Futile flippant,
rules and obscure,
mousetrap pitfalls,
scurrilous lure,
to faze green novice,
unsuspecting candidate,
contestant sworn to zeal,
might pause when enjoined,
to allow one’ s muse,
lithe elastic scope,
supple latitude,
without reckless reign,
or barren folly,
however cunning ploys,
lay-by lurk dithers,
yet without prior notice,
draws, dupes, deceives,
but these are caveats,
when stricture is,
shrouded in vague,
plumes of hazed,
thin veiled hair-split,
one stumbles
and fumbles over,
whilst glazed glance,
skips blindly over,
cues, clues, clause,
tip-offs to
shady motives,
motifs! ulterior.
I stepped out yesterday,
with no money for food,
no money for rent.
Only a T-shirt, jeans, and shoes,
that's enough, I told myself.
In my bag, my laptop,
my copies, my pen.
I am writing two things now,
one book, Always Go Up,
and one novel about my life.
I have nothing in my hands,
but I have a dream in England,
to become a PhD doctor.
I don't know how I will pay,
I don't know how I will eat,
but I know I will make my dream come true.
Unfold the threads that braved the storm and sun,
The frayed and faded red, the starlight blue,
Its watch is kept, its noble duty done,
Returned from distant seas where freedom grew.
No longer raised to catch the morning air,
Nor guard the quiet dark with loyal keep,
We gently fold the seams with silent care,
And yield the cloth to honorable sleep.
Let gentle embers take the sacred weave,
As burning threads ascend in quiet grace;
No cause for bitter tears or hearts to grieve,
For honor leaves an everlasting trace.
Though vanished from the halyard to the sky,
Its spirit lives in dreams and that never die.
From childhood
To adulthood
Many things we faced
Before we overcome
Emerging who we are today
Some mistakes
We don't want to repeat
Because it keeps us in the pit.
Mistake repeated
Are lessons forfeited
Mercy after forgiveness
Is not useless
All we practiced
Because we ain't perfect
Rapid growth our goals
Always finding a way to be on top
We don't want to be
A result of our society
Because it comes with insults
Standing out wasn't easy
But we always hold
Tight to our dreams
Steadily believing even when
The odds are against us
That one day we'll triumph.
No matter how many tears I cry
They'll never be enough
'Cause the days without you were splendidly tough.
It hurts my heart to the core
I can't wear that surface smile anymore
'Cause my wounds are still sore.
Till this day I admire you
-Like a ship to its crew.
Little one, you may never have known me,
but I’ve loved you since the day you were born.Though time and distance keep us apart, my heart was always with you,
in every step, in every tomorrow.
I was a woman who lived with love,
and my greatest joy was my family.
Your smile, your laughter, your future
were dreams I carried long before you arrived. Even though I couldn’t hold you in my arms, I held you in my heart — always.
I may be gone from this world,
but my love for you will never fade.
I watch over you from Heaven,
with a heart full of pride, as you grow, learn, and become the man
you are meant to be.
Be kind, be strong, be true,
and never forget how loved you are.
You carry a piece of my soul,
and I’ll always be your biggest cheerleader, from above.
Life may have taken me from your side,
but it could never take the love I have for you. You are my grandson, my forever joy,
and I will always be with you —
in every moment, in every dream, in every heartbeat.
Love always,
Your Nana ??
By Shawn Muñoz
A DEDICATION TO MY GODSON CARLETON
What can I say, when I received news that you
had gone to be with our Lord.
I called you, but you didn’t respond.
I asked our Lord many times to make a change
in your life, but I didn’t expect this.
My only hope was that I was a good influence
in your life, and that you felt you could depend on me.
I hate to see you go this way, but it seems
to have been the only
choice, if you can call it a choice.
I will miss you terribly.
So long, my dear Carleton.
I will always love you.
Look within your heart and,
You will realize the beauty,
You have always had.
Listen to your heart and soul,
Because that will tell you,
Every thing you need to know.
Ignore the background noise,
People who don't understand,
Will just say things, that don't matter.
With one look I feel you,
Are the heart in my soul.
Your eyes show me everything,
That your heart is not saying.
My heart only beats for you.
I reach for your hands,
Saying, Please don't go,
When I see the tears in your eyes,
As you take me in your arms,
Saying only one word, Home.
Breath Without Apology
I stand here,
with a chest full of echoes,
and a tongue heavy with prayers.
I want a life,
not stitched in fear,
but woven in safety,
like a blanket that never tears.
