Best Mau Poems
Into slithered path of forest green
my imprints mark a search for peace,
as bushes hide like shades unseen
where vines’ fragrance holds its release.
Drained, I see life through a flower
struggling to curl among meshed weeds,
these limbs falling on ash of hours
like old willows bound to concede.
Enduring climbs upon a hilltop
the blaze of night in gold appears;
so far the wrens, too near I drop
till leaf of hope breaks, as morn nears.
Dusk now closes its drowsy eyes,
as forest still grants what is mine
breathless from new mist, I arise.
while soles run here in thoughts divine
Mau 2018 Standard Contest of Brian Strand
British wanted profit
British wanted new land
Land rich in resources
Land of ivory and coffee
Coffee British could sell
Coffee Kenyans could not
Could not retrieve freedom
Could not reason with British
British took over land
British farmed fertile soil
Soil was Kenyan birthright
Soil of Kenyan ancestors
Ancestors buried here
Ancestors grieved for living
Living like refugees
Living in fear of England
England built railway
England bolstered power
Power taken by British
Power denied to Kenyans
Kenyans displaced
Kenyans were angry
Angry since dishonored
Angry since stripped of rights
Rights taken from Kenyans
Rights only for British
British happy in new land
British prosperous future
Future lost Kenyans
Future lost hope
Hope came from bravery
Hope came from Dedan
Dedan well respected
Dedan joined Mau Mau
Mau Mau took oath
Mau Mau freedom fighters
Fighters for rights
Fighters for justice
Justice took much time
Justice took much blood
Blood shed for Dedan
Blood shed for hero
Hero was hung
Hero yet lives
Lives in the minds
Lives in the hearts
Hearts beat forever
Hearts beat freedom
Freedom...
Forever...
5/19/16
Mama Africa,
Land of my ancestors' birth;
Source of all mankind,
the once Shangri la of mother earth.
Stir up the spirit of the Mau-Mau in vibrato on the bongo.
Your ways are far higher than the crags of the Kilimanjaro.
Let the cry for freedom rides the winds of the Serengeti,
and the walls of segregation fall like confetti.
With careful utterances,
ransack the minds of the pig-headed souls.
Uhuru milele! Milele bure!
Adamantly, gluttons deprive her black gold.
In the villages, griots will invoke a new story.
Follow the way of the lion,
and watch out for the hyenas.
When the rivers are dry in Tanzania,
danger resides in the mud.
Remember; when liberty is threaten in Somalia,
freedom is written in blood.
Blood stained her crevices with love;
black sons’ and black daughters’ blood.
Kenya rebel
Kenya hero
Hero of the people
Hero executed
Executed by hanging
Executed and buried
Buried in a mass gave
Buried in the morning
Morning of mourning
Morning end
End of his fight
End of his short life
Life as a freedom fighter
Life full of confusing propaganda
Propaganda by the British
Propaganda by colonist
Colonist taking land
Colonist calling him terrorist
Terrorist or heroic figure
Terrorist the peoples fighter
Fighter against colonialism
Fighter of the Mau Mau
Mau Mau leader
Mau Mau uprising
Uprising and conflicts grew
Uprising and race relations violent
Violent gruesome affair and deaths
Violent Kimathi
Kimathi arrested wearing disguise
Kimathi arrested in Kenya
Kenya Nairobi at thirty-six
Kenya freedom fighter dead
Dead but not forgotten
Dead a national hero
Hero who was a threat
Hero who took an oath
Oath to the Land of Freedom Army
Oath in secret to reclaim land
Land stolen
Land British settlers took
Took with no regard
Took because they were British
British colonization in Kenya
British Government threatened
Threatened and needed to eradicate
Threatened by the African people
People erected statue of Kimathi
People sing songs to the bronze
Bronze . . .
Kimathi . . .
___________________________________
April 22, 2016
Poetry/Blitz/Hero To People
Copyright Protected, ID 16-781-604-0
All Rights Reserved. Written under Pseudonym.
For the contest, Dig Deep, Race Relations - Conflicts-
Colonialism, sponsor, Marugo Mo
Third Place
Walter Rodney
One evening leaving the bamboo hall
Stood me
Impaled with questions
Die me
To the dead colonial dreams
Wiped my tears of history
And showed me
Rastafari wading through the flood
Making new footprints on old mud
Giving Africa a second birth
Telling heaven to a carnal earth
All I had known before
Was umbilical lessons from the drums
My heart
With the rhythm of languages lost
The dart
Of affliction quivering in the heart
The totem of resistance to the frost
Traced the dreadlocks to the Mau Mau
Far short of Canaan and the Nazarites law
Brought by Melchizedek from forest deep
Rastaman walking while children sleep.
