My Familiar Stranger

There was something strikingly familiar about him.

The first time he approached me, he told me he wanted my heart,
and all he wanted in return was for his to be mine.
He wooed me with sugar-coated words,
courted me with his hearty laughter.

His laughter was deep and sonorous,

just like that of my father.

I fell hard, I fell fast.
We exchanged vows, made solemn promises before God and family.

"To have and to hold through life's ups and downs,

for better, worse and the worst,I will honour and love you as my wife.
Forever and a thousand years."

This was his vow to me.

But he lied.
He didn't want my heart, he wanted my sanity.
He didn't want a wife, he wanted a slave.
His sonorous laughter suddenly became sinister and his sugar-coated words became gunshots aimed to break my spirit.
He taunted me, mocked and threatened me.

He reminded me of my father.

I watched myself slowly become the woman my mother once was.
The woman she wrestled and finally killed after she left my father.
The institution I had thought was marriage, had become a prison cell guarded by fear.
My husband wanted to be god in a world where I was to be slave.

And then it struck me...

There was something strikingly familiar about him.
I should have recognised him from the moment he said hello.
He wasn't just a familiar stranger, he was my familiar stranger.
He was my father. I fell in love with my father...

Your Eyes

Your eyes...

They tell me stories about you.

Your passions and desires,

Your dreams and aspirations,

Your fears and inhibitions, 

Your vices and hobbies,

It's all there...written boldly in your eyes.

It's the way they light up when you see me and dim when I have to be away.

It's how they well up in tears when you are upset and sparkle like stars when you are excited.

It's the way they silently whisper sweet words like " You are my everything" and more.

So the next time you ask me what I love about you,

Believe me when I say...your eyes.

For Paris

It was a serene atmosphere
Laughter, romance and love in the air
Soft music filled the background
Sweet melody, melodic symphony was the sound

Then suddenly... BANG!  BANG!! BANG!!!
The room was raided by a terrorist gang
Fear became the music, death became the sound
Shots were fired, lovers and friends falling to the ground
Human bombs began to detonate
smiling at the heavens like it was their fate

126 people badly injured...most were found dead
In one night, Paris became a city to be feared
For the lives lost and families hurt because of that day
We can do nothing but bow our heads and pray...

#PrayforParis
#PrayforNigeria
#PrayfortheWorld

Dear Steve

Dear Steve,

I write you this letter not in disdain
but with a heart flooded with unmitigated pain
With love I cuddled you fiercely when you were born
I had tarried for years and finally, God gave me a son
I was no longer ridiculed by society, I was no longer mocked
For though my daughters were pretty, your unexpected birth had left them shocked.
I watched you grow to be a young, dashing, charming  teenager
and yes, I recall those times you jokingly called me a nagger

Of course, I had to nag you to be all you could be,
Don't you know you are the best thing that ever happened to me?
Not only are you the spitting image of your father
You are kind, loving, generous like your dear mother
I remember your high school days in King's College, Victoria Island
and how your dad and I beamed with joy when you told us you had joined the band
You were my boy, my son, my obi ! But today...the case is sadly the reverse
As you leave me scorned with this news so perverse

How is it possible you feel such unholy desire for a man?
Why have you suddenly decided to distort God's original plan?
How can you tell me I gave birth to you this way?
What did I ever do to make you go astray?
My questions will forever remain unending
and the pain worsens each passing day as you plan your wedding
Oh Steve! please... there has to be another way
As I have refused to accept that my only son is gay

The Rope

He sat and stared at the rope for days
It stared back at him, with a sly grin and a mocking gaze
He knew his thoughts were wrong
He thought he was really strong
But he felt his life had no iota of hope
So he decided to sell it to the rope

Breathe

Breathe,
I know it is your last
But stay a little longer
Let's build castles, let's tour Japan
...and live.


Just breathe,
Even though it is your last
I pray you get stronger
You have exciting dreams with one great plan
-to live!


Please breathe,
You are home at last
Death became friend in those last painful hours
The pain has ebbed, you are free to be,
to truly live...



For Roman

I love you

The words escaped your lips before I could stop them
'I love you'...was the genesis of our problem
For when those words escaped your lips,
I knew, for now, we couldn't be.
How can I love you truly,
when I do not even love me...?

Allen Avenue

We walked these streets, hands softly intertwined,

Emotions spoke on our behalf as we drank wine and dined.

Love was birthed with us on Allen Avenue,

Love also died on these streets with you...

Ebony's Pride

I am fierce, I am dark
I am a word that fought back
I am a nation, I am a people
I am a colour, I am black

I am a race, I am a continent
I am resilient, I am pertinent
I am beautiful no! I won't hide
I stand tall, I'm Ebony's pride

Apartheid I fought, my name is Mandela
12 years a slave, yes! I am Lupita
I am skin thick, I am colour proud
My beauty's song, I will sing loud

For freedom and hope are my life's story
Alas Victory, my own, I go down in history
As fierce, As dark
As a legend that fought back.

The Only time I don’t Jabber

The only time I don’t jabber is when I have a pen to a paper

With fluidity and accuracy like no other, the words flow out smoothly like a river

The only time I don’t stutter is when my knees meet the floor in prayer

With confidence and sheer surety, I converse with a loving and true Deity

The only time I don’t falter is when I’m tucked safely in the arms of a gracious Father

With radical love and tender kindness, He holds me intently and calls me daughter

The only time I don’t flounder is when I'm walking in the footsteps of Abba

With sturdy legs that go on forever, I walk in confidence not like dear Peter

The only time I am a racer is when I take long walks with the one , true Alpha

This is the only time I am free

This is the only time I am me

Spending time with Yahweh is the only time I don't jabber.