The gigantic acacia tree would testify
Were it not for savage ravages of rot
That erase feeble living things that die
After decades under sun’s missiles hot.
And the birds that chirruped and flew
About as he trudged over hill and bend
Long went like all weak beings of flight,
And no more can lasting credence lend.
If old baobab trunks had tongues that turn
Methinks they would solid testimony avail,
Of how devoutly he toiled in dews and sun
And never refrained from heaven-sent toils.
But since baobab trunks unspeaking are
And birds such fleeting breaths have they,
Can cold unfeeling stones their version say:
Tell how over them hopped he on his way?
Though villainous eyes those labors saw,
Witnessing their tireless winds and turns;
None would ranks of vile ignominy break
And end this betrayal that achingly burns.
And for want of witness this sobbing soul
Perishes and dissolves like a soaking loaf
Amid bootless heavens’ amnesic lethargy,
As cruel decades to a rude century morph.
Did Moses say that you enter into life
or did he say you can enjoy life
If you follow the Law in Romans 10:5?
"O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way." [a]
Is Jesus the Savior of all men?
As we read in 1 Timothy 4:10?
Yes and no. He is the Savior of those who believe
He is the provider of necessary things
for all and those who have not been again conceived
"He saves some men in all ways, and all men in some ways" [b]
Common grace and saving grace
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth [c]
With two left feet
he's clod-hoppery
tho' her little white porkies
are quite whoppery
as he thinks aloud
she's merely frippery
meanwhile she knows
he's really foppery
but slinking around
slippery-sloppery
in sandals she found
flippery-floppery
she came a-croppery
a total eye-poppery
yet flummoxed
gob-stoppery
he refrained
from quippery-flippery
remained on toppery
and maintained
ever chippery
On the last day of the week
you were the first person to ask me
on a movie date
and this was the first time I refrained from hesitation
the first time in a long time I've loaned my bones expose
and as it plays on my unforgivable fidgeting
begins twisting in positions in my seat
trying to lay my head on your chest
without breaking my neck
and I’m sorry I couldn’t just
become comfortable
and I’m sorry it’s about more than
just the movie
and I’m sorry I was more focused
on what I wanted taken
than was capable of giving
and I’m sorry all I can do is sputter off
apologies after you've
long since stopped listening
One foot in front of the other,
Listening to the Mother.
Rumbling and tumbling,
Through the water.
And thought about,
The path it sought.
Since it began,
A trickle in the sand.
A puddle on the land,
S?ince time began.
Winding and Flowing,
Finding its way.
Eroding and growing,
Never knowing,
Where it's going.
Bestowing life,
T?o all along the way.
A path now showing,
It'll never sway,
Stays the course.
Patiently waiting,
Building up force.
A persistent existence,
Going the distance.
The path of least resistance,
Can change in an instant.
Is life any different?
Unstoppable,
Flowing freely.
Controllable,
Packaged neatly.
Who will you be?
Contained, trained,
Refrained from its domain.
Or connect together,
Let our river of life,
F?low on forever.
Liberty, freedom, unchained
Plenty, riches, love sustained
Repentance,Forgiveness, not stained
Abiding, sheltered, in safety contained
Faithful, fruitful, on the right path remained
Knowledge, truth, wisdom, attained
From sin, self, and evil refrained
True Love, delight, joy, unfeigned
Heaven, eternity, eternal life, gained
The desolate wasteland of trepidation traversed
by my jagged life that strived relentless for so long
to smoothen the innate angularities of serrated mind,
swirling in the egregious whirlpool of sucking indignation.
Siphoned into sordid abyss of despondent delirium,
I searched out for myself a pathway of passion within,
leading through the pulsating portal to my affable heart,
not yet frozen passive in the prolonged winter of desolation.
The spring of longing came with fragrance of fervor,
floated on the dreamful wings of fleeting emotive time
across the flush of my floral heart where you had flittered
like a butterfly creating the cadence of chromatic symphony.
The concert of the mesmeric music of my yearning,
refrained the rhythm of concealed current called love,
that rolled between you and me to interweave us forever,
as engrossed emotions danced with the ripples of rhapsody.
