The Poetry Marathon

Struggling to see the hidden details

The latent sense of empathy

Striving to read in between the lines

Don’t let this imagination pass you by, You said

I wished I’d looked deeply

Or thinking in a reasonable way

As you said it will connect to the little me

Because the little me is as important as you’ll be

That doubt will come but they will cease

The pain will showcase but it will fade

Imogen, you said

Imagine yourself in a world of limitation

Where every determination produces a result

Where perseverance is an antidote to success

A journey that started with your imagination

Your imagery and insight into the real you

You made me try to see that what’s invisible

You told me to always imagine

I wished I had said Yes

Then, maybe I won’t be so static.

As they usually do and always will.

The heavy lifting blood pint draining sighs

Frequently blinks and shutters the lids

The lazy sight beholds flickering lights

Going on and off like a lightning bug

Body laying numb lifeless in the colt

Months preparing an opening a crusader gap

For an outlaw streams of saliva

And a deep-rooted grunt

Filled with melodious snore

Sizzling at many minute intervals

Of final loud loud moan

And a deep journey to Oblivion

The lids closes

The blinking stops

But the snores remained.

Never in my wildest dreams would have thought

Thoughts that speaks sentiment and pain

Pain that swim in sorrow and death

Death that stings unrelenting digging deep

Deep to the core the centre of the soul

Soul that’s void vacuum housing the bridge

Bridge that connects the body and mind

Mind that houses the thoughts of my wildest dream

Dreams that are very big and greater than myself

Myself by saying inflated with travails and grudges

Grudges which hold onto the past was that only prevents the revealing of the future

Future it seems fake but transparent

Transparent with the beaming lights

Lights from the throne of the Father

Father, abba father you taught me well

Well to the height of saying never

Never in my wildest dreams would have thought that speaks sentiments and pain

photo credit – Alexander Ant

Four blue-dyed petals pressed to the wall

With its tiny flowering tail

Held together in strong twists

Adding style and beauty

Such colorful sign

With same symbol

Oval ends

It’s yours

Love.

Don’t ask me how my trip went

Don’t ask me what I bought

Instead, let me tell you what I saw.

While walking on the main street

The heart of the city

Behold, there stood a storefront

With bold sign in the big gigantic letter

P-E-R-I-W-I-N-K-L-E

But a symbol of a flower represented the I

Beside it was a gumboot skyscraper

Its needle peak is seen among the cloud

The store though different

Stood magnificent

Showing an alluring art

Of the unseen and the unthinkable

Though unexpected but amazing

The myriad flowers were arranged in a periwinkle shell

A shell colored in haste but stylishly beautiful

Gone were the slimy slime

Or the snail host

For the shell preferred the flowers

To the snails.

A memory I chose

Not to remember

But still dims up in style

Coming in memorial fragments

Taking up the holiday space

A space that was never in existence,

But fought tooth and nails

To make hostage

I was almost of age

Ready to say bye to holidays

Because they were so childish

And I’m no more a child

Yet, it made the family cut

You know, a tradition

A tradition that has turned to custom

A custom that changed to belief

A belief that drives faith

A belief that togetherness is unity

And a lying tongue is dishonesty

That a flaming one can kill

I wish then in my anxious mind

That December should leave already

Telling my journal

“January! I can’t wait”.

Standing rooted in shambles

On the floor of my soul

Deep into Oblivion and empty calmness

Thoughts come and go

Chastisement come and go

But the guilt stays

Tending to decay

Causing us all to be soulless

Lifeless, devoid of thoughts

Expressionless, lacking feelings

Losing vision and purpose

But there in the deep empty silence

Comes the invincible light

That flickers at its first glance

Then it iluminates the soul

Spreading joy to the mind

Without leaving out the body

And the face gives a smile

A smile of hope

A smile of faith

A smile that says

My silence isn’t empty anymore.

Nighttime, when strange things happen

The full moon shining brightly

Gleaming on the surface of the river

Tempted was I in this beautiful scenery

So, I threw down my anchor from my heavy boat

And laid down on the hard surface

To gaze at the stars

Not a sound was heard

Gone were the crackling frogs and screeching cricket

Then my boats began to sway from side to side

Swinging violently across the river

Pulling to the bottom of the river

On my feet, I sprang

As I tugged harder on the chain

But it wouldn’t budge

Nervously, a gulped a bottle of rum

It didn’t help

Neither did the enormous  drag of pipe calm me

Instead, a thick white mist crept

To the surface my hands, legs, and feet

I could hardly see

Hidden behind the fogs

Were mysterious creatures

Swimming, laughing mockingly at me

My breath came out in hard pants

And so to my legs I stooped

My eyes wide opened

My ears straightened

Listening for the slightest sound

A nasty feeling of weakness

Overcame me  into sickness

This made me tremble in fright

Slowly, I sat in fear

Grabbing my boat with two hands

I feel my knuckles turn pale

With veins sticking out

So, I held my eyes closed

And Then, I sensed  a dark shape

Looming over me

Not one but two

Two fishermen it was

They helped me

Together we pulled, yanked, and tugged

Little by little the anchor moved

Slowly and deliberately we pulled

Into the boat, we dropped the anchor

With the  body of an old woman

Whose neck was laced with a rope

That held a huge stone.

Story adapted from Guy de Maupassant’s tale

I live in a small house high above the slum

On the street but off the track

Into the wood, the green scenery

Held by the tall mountains and flat plains

But enveloped in a cloud of silence

Yet, once or twice broken by the bird’s chirping

Or the frogs crack and the breeze blowing

For the trees and Shrubs to dance slowly

Though, aggressively when storms break out

This word I see and I thirst for non-other

Not because I was socially inept

Nor was it because we all others were fake

But was because silence itself was fulfilling

Inspiring, thought-minded, eye-opening

For I saw the other world

And in silence I observed

That’s why when we met,  you asked

“Have we met?”

How could we have meet

When I have always dwelt in silence.

Ambling on, down by the trenches

Needing a sign to relieve me

Of these aches and pains

Climbing and wiggling in my legs

A realization I’m not ready to call 

Although I convoy an escort 

Who seems to be very annoying 

But I knew that,

Escorting her will be a lot better 

Then finding her when she’s lost.

At one time,

She told me to saunter out of her presence 

And I wanted to take a hike

But she apologized 

And I realized, 

It doesn’t matter anyway 

As long as we keep strolling

On and on 

Wending our way in the wilderness 

And so we continued.

As we all know 

I am a keeper 

My brother’s keeper 

I mean my sister’s keeper.