Innocent Blood

I’m a passerby in a shoot out,

a Helmandian under fire,

a commuter at a bomb scene,

a saint in the noose.

I am innocent blood.

Why d’you want to shed me and behead me?

Freeze…

and take back the bullet you fed me.

I’m an orphan on the sidewalk,

an old man in a stampede,

a daughter on the pavement,

a son in the streets.

I am innocent blood.

Why d’you want to shed me and behead me?

Freeze…

and take back the bullet you fed me.

I’m a pensionless pensioner,

an activist with no rights,

a pauper with dependents

I’m tomorrow without a future.

I am innocent blood.

Why d’you want to shed me and behead me?

Freeze…

and take back the bullet you fed me.

I’m a story without a teller,

a mind without a means,

a being without a life…

I’m blood stains on your hands.

I am innocent blood.

Why did you shed me and behead me?

Its too late…

to take back the bullet you fed me.

Spring is here

Rays of warm sunshine beaming gently on my face –

teasing the earth,

beckoning blooms.

The grass slowly springing to life;

the horizon clear,

the fields fiercely flowering –

as if avenging the season past.

 

Drifts of butterflies landing gently on the flowers –

pistil kissing,

beckoning fruits.

The trees slowly springing to life;

the air is sweet,

tinged trees towering –

Wishing this would forever last.

 

Come forth O’ spring;

Come forth and sing,

Come forth and bring.

Come do your thing

and brighten everything.

The Yin and the Yang

Every night when I drop into bed

 

I think about the practicality

 

and the possibility

 

of uniting the binaries;

 

so that I can –

 

one day –

 

sleep with peace of mind.

 

 

 

Can we really?…

 

Unite

 

The rich and the poor,

 

The oppressor and oppressed,

 

The coloured and not,

 

The left and the right?

 

 

 

It’s not that easy to

 

Unite

 

The Jew and the Muslim,

 

The wild and the prudent,

 

the Tamils and their neighbours,

 

The old skool and the new.

 

 

 

Can one convince

 

The defensive to drop their shields

 

and

 

The attackers their spears?

 

Can the Bible thumper and the Hafiz

 

sit down to a cup-a-tea?

 

Can Shankill Road be a haven

 

for those of Falls?

 

Cant the KKK and the Panthers

 

make amends?

 

 

 

Unite

 

The blondes and the brunettes,

 

The Boers and the Xhosa,

 

The Brahmin and the tramps,

 

The master and the servant.

 

 

 

I went to sleep today

 

and tried to reconcile the binaries:

 

My head and my pillow,

 

My love and my hate,

 

My heart and my mind,

 

My hope and my state.

 

The Fountain of Youth

Dry throat. No water –

This valley needs a stream to flow through it.

Like a match-maker with no daughters;

This throat would do with some fluid.

 

Dry throat. No water –

I’ve got an empty cup that needs filling.

Like the thirst of a desert porter;

I need a tap to start spilling.

 

So let’s dip it in the youth fountain;

Raise this cup and stare at it –

Pour it down and start counting,

And quench our thirst while we’re at it.

 

Take your cup and walk forward –

Turn the tap and start filling;

It’ll take you higher ‘f you were lowered,

It’ll amplify your heart’s feelings.

 

We had dry throats but we got water.

Sensei

I will leave my shoes at the door and walk in, learned one.

I will sit infront of you – you facing me;

A book between us.

Teach me, Mwalimu.

 

I will leave my toys at the door and walk in, learned one.

I will learn how to play – you gaming me;

A book between us.

Teach me, Maestro.

 

I will leave my knowledge at the door and walk in learned one.

I will listen to your words – you telling me;

A book between us.

Teach me, Aalim.

 

I will leave my ego at the door and walk in learned one.

I will keep my head down – you praising me;

A book between us.

Teach me, Teacher.

Our Home

You have the right to move freely within your home.

 

 

 

 

We have the right to lounge in the lounge

 

and defecate in the toilet.

 

 

 

 

We have the right to bathe in the bathroom

 

and cook up monstrous meals in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

We have the right to kick-start reproduction in our bedrooms

 

at whichever time we choose.

 

 

 

 

We have the right to slowly stride along the corridor

 

and adore hung-up works of art.