Scree Bertram
Who remember him
Setting pearls before us
Blankets made of bulrush
Where the blackheart man could not find us
Only the troubadour
Could open the gates of Zion with his songs
The Idren sang here and passed on
O Bob, my dear Robert Nesto Marley
The children have not danced so long
The street is such a silent place
Filled with weary feet
We long to dance again
The sound of the Rastaman
We long to hear
The sound of abundance of rain
And see the Rastaman
Standing in the lightning
And giving praise
Yet though the Black Starliner delays
I am Dedan
I tell tales
Tales of fight
Tales of freedom
Freedom to breathe
Freedom to think
Think to prosper
Think to liberate
Liberate Humanity
Liberate my land
Land is the mother
Land of my origin
Origin of human
Origin to be evolved
Evolved you are
Evolved from this land
Land you have ruled
Land you have exploited
Exploited peoples
Exploited to profit
Profit demands more
Profit demands all
All is not yours
All are human
Human feelings
Human face
Face the truth
Face to face
Face it nicely
Face divine eyes
Eyes don’t lie
Eyes will see
See the resemblance
See all equal
Equal we are
Equal are the rights
Rights to retrieve
Rights to render
Render love
Render amity
Amity can resolve
Amity got the power
Power to excel
Power to be kind
Kind to mankind
Kind to Dedan
Dedan did fight
Dedan fought for freedom
Freedom
Fight
27.04.16
Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957) born Kimathi wa Waciuri, was a leader of the Mau Mau which led an armed military struggle known as the Mau Mau uprising against the British colonial government in Kenya in the 1950's. A highly controversial character, Kimathi's life has been subject to intense propaganda by both the British government who saw him as a terrorist, and Kenyan nationalists who view him as the heroic figurehead of the Mau Mau rebellion. Despite being viewed with disdain by the Jomo Kenyatta regime and subsequent governments, Kimathi and his fellow Mau Mau rebels are now officially recognised as heroes in the struggle for Kenyan independence by the incumbent government.This follows passage of a new Constitution in 2010 calling for recognition of national heroes, amid a dismaying trend in post-independent Kenya where benefits of the freedom struggle largely went to those who did little in its behalf while those who sacrificed the most went neglected or dishonoured. Dedan's role is perhaps the most memorable and heroic in the struggle to free Africans from the colonial yoke. His capture and execution in 1957 led to the eventual defeat of the uprising by the British colonial government. [Source Wikipaedia]
The thorns-in-sides are various
which mar incumbents’ slumber.
Could Belgium bear Lumumba?
Would Britain brook Makarios?
There’s Bolsheviks or Mensheviks,
Parnell or De Valera:
Marat had Robespierre, or
the Romans, Vercingetorix.
There’s Che Guevara, Spartakists,
the Mau Mau, Mata Hari,
the Contras, Carbonari,
Hamas, Harmonious Fists.
The song that stops the show?
“It Ain’t Necessarily So”.
A place to be; a home to live,
Full of cultures and traditions,
rivers of live.
In crossing the Mediterranean,
‘criss-crossing’ the continent, you see…
A mountain of rivers,
running the Niles to desert,
crossing the Niger to the ocean,
a Congo in the Basin, an orange of waters,
the Silver of Gold Coast.
Africa! A Limpopo in Zambezi.
Wild wild cat mewing on jaro mountains,
climbing the Zuma face,
and ascending from the Jos-Plateau.
Africa! A sight and sound,
a sound of Saka Zulu,
and a sight of Mandela.
A sound of Mau Mau song,
and a sight of Jomo Kenyatta.
The voice of Nkrumah,
prompting tying broom sticks together.
The zikist Movement,
and the freedom of the child.
Africa! A child once weeping,
but Ngugi says, ‘Weep Not Child’.
Once tried,
in ‘the trial of Brother Jero’.
Once chained,
Kaunda assured, ‘Zambia shall be free’.
Achebe saw ‘Things fall apart’,
observed, ‘The center cannot hold’,
but, Addis Ababa held the center.
Africa! Chanting a new song,
the song that unchained the chains of Mandela,
replacing the guns with tables and chairs.
A song written in ‘So Long a Letter’,
making brothers sit with brothers,
a song recited while sitting around a table.
