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Arnold Mutugi Poem
She said it, yesterday,
That she is in love
With a
Wonderful
Wondrous
Resourceful
Reliable
Happy
HOT
Man
Ironically, it did not breed in me
A feeling of:
Resentment nor
Ravenous-ness nor
Jealousy nor
Jeopardy nor
Betrayal nor
Bitterness.
Because I was the other man
A transformed soldier of my wife
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
Unless you are a god
And are guaranteed to succeed
In every trial on deed…
Take heed
And try today.
With speed,
Forget the way
You failed
And then retry.
Unlike like chorus from a ballad
Just strife to retry in-differently
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
Thank you for the lampoon
A bachelor must be mocked
Like a kite by a free-range hen
I know I am old enough
To get myself a bride!
But I dread falling in love
Falling means to lose control
Falling means pain
Falling calls for help: from within and without
If I get hurt, will I get the within help
for the without one is often unreliable?
I want to walk into love
Ka, ka, ka, ka
Swiftly; each calculated step at a time
And if I change my mind,
I will retract my steps
Ka, ka, ka, ka
Back to the freedom shore!
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
Yesterday,
when jingles clanged into your compound
Directly from my papa's kraal
Were you not the young woman
Who later swore to stick in sadness, joy and...?
And today,
As we walk out of divorce court
Do you smile
When our children give us torn looks?
Today, and yes, today
For tomorrow is misty
Ahem! Why can't we just forget,
That this is a scar that only the grave will heal?
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
The drum in my dreary chest
Beats and booms to the rhythm
Of coughing cannon
The commander at the backline
Sings the soldier’s motto and stomps succinctly
Underneath the uttered ululation
Lay a lean line going thus:
“Turn back to your tomb”
“Destroy the enemy”
‘I will dodge the diving bullet’
“Protect your country”
‘I will protect my dear life’
“The country sent you here”
‘Poverty drove me here’
“Time to act is now”
‘Indeed; well said by a backline commander’
This is not our battle but my battle
I will battle with rage like a belittled bear
And conquer the enemy and the immortality fear
My household awaits my back sojourn with sunken hearts
It is their smiles and not
The dutiful salute by the commander
And a firm handshake that feigns friendship
That commands my commitment
In a dingy hut I will sit
And listen to my grandmother's tales
As I watch my grandchildren grow
Someday
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
The soft rays shoot my eyes
The green grass awakes
On my laps, open like banana leaves
Is a cover-less book
It is about a bread of sorrow
Yonder, a greenly hill gasps
And hinders valleys
Valleys that hinder folks
Folks that bore a damsel
Damsel who gives me sleepless nights
A cat passes by, meows and walks by wayside
Silently, it stalks my new dove
Shhhw; Shwwww, Shwww
And with a "Relax master, I just wanted to play; lol" look
It joins its master and its tummy growls like it has complaining worms
A highland sunset, like all other sunset
Never replicates!
And that is how daily experience is
Never replicates!
Sadly, we witness the death of a day-everyday
A day we never have enough!
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
Who loves a beginner?
What counts except experience?
In every aspect and field:
Of romance, writing and working
But where do you gain experience
Without a first chance?
Young novel writers
Can only reap in old age
If only they are lucky
To live long like crows
What was that?
Common comments
Of publishers, critics and guides
Indeed, a wise query
To awaken and fortify the beginners!
Critics have muddied my land of birth
With contemptuous phrases
Is it really a literary desert?
What with this poor reading culture,
But where are the books
From novel upcoming writers?
Publishers exude words of hope
To beginners
In interviews and forums
Later?
What happened to yester day’s promises?
Who adores beginners?
Will they survive to be breadwinners?
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
They wove a wordily world
Out of space and sherds of imagination
They wove meanings in mere metaphors
Like spinning spiders
The seer just slept
The poem prospers posthumously
And rake in income post-humorously
S/he died poor but partly NOPE
S/he gave life to you and me
S/he gave a piece of life to us
S/he gave a smile to us
S/he enlightened our dark hearts
Poets and poetesses never die,
They live on shadows and ghosts
In dusts of lively libraries, helly hells and heavenly heavens
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
Who loves a beginner?
I DO
What counts except experience?
PASSION
In every aspect and field:
Of romance, writing and working
But where do you gain experience
Without a first chance?
YOU LEARN AND LEARN
Young novel writers
Can only reap in old age
If only they are lucky
To live long like crows
SOME DO NOT
What was that?
INDEED, IT WAS SOMETHING WORTH NOTING
Common comments
Of publishers, critics and guides
Indeed, a wise query
To awaken and fortify the beginners!
AND THEY SHOULD
Critics have muddied my land of birth
With contemptuous phrases
Is it really a literary desert?
GUILT?
What with this poor reading culture,
EXCUSE, EXCUSES!
But where are the books
From novel upcoming writers?
UNDER THEIR BEDS
Publishers exude words of hope
To beginners
In interviews and forums
Later?
What happened to yester day’s promises?
THEY ARE BUSY; IT IS HUMAN NATURE, YOU KNOW
Who adores beginners?
Will they survive to be breadwinners?
IT DEPENDS
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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Arnold Mutugi Poem
Love tears are sweet
Like honey liquor
Shed in happiness and murky moments
Inevitable like death in life
Parting paints painful patterns
On lovers’ hearts’ books
Love is so binding
Yet forbidding when heartbreaking
I once received a calabash
Frothing with love like traditional beer
From a skilled brewer
My folly drained it with a quick wish
I gobbled it with a gush
I wished for more
But the giver had fled
Left drunk in sweet tears of love...
Oh! She was never to return!
Copyright © Arnold Mutugi | Year Posted 2011
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