SHADOWS

Shadows

by Pathogen Ambadra (Notes) on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 1:55pm

The flame burns
Your silhouette dances on the wall
Teasing
Calling
Beckons unto me
Breaks into a grin
I stand to reach
Heeding to the call
I feel the wall
My pulse rises
I almost feel your warmth
The touch of your lips
I breathe
Wait
Patient for your progress
Anticipating the process
You dance away
Each step calculated
One at a time
Breaking from my grip
High i have ascended
Following your arms extended
Reaching out for me
As slowly you recede
Peeling off
One after another
A trail left behind
A honest show in kind
You pause
Waiting for my move
Reclining in a shove
Right against the wall

A parting
Signaling a call
Slow bite
A parting at the fount
Pulsating at the sight
And you retreat
Immersing the wall
A flickering of the flame
And all goes dark

Kenyan Taxi Art - Artsworld - Al Jazeera English

Kenyan Taxi Art - Artsworld - Al Jazeera English

blades

By the blade that slay the beast,
So too was I slain
Its purpose was to kill
Its edge cut, not to maim.



The sword that split man from soul.
Stinking of blood for the ages.
A tool that spread carnage
Leaving in it wake damage

My most faithful servant
With whom i made ghouls quiver.
In death it was a savant
Its stains made souls shiver.

Souls wailed when it was swung,
Demons fled before it was flung.
Bitter were those it had stung
Now in me it sunk its fangs

THE SLAUGHTER

The goats trudge on piously
Their heads bowed in prayer
Their silent hymn sent up
Resignation to fate
The neat line snakes on

The butcher bobs ahead
His mind set on money
The cost he’ll fetch per head
He longs for sweet honey
It’s spent before he has it

The goats choose to reflect,
They found greener pastures
They held tight to promise
They were in paradise
Before a shift in paradigm

They align at the end
As each take its place
Facing the block bravely
The promises erase

They don’t bleat
Hope fell to their feet
The butcher laughs
They clench their teeth
Finally… they huff
He grins

LIQOUR PUNCH

by Simuli Waliaula on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 12:41pm ·

Staggering slowly,
Bottle in hand,
Pub sleeper he is,
Singing unharmonious rhymes,
Barking like the village dogs,
Empty bottle…you wonder how fast,
Car brakes-
Death grinning at him,
Unprintable insults hurled at the driver,
He staggers-
All drenched and stenched.

Father of six,
Husband of one,
School fess kitty mocks him,
His wife now the breadwinner,
He staggers again,
Heavy debts overpowering him,
Stumbles and falls,
Sewage breathe…
You do not pity him,
May be the family mostly.

He smiles,
Several teeth missing,
Others tainted brown,
He laughs-
Red chirped lips,
Burnt by Mama Pima’s cheap liquor,
He sings merrily,
He is a cat,
Seven lives less.

Another screech,
A motorbike this time,
The two exchange words,
The biker goes ego scratched,
He smiles,
Spits on the ground,
Takes a gulp from the brown bottle,
Wipes his mouth and staggers across the road.


He goes unnoticed,
We used to that figure,
Gate crashing all events,
Acting insane yet sane,
He staggers along the dingy road,
Leading to his shanty,
Singing aloud and stupidly.

Muggers go past him,
Penniless bastard they say,
He grins at them,
Threatening-
A dog that barks yet has no teeth to bite!
They mock him,
He stumbles,
Falls in a trench and cracks his skull,
Nobody notices.

We used to seeing him in the trench,
A rock his pillow and sand his bed,
But this time it was different,
Bottle in hand cracked,
Flies hovering and fighting,
Smelly old man, they buzz,
Police truck parked beside,
Black plastic bag ready to pack him in,
A new delivery to the morgue.

Bated Breath

by Pathogen Ambadra on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at 2:33pm ·

The morning comes
Chasing away the grim dark
I look around,happiness in the air
Knowing too we'll I'll see my flare

The fair skinned with black mare
Glowing on her shoulder,her hair

I longed for the night to end
To actualize my dreams
Dreams in which she starred
The heroine,my life saved
I wait for our rendezvous
At the appointed time
How i long for a stare
Deep into her colorful eyes
For yes i will wait
Wait on my lover with bated breath

RAGE

They said I sold my soul
And I cared not for the toll
Its absence would have on my whole
For I thought it rather small
Pride had set me up for a fall.

They say my mind is a black hole.
Swallowing all the good they hold.
Spitting out the evil they scold
Because my heart is dead and cold.

Where I went sorrow would spread
And tomorrows they would dread
Fearing the evil I had bread
Destroying the dreams they had made.

Damage became my message.
Darkness was on a rampage
All I gave was clear carnage
My anger was out of its cage
My name was simply rage.