

hook me to a drug, 

by god can't anyone package 

happiness, 

in a bottle and give it to me 

I would want to be a happiness addict 

a happiness junky 

Barrel of Life

 there is no redemption
the bottom is made of dregs
the worst of the worst 
the ruins, 
what can you salvage from ruins?
from the Chernobyl of life?
there isn't any redemption 
even though everything is all made up 

A Solo Congregation

 She spreads her leso on a raised ground

The field around scorched barren by the

unforgiving sun

slopes towards a river with stinking dark water – polluted

she begins her sermon

she is the sole congregant, perhaps a church will spring

there someday – her own church

the evidence is around

the whole place is surrounded by churches

she can smell god’s presence in that raised ground

 

she reads her bible like she would to a crowd

she reads it aloud

why wouldn’t she? You may ask

yet she is alone and there is no need for a mask

 

she has to read it loud

that’s why – loud is how churches run around

she could use a 5000000 watt sound system

if she liked it

or if she could afford

 

she then sings

she sings in English

then switches to Kikuyu

 

she prays,

she prays in English

then switches to kikuyu

she is not taking any chances

 

and a sad poet watched at a distance

wondering if she was praying for her successful children

to come to her

or to make that addict reform and become a person 

Wave of Confusion

 I am riding a wave of confusion, 

uncertainty, 

despair, 

dejection. 

I am listening to the paralyzing 

sounds in my head 

Telling me in incoherent and disjointed 

words 

that this thing - this very thing

could all be a big joke 

But I will keep doing it anyway 

everything will fall into place 

the fears, 

the voices 

and the storms they bring with them 

and then, with a sincere smile 

I will say, 'we are bosom buddies.'