It's finally here! All the submissions to this month's poetry contest is included within this soapbox, for your convenience. For the sake of the judges, I am allowing two weeks from today for them to peruse the works herein and then create a pick with their juu five choices. The judges may confer amongst themselves if they wish. Input from the fanpop community should also be considered. maoni on particular poems are welcome. The only thing that is prohibited is pointing out (subtly au obviously) which poem is yours. As a poet, that may disqualify wewe from the competition, for betraying the anonymity clause.
Judges, please post a pick kwa Thursday, January 29th, au alert me if wewe need zaidi time (you are zaidi than allowed to take as much time as wewe need, so long as wewe let me know).
THE POEMS
"The Secret Life Of Children" kwa Contestant Number 1
The kids are hunched over fires
Laughter licking it’s way along the ground
And up the crumbling walls
Faded marks of war smeared beneath eyes
Rosy cheeks, dry, cracked lips
Dirt sits comfortably beneath bitten fingernails
Bony arms and legs jutting out
In primitive, animal, angles
The kids see everything
Crouched behind the bushes
With their shining eyes and willing ears
Adult secrets no longer whispered behind closed doors
But declared as undeniable, unremarkable truths
Gathering in worn, forgotten lots
Creating cities made of talk, and touch, and joy
Seeing all but seen kwa few
The kids disperse
Mother’s calls crawl along the breeze
Urging weary soldiers home
Wordless goodbyes, a wave, and a nod
Feet thumping along paths and pavement
Carrying them from battle, from play, from companions
Cleaned and dressed, sent to bed
Left to dream of glorious tomorrows
---
Lord of the Dance? kwa Contestant Number 2
His costume glitters with sequins and jewels
His dancing shoes glisten and shine
The muziki begins as his dancers dance in,
Feet tapping in rhythmic line
He waits for his cue in the shadows and smiles
He’s hearing the roar of the crowd
The sound of cheers is sweet in his ears
They call to him, clear and loud
(But what is he left with,
When the applause dies away and the cheering ceases?
What is he left with?)
The spotlight dazzles his eyes as he enters
The audience screams out his name
And then with a leap and a blurring of feet
He dances as wild as a flame
He’s the nyota of his show, this spectacle grand
The stage is his world without end
A vast expanse on which to dance
Where Magic and Realism blend
(But what is he left with,
When the dance is no zaidi and the stage is bare?
What is he left with?)
The grand finale now draws to a close
A standing ovation at last!
They shout for more, “Encore! Encore!”
So he grants to them one final dance
Then he flashes a smile and blows them a kiss
He lifts his arms high, he bows
Drunk on fame and the praise of his name
He basks in what fortune allows
(But what is he left with,
When the thrill passes and the glory fades?
What is he left with?)
He flirts with the ladies, poses for cameras
And waves at the crowd of his fans
Autographs here and contracts there
And for the inayofuata program, he plans
But the spark in his eyes is empty and false
And his soul remains unsatisfied
He can't fill his desire au kindle true fire
Despite every wonder he’s tried.
(For what is he left with,
When everyone leaves and loneliness surrounds him?
What is he left with?)
He has chosen mashabiki over true friendship.
Fleeting thrills over everlasting joy.
Greedy ambition over genuine fire.
Stardom over servanthood.
Arrogance over humility.
Lust over love.
He refuses to admit it...but in his moyo of hearts, he knows.
There is an aching emptiness which he cannot fill.
For he would rather be the lord of the dance
Than to serve the Lord of the Dance.
---
lost kwa Contestant Number 3
for years i have wondered where do i fit in.
anilate myself will not keep a friend.
push myself siku to siku i wonder when it will end.
this thing called life.a quest i am on.
though i dont know how to start.i become unattached to the word that
is my moyo for fear i will lose it .i want be able to pull it back.
the hurt of its Lost beat zaidi severe than a heartattack.days months and years
roll by.i sit alone but never cry.for that is weak and i am not.i yell but no one responds
is it to late for me.no its not for i have begun i have opened my eyes.i can feel the tears
dwelling in them.i have come to far i will go on.fluttering like a humming bird.my moyo rages on.
i have found love.
