HUSBAND THEN, MANNY NOW!!

He heard the sound of the doorbell

He knew she would soon yell

“Pause cleaning the floor,

And see who’s at the door”

He goes as low as washing her undies

Oh Yeah! He washes her panties

His little son can’t call him daddy

For mummy treats him like a manny

They barely speak to eachother

And he dares not put his own son to order

He met her far back in high school

Oh! Her smile was so cool

People said it wasn’t safe if she was older

But he thought their love was stronger

Years later, they were at the altar

Making vows without a falter

Back when they used to go cruising

She would call her Captain Jack Robin

She used to be the girl he would die for

Indeed, this wasn’t what he bargained for

Now, all his friends call him a looser

But he warns them to keep working harder

For you never know how marriage could be a flop

Until  you finally loose your job!

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

Them that hear of him, never wish to see him

Them that speak of him, everybody avoids

For rumour has it that;

 Those who ever saw him have mouths that would not budge

Eyes that would not shut

Stricken by horrific dreams;

Nightmares that would not spare the slightest slumber

No one ever saw him perpetrate a perilous act

Neither did any victim attribute their attacks to him

And yet his deformity pronounces him guilty

Perhaps, to a crime he’s yet to commit

An innate heart of pure magnanimity

A desire to be a haven to the distressed

But ostracized by society for the fear of the unknown

Dwells in solitude, in a cave of treasures

While the people live in destitution

Hopeful that someday, someone will be brave enough to hear him out

For only then, will the treasures be discovered

To finally wipe out the penury

But the unborn generation inherits a legacy

An enslaved mind that embraces conservatism

And so, what they long for, forever remains hidden.

MAN OF ENVY!!

There he comes, a man filled with envy

He’s not moved by what is funny

Neither is he touched by the world’s greatest story

His wish is for all men to be in distress

But for himself, success in excess

A man who frowns at his brother’s progress

And takes delight in watching others suffer

Indeed, a wolf in sheep’s skin

He will visit the fields with you

Not to graze, but devour you

He’s always obsessed with evil thoughts

Oblivious of the fact that;

What he cherishes most is his weakness!

Sing your best melody to him

And in his ears, it’s a boring hymn

Of all you have, give him half

And face his greedy heart’s wrath

If God were to answer all he prays for

You would have nothing to live for

So cunning how he hides his thoughts behind smiles

He’s been by you through your journey of a thousand miles

He knows your every move, in and out

Disguised as the friend you can never do without

Be wary when he invites you to inspect his traps

For these traps might not be for crabs

Nevertheless, rejoice as you walk through the shrubs

For envious men, usually fall by their own traps!!

LOVE; THE SONNET

In the midst of the tempests, my heart yearns for you

Like a warrior yearns for the blood of his foes

My heart beats for you

Like a king who gives up his throne

In pursuit of an imaginary maiden

Thousands of miles away in an unknown land

The power of love;

Like a web with no exists

Love blinds us from seeing the widest openings

And binds us together in a never-ending dream

Proposes a toast to which we can never refuse

And drowns us in the oceans of unlimited joy and bliss

Love lives on as a blessing to humankind

But love mishandled is the most fierce curse there ever will be!!

ALMIGHTY CAPTAIN

Just when you feel you've been anchored

You realize your efforts escalated the sinking process

You keep going down without the faintest idea of the ocean’s depth

All hopes fade out like a flower’s glamour in the dry season

Life becomes a moving target

So swift that you just can’t aim at it

The impossibility of a dream coming into being

In such moments, your only assurance of a rescue

Is to look up to the Almighty Captain

He has been there before

For in the deep seas where you sink,

He walked with his bare feet

Yours is to focus and believe

For by believing, the living can make a living

A simple command from the Captain

And the face of the waters will calm

But if only you believe

The dolphins will lay you a bed

On the back of a blue whale

The seagulls will sing you a tune

And if it be the will of the Captain

You will never miss the land

BEHOLD, THE NARROW ESCAPE!

Somewhere in the world, Mr. Jones lost his job

The backbone of a family of six is broken

On his way home, he ponders in bewilderment;

Soon, the landlords will come chasing their rents

My kids would have to suspend their education

And take on premature mantles of responsibilities

For at my age, who will employ me?

Misery abounds and despair looms

But mama calms daddy down

And on their knees, they said a prayer

Behold, the narrow escape; a better job offer came!

