Let it Count

You woke me up, bells and trumpets,
I recoiled thinking it a call for war,
You insisted that I should wake up,
Wake up or regret sleep for 5 years,
So please let my loss of sleep count.

With my ID I braced the cold,
This is what you wanted,
I registered as a voter, the trumpets played,
The tone changed, i was a bird caged,
I was your ticket to a job we all dream of,
And I really hoped you’d make it count.

Trumpets, vuvuzelas and screams,
It was the day, the mark to your pay day,
An interview, my voters card sat in the panel,
You smiled away my hunger,
In your words I saw health wealth and infrastructure,
This was in us a culture,
A culture we wished would count.

My friend and I beat all odds to cast the vote,
The joy, and yes, we were a few of those against,
In the evening we waited,
No spoilt vote, and neither our 2 votes,
You took even what was against you,
I wish you allowed it to count

And now trumpets are blazing,
Eardrums on alert, you want a job,
One you lie that everything counts,
But I remember the last time,
Your count wasn’t my count,
And I am still hoping,
Please, let it count, all of us,
Let the count be accountable.

Who Am I?

You feel comfortable asking me,
Pierce my face, a stance that means, you!
Yes you!
And I tell you, without flinching,
Because, me knows me,
Yes, you came to the right person,
You see;
I am that last word in the sentence you never read,
Maybe you were drowsy or it wouldn’t change the meaning,
Tired enough to assume the word was irrelevant,
I am, that joke you heard in the other room and never cared to hear of,
I am, the thud you heard behind your room,
The cry that tore the night,
And yes, you heard both, but darkness isn’t your thing,
But remember I ate the darkness alone while you slept on the torch,
And in the morning you asked, who are you?
I am me,
The drink that made you think its over,
The friend that lied it would be over,
The lie that ruined your being sober,
But again, I am here after all this,
Like a life jacket you grasps me hard,
Like a belt you hold me tight,
And at dawn am still here,
To thank you or to think of you,
And if you ask me who I am,
If you run to learn whom I really am,
Don’t ask others, walk with me and learn with me,
Learn from me about me,
Listen to the joke,
Walk with the torch,
Unearth what holds me tight,
If it needs tightening, you will know,
If it needs loosening, you will know,
Because, if you are with me,
You will know me and not of me.
For I might be passing by or falling off,
Just to remind you that its you, not me.
Stay with me. Don’t judge me,
For what I hold is a mirror, and you see you,
Know you, and you won’t ask me, who are you?

A Rose to a Lady

A Safe Woman is Happy Today.

Today feels amazing,
Today we celebrate ladies,
Love being shared to them,
To the woman of the day,
I hope its so in a tomorrow away from shine and glamour.

From roses to chocolates,
From praises to teases,
From love to kisses,
Appreciation and acknowledgements,
A day to behold, then the world resets at mid-night.

Among us to praise,
Upon us to guard,
For us to dwell together,
Be keepers without expectations,
Our duty to cut out the vicious circle of unexpected maltreatment.

It will hurt you to compare self,
It will intimidate if you think of measuring up,
It will break you if all you see is competition,
It’s evil to think she’s displacing you,
And still praising her today so as to take advantage tomorrow is sick.

For my mom and her kin’s,
To the daughter I raise,
For the lady in the house,
For the woman next door,
I will show you peace,
I will bleed love,
And if the world treats you better, a happy day will be your life.
Roses will grow in your hearts.

My Peace

I will walk my length, with my strength,
I will tell my heart of health,
Yes, to smile I will to be okay,
To be okay coz that offers me peace,
Its my peace I love, one that I only gives.

I will leave when its hostile,
I will leave when my presence isn’t needed
I will leave when my mind gets distracted,
For I yearn a smooth move of personal space,
Its my peace I love, one that I only gives.

Show me peace and I will show you love,
Show me respect and o will give you pleasure,
Show me love and respect and I will reciprocate in full,
Its my peace I love, one that I only gives.

My heart yearns of a cool dawn,
My heart dreams of a peaceful evening,
It beats with an expectation of a a fruitful tomorrow,
A tomorrow that blossoms from healthy smiles,
Its my peace I love, one that I only gives.

So, if you know and love peace,
If you understands and cares about peace,
If you know and values peace,
Gift me a peaceful minute, hour, day, month.
Oh a future,
For I love peace, endurance and harmony, give me, I will take, and I promise you more,
I promise better.

My Rushing Soul

My soul was in a hurry,
Yes, she came from a past,
A past that she narrated to me severally,
A past that she made me feel guilty of,
But my souls was in a hurry.

I met her when the lights were dimming,
Met her when the curfew was almost enhanced,
Met her when it felt rushed or illegal,
Yes, my soul was in a hurry.

She made me feel everything, all nice,
Her eyes promised me heaven,
Her lips promised me serenity,
Her heart pounded into me a life,
And as a teacher, she stitched my broken hopes,
But my soul was in a hurry.

I missed her once, and it twice bit me,
I tried to rush for time lost,
But I couldn’t keep up,
Her soul couldn’t wait,
I believe her soul was into the hurry.

Now moons after, oceans apart,
The grounds I should cover,
And the hopes, hopes that her soul slowed,
The guilt that I left, a void that I felt,
But I don’t know whose soul was in a hurry.

Pieces of You

I wanted the pieces of you,
But it was hard, you were whole,
I missed some pieces myself,
That’s why you complimented me.

I wanted that inner soul, one you gave,
But I guess it was too soon,
I feared I wouldn’t let go the grip,
And yes, you were all that mattered.

I wanted to sleep and have you beside me,
Imagined a sleep full of your presence,
Unfortunately I always woke up late after the dream.