A song of reasoning; a song of understanding;
but the last stanza of the song says;
Not yet Uhuru
Brave Samurai Knight
your Warlord, Itso, waits you.
Your ancestors cry
out for revenge against Mau.
Defend your family's
honor for all weep at what
Mau has done to our
land making us his servants.
Take your sword now knight
and avenge your father' name.
Your grandfather waits
in his grave to see you fight
and restore his house
to its former place of pride.
Itso waits for you.
Knight, this thing you need to do!
When Rico said, Thirty days will go by
and I’ll be forgotten after I die
I knew what I had to do
I’ll make a book for you
At least the cover will catch your eye
I decided to do this in case he croaks
It's a chapbook with his incredible jokes
Double-entendres filled with sex
At Kinko's-AKA-Fed-Ex
Obsessed with Vladimir's power, a hoax
Thousands of words it cost me some chen
Kinko’s gets it—they always have been
Lucky for Rico Leffanta
I have chosen the right fonta
At my source where they make things happen
Mana'o wau e ola mau 'oe
translation: I hope you live forever!
Thanks to you all
Thanks to those who come to
poetrysoup.com, practise poems,
write, read and share poems
and comment on others
Thanks to those who read my
writings, do comments, follow
me, avoid my poems, block
and ban me from their list
Thanks to you all
I’ve no eternity here, all of me
from least to chest, best to edge,
sharpen blade of new paddy leaves
jeopardize my torn nib of ink
in the field of writings graph
Maybe I couldn’t write any word
for beauty and stunning young girl
in comprehension, in passion and
in my fashionable heart
Maybe I couldn’t write charming note
of flower’s petals, striking fragrance,
in my perpetuity lake of quills
Maybe I couldn’t draw the sexy body of
rose, lotus, tulip, sunflower, orchid,
lily, daffodil… etc in my vulnerable
reef of poetic expression
Maybe I couldn’t draw the colors magic
of rainbow in my infatuated fallen
soaked feathers with November rain
Maybe I couldn’t inscribe the nature
the cosmos, the solar system, the ocean,
the black hole, the space, the sky, the stars,
the planets, the galaxies, the meteors, the
gravitational power…etc in my slumbering
wings of writings
Maybe I couldn’t plant the meditational
tree into the pure heart of words, I couldn’t
select the seeds of immortality in my
ascetic madness and magma script
Maybe I couldn’t greet the autonomy flying
of Cockatiels, Parakeets, Canaries, Finches,
African Grey Parrots, Budgerigars, Cockatoos,
Conures, Macaws, Poicephalus…etc in my
unintelligible incarcerated language
Maybe I couldn’t hail the abode for Labrador,
Bulldog, German, Poodle, Beagle… etc and
Maine Coon, Egyptian Mau, American Bobtail,
Ragdoll…etc in my materialistic
harvesting terminology
Maybe I couldn’t sleep with power of poems,
dream to be a finest classic or modern poet
in my kingdom of pen, paper, ink, writing
table-chair and lamp
Notwithstanding all these, I thanks to those
who come here at least one time daily,
erratically and read, write, share own
thoughts and comment frankly
Thanks to you all a lot. Thanks and love you
all. From me always ready the rose without
thorns and love for you all, although you bleed
my heart by thorns stinging
-November 14, 2018 Chattogram
////
DEDICATED TO POETRYSOUP.COM and ALL POETS-POETESSES OF THIS ESTEEMED LITERARY SITE
I arrived earlier in time
To witness the great work of creation
When from the dust emerged the first man
I saw the destruction of the Noah’s world
And the reconstruction thereafter
The earliest civilization on Egypt soil
Unfolded before my very eyes
The reign of the Greek gods and
The might of Roman, I shared
I walked the streets of Paris
On the eve of Robespierre’s revolution
The triumph of Lenin, Trosky and the royal guards
Were mine at the proletariat Russia
With Cromwell, I drank from victory cistern
In Britain, in the battle against the crown
In the boat beside Columbus
We discovered the new world, America
In Berlin, we sat and scrambled
For Africa’s partition
From the rocks ravines of Kenya
I fought in the Mau Mau’s rebellion
Behind Ghandi, I walked
Paving the streets of India for independence
At Capetown, I teamed up with Mandela
For freedom in apartheid South Africa
I saw the the CIA at Congo Kinshasa
Murdering young Patrice Lumumba
At Lagos and Accra, I saw the magic wand
Waving over the peoples in the hands of Zik and Nkrumah
On stage with Bob Marley in old Rhodesia
I danced redemption song on the first of Zimbabwe
Last centuries, yesteryears, yesterdays
Today, tomorrow on pages and lines of books
Open before my very eyes and mind.