 

 

 

 

We have the right to sit outside

 

on the porch

 

and watch the sun rise with all its majesty.

 

 

 

 

You have the right to pass freely within your home

 

without let or hindrance.

 

 

 

 

So sod the visas,

 

This world is our home.

The Overdose

I’ve overdosed on sanity.

I see too much and so I know too much.

Yeah, that’s right; I want too much.

Take me back to reality,

Protect me from people’s vanity.

I know too much because I see too much.

Yeah right; I’ve overdosed on sanity.

 

This life is like a blu-ray disc on replay,

day after day:

When the sun sets I loose my memory, refresh,

then press play and watch the grass hay.

 

This life is like a virgin beach:

I wake up in the morning to catch the fish,

sell it to villagers for their lunchtime dish,

hangout with my fellows – and when the dark conquers

I lie in bed and make a wish.

 

This life is like fishing in the blue ocean of the deep; hunting sting-ray:

This time in a yacht with my disc on play; listening to conscious material,

sipping on coffee to last me all day – decoding dolphin sonars –

What did YOU say?

 

I’ve overdosed on sanity.

I see too much and so I know too much.

Yeah, that’s right; I want too much?

Take me back to reality,

Protect me from people’s vanity.

I know too much because I see too much?

Yeah right; I’ve overdosed on sanity

.

On haunches

Sometimes – well, most times

 

we tend to be overly paranoid and concerned with what others think of us

 

to such an extent, we end up losing our sanity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We live in a world swarmed with an unusually large number of paranoid hypochondriacs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its like we want to look good more than we want to be good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(sigh)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What more is there to do other than feel pity for ourselves?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But worse still are those instances when we

 

behave like the baboon from one particular Swahili proverb.

 

This baboon was always amused by

 

and critical of

 

the in-your-face and dont-you-dare-ignore-me buttocks 

 

of other baboons;

 

obviously 

 

obliviously blind to its own much more comical

 

gluteus maximus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you know of the proverb I’m talking about?

 

How does it go again?…

 

Is it “Nyani hana mkundu?” 

 

No, thats not it…

 

Or is it “Nyani haoni mikundu?”…

 

Oops… I got it wrong again…

 

Uhmm… yeah!

 

Now I remember…

 

 

 

“Nyani haoni kundule!” *

 

______________________

 

 * – A baboon cannot see it’s buttocks.

Nikaah

May your marriage give you what you need,

May it be the water to your seed.

 

May it build upon your foundation,

May it be your favorite decoration.

May it bring with it children,

May your faults – by it – be ridden.

May it amplify your smile,

May it be worthwhile.

 

May your marriage give you what you need,

May it be the water to your seed.

Now is Forever

Live life in the present time.

 

 

 

You’ve already lived your past

 

and the future is a throw of dice.

 

 

 

 

Make hay in happiness

 

Sweat it out for sweat is sweet.

 

Let the sweet sun shine on you.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the toning of your muscles.

 

Enjoy the slicing,

 

the drying

 

and the stacking.

 

 

 

 

Are you with me still?

 

 

 

 

I said live life in the present tense!

 

 

 

 

You soiled your diapers… nappies…

 

so what?

 

Everyone’s been down that road.

 

And remember your future is just as beautiful

 

as it is a mystery.

 

 

 

 

 

You might be a liver one day,

 

living away a present life…

 

You might be in business one day,

 

busying away a present life…

 

But at this moment

 

your present life is happening

 

right

 

now!

 

 

 

 

So dont worry about now…

 

Love now and live now.

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the slicing,

 

the drying

 

and the stacking.

 

 

 

 

 

If you dont live your life right

 

now

 

It will be another

 

soiled diaper –

 

another

 

soiled nappy.

 

 

 

 

 

Live now.

 

 

 

 

 

The future will come

 

and you can cross that bridge

 

when you get onto that bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

At present all you need to do is

 

walk to that bridge

 

now.

 

 

 

 

It’s all about

 

now.

 

 

 

 

 

Everytime you check your watch,

 

the time is

 

now;

 

Keep that fact in your head

 

Whatever you do.

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever you do,

 

Always remember that

 

Now

 

is forever…