It’s the pieces of you that made me whole,
It’s the pieces of you that made me walk,
It’s the pieces of you that brought joy back,
It’s those pieces, pieces that moulded our path.

I walk in your light, one you let shine on me,
I walk in your care, one you offered me,
I walk in your kindness, one you showed me,
What you see here, it’s what you found broken and mended.

I Will be With You

My child, I want you to grow,
For this, I will ride cars and dhows,
I will cultivate and plough,
And this will sometimes mean I have to go.

I wake up to win the world,
Because when young I got the word,
Make the world better than you found it,
That’s what I tell myself often,
This is what makes me go.

I want to be around, so much,
I want to see your every step, keenly,
I want to see you wake up and sleep, peacefully,
But often, I have to go, be elsewhere.

I want you to be proud of me, my hard work,
But you are a child, you know the environment,
I am for you, but am not with you,
Because all I saw, all that mattered was provision,
This I did, I went, but you wanted me here.

I am sorry you lacked my affection,
I am sorry I didn’t kiss you goodnight,
I am sorry I didn’t do homework with you,
I am sorry I didn’t go play or pray with you,
I am sorry you had to adjust.

You chose what was close,
You related to what was available,
You connected to who was present,
And I was fighting the world to bring you gold,
Still am shocked I almost lost you.

I cry when I see your unsaid agony,
The person you wanted, pushing you away,
The person you connected with breaking you down,
And here I am hoping you will jump to my embrace,
Even if I don’t have gold, I have bronze,
My child, we are winning.

Cry not anymore, the gold shall come,
With me here, let’s fight together,
My child, let’s win together,
I will kiss you goodnight,
I will escort you to school,
I will pray, play and dance with you,
For I now know we matter to each other.

By T

Sio Rahisi

Sio rahisi,
I mean, I wake up to better my life,
A bag and a mind, one full and the other just ready to be filled,
But I come from somewhere, a place I call home,
And I will eventually get back to this same home.
Its not easy, belonging and not loving it.

Leaving and living just some thoughts away,
I have friends, choices and chores,
I have a class I live to maintain,
And I have classes to attend as my main role,
Its not easy, belonging and not loving it.

In class I want to lead, perform well,
But in my my mind anguish leads,
Depending on whose cup I take my sorrow,
I might end up leading on either,
I might lead or bleed,
Its not easy, belonging and not loving it.

My house is chaotic, and I am patriotic to my aim,
But how things are going I can see an end,
To my aim being just a claim,
A claim and a wish, hopes dashing,
And I do erratic things, to be my cry of help,
Its not easy, belonging and not loving it.

Where I come from, the place I call home,
Where I go, a place I want a change,
Where I see safety and a good future,
Still I need to shake the dust of my dawn to see my day clearly,
If I live to see tomorrow, don’t judge me,
Its not easy, belonging and not loving it.

I will cry because I am suffocating,
I will cry because its too much,
Hear my cry and show me the way,
For from where I am coming from,
They hide skeletons for a living,
Its not easy, belonging and not loving it.

Don’t say I am dramatic, if I give you my world,
You will call me back for your rescue,
I bleed from the inside alone,
And my protector is my tormentor,
Its not easy coming to sit and fight for a top spot,
For I am fighting for sanity in my home,
I tell you, its not easy, belonging and not loving it.

Ihûa Rîrî O Muoyo, Nî Kûhooha.

Ririkana rîria wathekaga ukeng’aurîra,
Rîrîa gîkeno gîatherukaga ta dobori,
Rîrîa andû makuonaga magacokwo nî thayû,
Rîrîa warî kihingo kîa wagîrîru na gîcicio,
No rîu ihûa nîrîahohire, no ti ikuû.

Hingo îyo wendetwo mûno,
Hingo îyo ndwahîtûkagwo,
Hingo îyo warî dawa ya aingî,
Hingo îyo, reke ndiririkane macio,
Ona ihûa riahoha ndîna mwihoko norîrirûke.

Nawe wakenagio nî ihûa rîu,
Wee weyûkîrîirie nî ûndû wa ihûa rîu,
We wonire kîonereria na ûgîcangarara,
Ririkana ihûa rîu no maaî riagîte,
Tî rikuû no Kûhooha.

Kwaria ûrîa rîarî ithaka,
Kûgana ûrîa rîagûteithirie,
Na thaa ici rîtirî na ririi no tûhû,
Ririkana ihûa rîu rîarî rîa andû aingî.

Ihûa rîu rîrî muoyo,
Ihûa rîu rîngîheo maaî,
Ihûa rîu rîngîroruo weega,
Tamenya rîacooka ûrîa rîarî,
Rîcangarare ona makîria,
No mbere nonginya rîitîrîrio maaî.

Worn out Beautifully

And in the horizons,
Them that guides my mind zone,
Very calm, collected and on my own,
I will look onto them alone,
Me as the only pawn,
Yes I made it this far.

With the sky all clear ,
A moment for me to steer,
A day to do away with fear,
A time to stop comparisons with my peers,
Yes, an understanding of self.

At an evening, I won’t talk of perfection,
Nor will I draw to myself attention,
I will sit and look on as the sun sets,
Hoping to liven up to my set goals,
An accomplishment to my set wills and thrills.

Another sun set, beautiful and free,
A night that warms my feelings,
A night that tells me I did my best,
A night that tells me to wait for the lest,
Yes, a night I promise myself to wait to the last.

Beauty of the moments,
Moments I have lived and loved,
Moments I have toiled on this soil,
For I now see the world in beauty of the sunset,
And I look at the world with an anticipation of a dawn,
Only that I am here alone,
And yes I get the company of my cat, she’s always been there.