---
Our World kwa Contestant Number 4
wewe turn on the TV and what do wewe see?
Another bomb in Iraq, another hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.
Children are dying, houses are flooded.
People just stare, all of them cold-blooded.
Another moto in California, another tsunami swept the coast of Bali.
Another attack in India, another dead child in Mali.
While wewe stare at the screen and eat your food,
Isn’t your feast a little bit rude?
Breaking news announce the civil war in Sudan.
Tell me, Presidents, Ministers, what is your plan?
“Free Tibet” banners are burned on the beach.
Tell me, what happened to the freedom of speech?
Radars will be put in Poland and the Czech Republic,
Dear officials, do wewe care to know the opinion of the public?
Cuban news try to hide distress
Whatever happened to the freedom of press?
The world is dying, poverty on every street,
Yet wewe walk around with Gucci on your feet.
People have no chakula au water,
Every sekunde a mother loses a daughter.
As the deadly clock ticks by
People around the world die.
How can wewe sleep knowing your aid
Could’ve saved another person from Death’s blade…?
---
Vanilla Wings kwa Contestant Number 5
I stood and watched the feathers,
As they'd fall tender to my ears
Falling like an Angel
Who had nothing left to fear
Drowning in the silence of
The roaring of the tide
And none of them could surface
Their wings had all been tied
I had a word with God today
Of Angels and their kin
Of feathers and weathered dreams
Of children and their sins
How frequently I listened to
The Angels when they cried
As they'd fallen from their clouds
And had no wings to fly
I had a word with God today
But he didn't know my name
When I asked him why he said,
"Everybody looks the same"
I couldn't help but notice
Him standing in the sand
And when I reached out for him
He wouldnt take my hand
I went to see my God today
To have a word again
To have him soothe my fears away
But he wouldn't let me in
He was buried in the feathers
Of all the Angels that were fell
So I told him I was leaving,
And that I wish him well
Then I took a wingless dive into
The brand new world below
To jiunge all the Angels
that had fallen long ago
But when I saw wewe standing
With my halo in your hand
My gaze had all been stolen
As I fast approached the land
Your beauty like an Angel
Who had never seen the sky
A beauty without compare
To these Angelic eyes
I watched wewe stand there waiting
With my wings laid at your feet
I could only pray to God above
That wewe were there for me
I fell into your arms that day
With nothing left to fear
I melted into your embrace
As wewe wiped at all my tears
wewe led me to a different heaven
One I couldn't find above.
wewe took me deep into your world,
then wrapped me in your love.
I had a word with God today
About all the things he's done
Of all that he's created
You're my inayopendelewa one.
He told me he was glad to
Finally see me smile
He told me was glad that
wewe made everything worthwhile.
---
Cycles kwa Contestant Number 6
As one nyota dies
Another is born
As one civilization crumbles
Another is born
As one life ends
Another begins
So goes the endless cycle
Of life,death and rebirth
---
Deliberately Delirious kwa Contestant Number 7
Deliberate applause for each moment left for a pause, i purposefully do not applaud.
They raise their fists; clenched at each wrist, pointing at my deliberate ploy to topple their wingu like a toy.
I hear the screams in the background, oh Gaza, with its deliberate beat thumping in my mind like all of our bad dreams; picha of hope wrestle with deliberately distorted beliefs encased in dope.
I open my eyes to see what i am shown, and then deliberately close them to my own wise thoughts, free from these thieves.
The tarehe is written, the time is clocked, history is made today at four o'clock, as i deliberately run, not walk, through those doors made of rock.
Discrimination is not a fabrication to be deliberately littered with empty fruitless words that only aspire to fruition.
And so i too clench my fists, stamp my feet, and dance to the tune of rebellion, happily whistling as their wingu topples down in a wingu of dust.
---
Home kwa Contestant Number 8
The Honking of Horns
The Constant Movement
The Diversity of Neighbors
The Tourist Traps
The Tourist,
Strangers
Lady Liberty at Her Post
Ground Zero,
A Place for
Mourning.
