Scribbles

Their faces covered in shame and helplessness, Bodies attired in dirt and hopelessness, Call for attention than we recognize, Cry out for our intervention than we will ever admit to. They are like a different specie of life, aliens left to die out on the city streets, We look yet not long enough to see their plight as it is, deep. We hear them groan, we see them beg, pleading that we contribute to their next meal,yet coldly we ignore them, We hear them moan at the painful thrust of the night's cold sword, but it seems their groans aren't loud enough to startle our sleeping empathy awake. Their cracked skin and sore feet, aim to forecast their worn out spirits, Their dry,cut lips and chilli smeared eyes spell the state of their souls, bruised, But unfortunately for them, to all this we are as newly born babies, oblivious, We are as blind and deaf to them as lying corpse in a morgue. To cries of the street, we are stone dead.                                    

Let us dance to the beating of our hearts, Let us hold hands under the smiling sky, Let us cage our dreams as we have our shadows. For we are masters, masters with whips, On horses in our minds, let us ride, from earth to the lonesome sky, We are to bury our sorrows in burning,  sand Exposing our bold strength to the unknown we often fear, To live unhaunted, to live freely.

Days come and days go, All unique, all with their own beauty, Some come in dull colored clothes, While others dress in eye catching brightness, Some come as rain, a relief that life shall continue, While others avail themselves as words of death, a termination of life, Some are full of warmth, with prophecies of bright tomorrows, But others seem to be with long cold fingers after our necks to choke us, As if to make sure that we never see the next day break, But there is always some good in every day, There is always a shadow of luck in every day. Days come and days go, All unique, all with their own beauty.

Skies, now it seems, paint pictures of your smile, Winds speak your name, they sing with your voice songs from deep within, The Sun illuminates as does your glowing face, it sparkles just like your milky teeth do, Dreams I dream nowadays are about you, and just a few of me, When I awake, thoughts are of you, About how much I can't explain what this feeling for you is, About your looks, your choice of words and your amazing thought pattern, So is this how love begins? Could these be love's flying banners? And am I in love, in love with you?

Are they scorched souls of men, Are they the evil part of every breathing man, Shadows, what are they? Are they demons loosed from hell beneath to haunt us, Are they angels in dark skins to walk with us, Shadows, what are you? Are they guides, sent to us, from our fallen ancestors, Are they spirits of the dead, or the unborn looking for bodies to posses, Shadows, what are they? Shadows, Either small or huge, Teach us always in light to walk, And show us that selflessness is a lane possible to walk in. They are nothing than truest friends, Shadows, our own.

Maybe it is his time now to rest as well, Maybe it is time, he quit the trickery and for once got fooled, Maybe he has won races but never rest, Maybe now is his time to rest. Aged. For darkness soft, as with a texture of clouds, is swallowing radiance off around him His lamp which shone with a provoking flame, is but steadily losing its glow, The heart that pumped life into his flesh all these years, now is skipping its beats, His chest cannot, it seems, take the heaviness of his breath any more, His soul hurts at the sound of his chattering old bones, it whimpers and groans at every movement within his flesh, His hands have grown frail, his sight very deeply failing, His voice, which once was deep and melodious, is now cracking and breaking almost inaudible, He who once walked with hope, has it no more, It's as though within him lies no more strength to oppose death's pooling hooks, As though it isn't him who often ago fooled time and crooked death to naught. Our

Can I seek shelter in your heart? Can I seek shelter on your bosom? This world loves me no more. Can I seek refuge in your arms? Can I seek refuge in your mind? This time wishes me harm. Can you hide me from light? Can you hide me from being seeing? There are mercenaries after my soul. Can you hide my heart in you? Can you hide my life in yours? Ghosts of evil people are after my breath. Can you be me and I you? Shelter me.

With colorful words, painting beautiful pictures of your smile, your whole, With love in every pause, in every punctuation mark, I write you this song. With warmth borrowed from your laughter,  With pleasant chills from your cool, I pen this love song for you, Just to remind you that you are what my heart races after. Its language is simple, yet meets your sophistication, Its rhythm is as golden as the warm rays of the morning Sun, Its shape is as ancient yet mysteriously charming as the Egyptian pyramids, Its texture is that of a baby's tender skin, soft and supple for the merriment of your heart, It, this song, I write about you. It is a love song for you. I have, So tonight when clouds fall asleep and the sky remains bare, Attentively listen to the singing stars, Listen carefully to their twinkling voices, for the song they sing is none like what mortal minds have ever composed nor their voices ever sung. It is my song, a love song for you. It is a love son

You say you love me, I see you prove it, every day that you do, You say am your only, I see how you work and act hard to show that am your all, Plainly written in your actions and choicest words is your selfless love for me, It is penned in the brightest of ink for all to see, And I have seen it too.                                          Sometimes I wonder if you are real or this feeling you say you have for me is true, To the point where I blush or close my eyes frequently so to see if things will remain the same, But am often convinced that you and your love are as real as the fact that that skies aren't blue, And that if am to understand I must love you too For a burden is better felt by the laden A fall's impact by the fallen So am I to love you as well. I know that feelings are like waves, one second they are here, the next they are gone I also know that love however stubborn a fire, sometimes, it too falls prey to smallest, silliest

If stars were humans, and we them, Could we shine as much? What could we cry out, Tears of silver? Could they look down on us? Us who would shine of fiery gases as the fume of volcanoes, Could they look down, bow to us in reverence? Could we with love light their paths, there in their mighty cosmos? Could they wish they were us, even for a second? To be beckoned below for, with mountain-high respect and ocean-wide admiration. If stars were human, Could they populate the earth like they masterfully dirten, paint patterns in the dark roof? And could we still match their ability to adorn the sky with such much beauty? Could we? If stars were human, and we were them.