I want a love,
not a riddle,
not a puzzle with missing pieces,
but a flame steady,
burning without question,
a hand that does not tremble
when it reaches for mine.
I want peace,
not the fragile kind,
not the one that vanishes
when silence enters the room,
but peace that lingers,
like incense in the rafters,
like dawn refusing to surrender to night.
I want simplicity,
the kind that feels like home,
like laughter spilling in kitchens,
like children chasing shadows,
like the sound of rain
reminding us we are alive.
And if you ask me again,
what I want,
I will tell you
I want to breathe without apology,
to love without armor,
to rest without ghosts,
to live before dying,
to begin before ending.
© Tr. Elvis Otieno Gikoi
® ArtFromHeart
It’s raining all night, and I’m sleepless
Each random thought carries me through
This habit to think is ridiculous
Except when I’m thinking of you
Hope you would approve my idea
I’ve no desire to celebrate
The date of upcoming New Year
The symbol of time that can’t wait
Champagne and that fabulous salad
We can go without easily
The spruce with the shimmering garland
Oh dear, it’s too much for me
I paid off a many New Years
Each one was no better than old
I’ve watched the sunrise over hills
I’ve lived up a tale no one told
So why not remain in the past
To drown in your eyes with the sun
That jumped like a ball between us
When we were alive, having fun.
Intelligent answers
Come from intelligent
Question
Might I mention
That's an undisputed
Claim
One is one
Unless divided
That's the way it
Is ain't no time
For foolish games
Do wop auh we-we
It calculated
Worry about the
Whole part
Stop worrying
Bout me
Down to the wire
Down to the last
Minute ah champion
Proud and tall
A man
For ah World to see
Do my best go out there
And exploit the tension
Science majors, and grapplers
Compliment me
Hold my trophy high
For the world
To see
Excited bout the night
I defend my title
Boo's and jeers greet me
But there is some who
Appreaces championship
Quality
Theres a lot of fans cheering
For me
His wealth and notarity
Talents line up
Too face me
Got that rizz
Something about me
Ya'll come down and see me
I'll do my
Ooh
Do my
Auh she muh golly ooh
Do my
Ooh do wop ooh auh
Do my
Auh she muh gallie
Muh dew
it's really quite clever
to never utter never
retaining the fun of playful endeavour
seeking mysteries of life forever and ever
past times these words were declared
never again because of how I once fared
then I've reneged developed skills unimpaired
there's little to gain unless once again dared
the message I value don't ever resist
much more satisfying when I doggedly persist
Emily (part 2.2)
From the outreach of my hand
I can feel you
From my eyes I want to
Bewitch you
From look in my eye I want you
Only because I fell
In love with you
From the shore of the Atlantic
To shore of Lake Erie
I row a boat to get you
Take you in my arms
Kiss you until you cry out
Love me
The sky opens up with the sun
It time for us to have some fun
Walking the beach
Snuggles under cover
Swimming nude together
Living a loving life
Got you under my skin
You let me in
Every so softly I sung
From East Coast to the west Coast
My find will outdo the rest
She has beauty from out and in
Love the feeling of her skin
We kiss and hug and love
she is my lady
Emily
“a heartbeat pulsating as living light
free from each and every limitation
I Am that dwelling in unbound delight
the source wherefrom arises creation”
My compass is set:
Forward alignmed by faith through grace.
I do not control life’s challenges,
but I command my response.
I am that I live for my purpose,
not for the world’s praise.
I do not bend;
I do not break;
I do not look back.
I am that, I am of a human sponge,
Whom listens, observers and absorbs lifes lessons and learn from its mistakes!
For this is my creed!
Before him, my hands belonged to me—
ten fingers with no reason to be careful,
good for gripping steering wheels, counting money,
and reaching for whatever I wanted next.
Then a nurse folded eight pounds into my arms.
His whole hand closed around one finger,
too small to circle even half of it,
and somehow that unfinished little fist
held more of me than mine ever could.
I remember watching his little chest rise,
a heart-shaped birthmark moving with every breath,
counting each one without knowing I was counting,
afraid even air might mishandle him.
Those hands changed after that.
They learned alarm clocks before sunrise,
time clocks, grocery bags, medicine bottles,
how to stretch one paycheck past Friday,
how to check a fever without waking him.
They learned shoelaces. Bicycle seats.
And even how long to hold on before letting go.
Years later, those tiny fingers
filled the gloves of a United States Marine,
and I stood looking up at the same boy
I once was terrified of dropping.
Funny—
The first day I held my son,
I thought I was carrying him.
I didn't know
he was carrying me into manhood.
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