Somewhere in the world, Jerry got introduced to drugs

Little by little, he got addicted

He tried to resist but the urge was stronger

What drove him nuts were his empty pockets

Pick-pocketing and robbery then enslaved him

Until he passed out one night on a church-way

He awoke the next morning before an altar

Amidst tears, he whispered to the men that found him

‘Please help me, I don’t want to go back!!’

And so they knelt and said a prayer

Behold, the narrow escape; Jerry got clean!

Somewhere in the world, baby Harry lost his mum

He had no idea what death meant

He cried because everyone else was crying

His drunkard father’s presence was better off an absence

A man who finds joy only in wine

Harry grows to find life unbearable

With nothing to live for, he succumbs to suicide

On the day he bids earth farewell, a stranger knocked

‘God loves you’ was the message he carried

And so they knelt and said a prayer

Behold, the narrow escape; Harry’s hopes rekindled

DAYBREAK AFRICA

Its daybreak Africa

And no one is shouting Eureka!

The dream is still not realized

Nor the vision finalized

It’s time for the whores to have their sleep

And robbers to gather what they did not reap

The policeman cannot use his gun

So when the thieves come, we all run

The hunters leave to inspect their traps

The musicians blow the dust off their harps

Cocoa harvest was quite low

And so farmers have no money to blow

Drivers’ horns are honking

Fishermen’s wives are mongering

The tourists enjoying the city’s view

A graduate is late for an interview

Poor kids trek for miles just to school

Rich kids debating on which of dad’s car is cool

Child labour everywhere

Men in nice suits littering anywhere

Public workers threaten to go on strike

Governments dedicated solely to price hike

See how work harden their palm

Yet the salary would not come

Hopefully, the dream will soon be realized

And the vision finalized

But for now, its daybreak Africa

And no one is shouting Eureka!!

A LETTER TO THE WHITE COLLAR

From dawn to dusk, we roam the streets

Hunger and fear, our daily treats

From dusk to dawn, unpleasant dreams

Vis-à-vis with life’s harsh realities

With bread and wine at their beck and call

They dine and wine until nightfall

Gathering and hoarding for their vicious deeds

Depriving us of elementary needs

We till the fields and sow the seeds

And lay wait unto the harvest

Praying and hoping it does not tarry

We make our petition known to the Rain God

But while we wait in joyful hope

They creep at night and mount our horses

Reaping with our sickles, the fruits of our labour

Fulfilling their covetous desires

Yet we do not come to wage war

We only appeal for a humble offering

Lend us a helping hand

For in unity, we all stand

Heed our earnest utterance

Lest we bury our tolerance

Bridge this gap in tranquility

Else we do it contrarily

WANDERING HEARTS THAT NEVER MET

Our tender hearts did love seize

In the silent nights with ease

The die was cast

I found one at last

When I blink

She would wink

In her eyes was the light

The light that shines so bright

Bright light that tamed my brutish soul

Beneath this light, my haven, my sole

One thing would make it certain

To affirm her thoughts, her version

I asked her out on a date

To which she did not hesitate

In my head, I rehearsed

Word by word, line by line

And a short prayer to Saint Valentine

As I handed her a Clementine

And so we sat on the sandy beach

Rumbling in my head, the golden speech

At last, on ma knees, I poured it all out

She looked away, she seemed to doubt

She turned back and she shivered

I can’t! I can’t!! she whispered

My heartbeat echoed as I heard

Indeed, we both yearned

I yearned for her and no other

She yearned too but for another!

THE END BEFORE IT BEGUN

I saw the end before it begun

So dark and yet so vivid

I  saw the usurper on the throne

Sentencing the masses to death by starvation

The land, swallowed by flood                    

From the tears of the innocent souls

I saw the end before it begun

I saw it bend unto the foe’s path

The wicked smiled and the gentle wept

Alas, the people had no say

I tried and tried to twist this fate

But in vain were my endeavors

What’s the virtue of a premonition,

If its outcome is inevitable?

If no effort of mine can defy the odds

And win me Glory’s favour,

Then what’s the worth of this vision?

So I hoist a white banner, symbol of truce

Hoping for a redemption I might never receive

To the spirits that make dreams;

Conceal from me the hard truth

Let me live in joyous oblivion

As the conspirators conceive their sinister rebellion

Allow my heart its peace until the epiphany

For the knowledge of defeat before its encounter,

Has carved a scar unto my soul!!!