Guard of Honour

Many have defied running through this harmless gauntlet;

They fear the painless pain,

And reject the rewards of past pressures.

"To be guarded," advised the sages

"You must be guided by wits and whims."

For even the guards are guided by guilds.

This forced applause heralds the passage of champions

Who passed the test of the daunting task only

To be hailed by friends, frenemies and foes.

These are not like the jobless taskmasters;

Nor are they their ever-hungry lazy mouths.

No, they're hungry and thirsty for self-made wealth!

They're the never-fallen heroes of yesteryears

And the ever-present gems of our time

And the always reliable trustees of the future.

They're like us and they're we.

They were, we are and we both will be

If we remain one and undivided whole.

Let's separate in unity

And run through this deadly gauntlet

That we may walk through the guard of honour.

Thorny balls

Thorny balls

Have not you pricked enough sages and youths and juveniles?

Our doors are wounded by your pitiless poundings.

Now, they remain shut and we short of lives.

Your steps are on the road not taken

while our hands tread not the forbidden body parts.

We will not be weakened by your war-rockets

for our sockets will outlive your sights.

Deplaning

Deplaning

When shall we alight from this present bus?

We stare at the ceiling and count the times the fan blades whirr;

Waiting for the last call

To stop breathing...

No, we start breaking instead

under the weight of cries from gory scenes

acted by famished neighbours...

These beats remain unyielding, though flogged by fears and fate.

Our worms and the worms make calls and plan to connect soon

if we feed ours not.

When shall this army depart our defeated territories?

Is it when we light the Uhuru Torch by faith?

While we wait, I'll dance to the tune of 'e-go-better'

while we wait,...