If the sky was a blanket then it could be one held invisibly, fastened tightly in thin air, And Earth would be the bed, on which dreamers lay, Dancing with beautiful shadows, Pacing to and fro the ends of the world,  In close stance shaking, wriggling their wine-bottled waists, To tunes of old, tunes of ancient Egypt, Rhythms of first day Africa, tunes of old. If the sky was a blanket, And earth, the bed on which dreamers slept, Life would be a massive dream dreamt by all, It would be nothing real, But a masterpiece, a Mona Lisa of sleeping minds.

My village is very, very small, But my father, mother and all, It supported till their death. I am equally small, young, But my womb will bring forth great men, strong, To till, plant and even grow the earth. Small but not for the earth.

I have crossed rivers, I have jumped over mountains, I have walked on bridges, I have flown in dreams to sweeter clouds, I have trailed through twists and turns of life, But of all, the best experience has been finding you. We have sung warm and cold songs, We have written black and white poetry, We have painted fantasies in our dreams, We have laughed at shadows in the skies, We have cried tickling, piercing tears of enjoyment, Yet the best to have ever happened to us, is love. *Painting not mine*

You light within, Yet from us your shine is concealed, You roast all in thee, Yet warmth from us you bar. Why then do you exist? If not to excite our weary eyes, If not to sing lullabies to the sleeping Sun, Or to watch over the lonely moon, groping its way through the night. Awake! Awake, you sleeping star! Rub grave earth off your skin and glitter. Put on your legs and stand. Shine! Hide not any longer, Bloom every night, Bloom every light, Keep your eyes open, Watch us through the night, Watch us every light.

Wriggle thy waist, Writhe thy entire body, For all men to watch, Till all sleep;  Dreaming your perfect form. By the sways of your dark waist, Amuse the lonely gods in the sky, Appease the ancestors below, Save them from their eternal boredom. Woman of black earth dance, Entertain us all.

Who hears when her soul whimpers, Who listens to the cracking sounds of her breaking heart, Who sees her falling tears, Who hears echoes of her groaning voice, Who has ever imagined the feel of her aching scars? None, none but herself. She is not the child on a street vendors back, She is not that street child you pass by, She is not that old lady at the neighbor's, Nor is she that battered wife in the newspaper, But it is that woman, your mother whom you no longer heed, She is your wife whom you've abandoned, It is that young girl you are plucking away from education to marry off, It is them from your very house.

We spoke words, We sung our emotions loud, We felt fiery feelings for each other, We shared smiles, we shared frowns, We played in the rain, we wrestled in the mud, But today we are against each other, Today we are pointing not only fingers of accusations but actual machetes, My folks why are we at war? * Remind me please, why are we fighting? Is it because Ngwenya's son stole a cob of maize from Chona's field? Is it because of hunger found in our own brothers household, that we choose to spill blood? When we were young, remember, we stole not for hunger but for pleasure, Even then, our parents never in a moon wished to shed blood, Our parents never sworn enmity, never disowned each other because they knew that children are children, Now our son has stolen for hunger, a noble cause, Why then should we fight, men of one house? Why my brothers should blood be shed? Why should blood of our very own be spilt? * Is our blood of equal value with maize? Should our blood be of eq

Who will you be tonight? Will you be the moon, Or the fresh wind that accompanies it? Will you be the brightest star,  Or the darkness that peeps behind it? . Who will you be tonight? Will you be that dancer everybody prays they tango with Or will you be that one who ignores the luring call of music to the floor? Will you be her, the one with a warmly burning smile, Or him coldly quiet, afraid to loosen his laughter? . Who will you be tonight? Do not be me, Do not be them, Just simply be you, and glow.

Life is a dry sponge, very thirst for water, So when we sleep, we do so to soak her, We lie with eyes closed from the happenings of this world, That maybe pleasant scenes we would mold. We can't see any hope with our eyes open, So now we close them, endeavoring a beautiful future to envision, Reality is too thorny, our souls ever bleed, Our hearts cry tearfully each day for comfort, our only need. Most say we are merely lazy, afraid of what exists, Others claim our souls are of frightened slaves, with unsharpened fists, But truth is we are broken, we are tired of being warmed by the cold, We crave so much for strength, the Sun's shine to forever behold. So next time you see me smiling asleep, Dare not draw me out of the deep, Because then in there I will be painting memories sweet on my mind, Memories of relieving peace, the only comfort I find.