Your skin like leather
my bulletproof vest
inkling tubes
tuxedo of flesh
harness me
hand on chest
in between sheets
stringing me along like a kite
refrained from taking advice
whistle and jolt
the casual bubble bursts
bleeding love
and
quenching thirsts
Beyond The Nothingness
If the Universe vanishes
music remains
Each note but a memory
—forever refrained
(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
The Treasure
Life as a system
sits proudly alone
Unlike any other
secure on the throne
Not physics mathematics
or music can steal
What living the treasure
—of nature conceals
(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
Amor Est
How can you know it was love
—how can you not
(Dreamsleep: December, 2023)
Elevated intentions are futile in an attempt to hold your heart close to my own.
Could you see beyond a lie that was told with the best of intentions?
In between the war of the sexes is an ecstasy that could warm the coldest of hearts.
Jealousy shall be refrained until all other options have been exhausted.
We used to eat most dinners together.
Then we grew up and moved along.
Only gathering on holidays.
Some years later, most ate alone.
There are fewer of us every year.
Some are too ancient to travel.
Others have sparred with disease...
Lost a leg or all of their hair.
Some waltz with silver walkers and wheelchairs.
Some don't even know they're here...
But their eyes still shine like babies.
Now we gather only to pay our half-respect.
The elders arrive, hunched and all dressed in black.
A second cousin once wore a Pink Floyd T-shirt to Grandma's funeral.
He stood bent-legged, but his back was straight.
I wanted to carve indifference from his face... but refrained.
The Ember of Love
As he was walking along the busy shopping street an old woman, came toward him
He knew her but hadn't seen her for many years
once upon a time, he had loved her very much
they both stopped; she remembered him and forthright, as she always was, told him he looked old
She was old also but refrained from telling her
Their hair was white and brittle, and her prominent nose had dropped, giving her a look like a witch.
They hugged, and he told her she looked great!
Behind the thick-rimmed glasses she wore, he saw
a glimmer of her lost beauty.
After some more pleasantries, they parted.
Before turning the corner of the street, he turned around, didn't see her, and knew he would never see her again.
gotta be evasive of worldy things
gotta keep it straight
broken arrows
won't fly anyway
tryna watch my mouth
be careful of what
I say
tender feelings bruised hearts
and love
never mixed anyway
check my regimene
nd keep my back straight
lack of proper posture
won't let it the way
I aint supped
better get sumthing
clear minded and
a fresh start
is the best catalyst for change
get my saddle ready
be back after while
grab my gladbag
I might something to snack on
still warm out
Baby I see ya later
be back in a while
i'll be back in a while
check my feelings at the door
My Baby don't want me any more
Looked me in the eye and said
she never did
said the weddings off
And I can go
said everything was just a show
get it right
she called me ah buster
said she refrained
as much as she could muster
told me I can find ah' nutha
get my coat
saddle my horse
clear my throat
change my voice
deep inside
what I want to say
but won't matter any way
I wrote an obituary for our love story.
Buried the hatchet
And refrained myself from asking
How your birthday went.
Locked the memories for safe keeping
And refrained myself from peeking
But I still can’t seem to throw away the key.
I grow grayer and colder,
And the past becomes older,
Yet I’m still trudging through the mud
That you left me stranded in.
For every milestone is a boulder,
A weight I have to shoulder,
And the loss of you is just too heavy
To handle on my own.
But who would choose to bear it?
Ease my pain and share it?
For no one else will ever know
The gravity,
The weight,
Of the love that’s been shaken.
Hung up to dry
On a string in the shadowed trees,
Where I run off to cry.
There were times when words lived in my mind,
for fear refrained me from sharing.
Something felt off with letting the world know of my inner thoughts,
unaware that similar minds would resonate with my own.
I would diarize, never cease to announce,
choosing to cry internally than to externally, express.
A lot seemed to plague me, pain me, purposely,
where realization to capitalize took longer to pin on such a prize.
Oftentimes, around these times, the nights would accompany me, compel me, to incomplete battles;
scenarios I could hardly bring to life, yet I'd wake to more heartache from heartbreak or plain ache.
A choice - to shut eye in damp pillows than to awake to possible comments of same sentiments.
Gone are the days...
the beauty of art comes from pain - realise who you are
05 October 2022
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