*Image of Hawaii State Flag & State Motto/Seal by Pixabay.
The Great Mahele
The Hawaiian islands were overwhelmed,
In the year eighteen hundred forty-three,
Hawaiians were prisoners, promptly held,
By Captain George Paulet a Lord he'd be.
Constraining the islands for his monarch,
Accusations formed by Richard Charlton,
The islands British Consul a suave shark,
Aberrant land swindler cursed charlatan.
Prod Captain British subjects land taken,
Put was U.S. Captain Long ne'er meddle,
Commodore Kearny's U.S. warships end,
Six months seizure--awards a nonmetal.
Paulet cut our flags Union Jack now flys,
In part plus changing words immortalize.
2021 November 16
"Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono." (Hawaiian)
"The life (or sovereinty) of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." (English)
Hawaii's State Motto/Creed and Hawaii's State Seal
King Kamehameha III, of The Kingdom of Hawaii, said those words as part of his message to the people of the Hawaiian kingdom after British ships withdrew rather than risk conflict with America. The acts of the usurpers caused the king to establish "The Great Mahele", giving land to the commoners, whereto, I'm now a benefactor thereof.
King Kamehameha I friendship with England caused the inclusion of The Union Jack as part of Hawaii's State Flag. It has eight stripes of white, red, and blue that represent the eight main islands. The Union Jack flew o'er the islands during the seizure, but the Hawaiian Flag was restored after it was learned that England never sanctioned the occupation.
WHAT IF ?
WHAT IF I WASN'T BORN?
AND IF I WAS
WHAT IF I WAS NOT ME?
WHAT IF I WAS NELSON MANDELA?
WOULD I HAVE THE QUALITIES OF A LEADER?
AND WOULD I STAND BEHIND BAR?
TO STAND SO LONG FOR FREEDOM SAKE
BUT STILL AND STILL,I STAND MYSELF
WHAT IF I WAS A YANKEE ON THE VIETNAM SPOIL?
WOULD I BE SHOOTING TI GET THEM DOWN?
OR WOULD I TAKE TO MY HEELS AND LEAVE THE GROUND?
NOT LISTENING TO THE DRUMS OF RIGHTS AND WRONG
BUT STILL AND STILL I STAND MYSELF
WHAT IF I WAS DEDAN KIMATHI?
WOULD I LET THEM GET ME LATER?
OR WOULD I STAY AWAY LIKE JOMO KENYATTA?
BURNING COLD MAU MAU FIRE WITH NO PLUME
BUT STILL AND STILL I STAND MYSELF
WHAT IF I WAS PRINCE TO A RUTHLESS KING?
WOULD MY HEART BE MADE OF STONE?
OR WOULD I BE TOO SOFT FOR THE RUTHLESS THRONE?
WITH ECHOES OF TREASON WHISPERING BEHIND THE TRUSTED CORRIDORS
BUT STILL AND STILL I STAND MYSELF
WHAT IF I WAS DAVID DIOP?
WOULD I HAVE ENDED IT OVER THE ATLANTIC?
OR WOULD I HAVE LIVED ON AND MADE LIFE MORE DRAMATIC?
PUTTING A REVAMP TO A SONG OF SORROW
BUT STILL AND STILL I STAND MYSELF
WHAT IF I WAS A PRIEST?
WOULD I ENDURE THE THOUGHT OF A GENERATION TO BE LOST?
OR WOULD I RATHER ERR AND LIVE A CURSE?
TO STAND ON A VALLEY BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS
BUT STILL AND STILL I STAND MYSELF
WHAT IF I WAS CHRISTOPHER OKIGBO?
WOULD I CHANT AND JOIN THE LIST?
OR WOULD I WATCH AND WRITE AT LEAST?
TO MATCH THE WORLD WITH LEAD AND INK
BUT STILL AND STILL I STAND MYSELF
WHAT IF YOU WERE NOT BORN?
AND IF YOU WERE
WHAT IF YOU WERE ME?
i've searched
my mind and
thumbed
through
books
of ancient lore
even implored
mi familia of
strega
for
asking all all the same
what is this script
perhaps maybe
hieroglyphs
etched
in stone a primal
primitive man
expressing
this this
reen
but to my chagrin
not an answer
but solved
when i
did
cross one eye while
the other stayed
straight purely
practice of
a bored
childhood but then
understood why
i didn't want
reens but
more
more
reens
Mau
reen
s