Central Park,
For Care-Free Souls.
All these places
Are my
Home.
---
Best Marafiki turned Strangers kwa Contestant Number 9
She was a girl with a lifetime of experiences
He was a boy who had been through a tough time too
They grew up together
Best Marafiki forever
That was the promise they made
A promise that would soon fade
As tragedy struck the younger of the two
The little boy’s mom got sick and went away
They Lost touch with each other
She found the words too hard to say
Years later they met again
Mere glances across a crowded room
She was too afraid to speak
He was too shocked to move
They aliiba glances at each other all night
Both too afraid to speak
But never losing sight
Of the one they thought they would never again meet
When the night was over
And both had gone there separate ways
In the end both too afraid
To speak the truth
And end their silly charade
They thought of each other
Both with a tear in their eyes
Wondering if things could have been different
Had they both not decided to hide
---
My private intervention kwa Contestant Number 10
The other girls are going to the mall,
I have no energy to.
I act differently,
but this drug has a weird affect.
When I look in the mirror,
I don't look back.
It's someone else,
not me.
I tell everyone I'll stop soon,
I know I won't.
It's a habit,
That's all,
but It's more,
and I'll suffer.
When finally I've realized what has happend to me,
it"ll be too late.
I always thought this addiction was temporary,
turns out I was wrong,
I should've never looked into your eyes,
but now your my drug, and I need help.
---
The Mask kwa Contestant Number 11
Some hearts are strong, made of steel,
On the right path forever.
Some are weak and eas’ly turned,
Like the down au heather.
The problem is, what wewe see,
Isn’t always what’s inside.
Strong behind a mask of weak,
Isn’t hard to find.
It is the weak masked,
As strong, that causes fear.
The person inside,
May not be in the mir’r.
So, jiunge me now my fairy friends,
If Marafiki wewe be,
And let us all remove our masks,
Of fear and uncertainty.
For where I’m taking you,
There are no masks.
wewe are seen for what,
wewe truly are.
In this realm, evil,
Ugliness binds, and
The pure of moyo from,
Inside to outside shine.
How do wewe know,
This is true?
Well, I’m afraid,
It’s up to you.
Choose to believe me, if wewe will.
If not, I will be here still.
Waiting for the next,
To extend their hand,
And jiunge me in this,
Magical land.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 12
Alone in the world
Memories are the only comfort
But the memories seem so far away
Almost out of slight
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 13
Have wewe ever lived my life?
Spent one dakika in my shoes?
If wewe haven't then tell me why
wewe judge me as wewe do.
Have wewe ever woken up in the morning
Wondering if this was your last day?
Have wewe ever left your house
Unsure if you'd return?
Have wewe ever seen your friend get shot
Outside his inayopendelewa store?
Have wewe ever seen a fried die
From drugs he'd never used before?
Have wewe ever seen your best
friendsmom get beat up kwa her
stepdad messed up on booze?
Have wewe ever sat beneath the stars
Hoping God Will hear?
Have wewe ever seen your friend drive away
After way too many beers?
Have wewe ever had a friend
Experiment with weed?
Have wewe ever covered up guilt
kwa doing a good deed?
Have wewe ever considered suicide
As the only way?
Have wewe ever tried to hid yourself
Behind the things wewe say?
Have wewe ever wanted to protect
Your Marafiki and Everyone in sight?
Have wewe ever felt such pain
That wewe cried yourself to sleep at night?
Have wewe ever lived my life,
Spent one dakika in my shoes?
If wewe haven't, then tell me why
wewe judge me as wewe do.
---
Barely Noticed kwa Contestant Number 14
Life is an iPod
The different melodies, the ups and the downs
Changes in tempo
Every song and every experience differs a little from the next.
Start with the tinkling bells,
Meaningless lyrics;
Soothing sounds of early childhood.
Everything is simple;
Repetition
A song for young ears
One song flows into the next
Changing subtly, barely noticed.
The words begin to gather zaidi depth;
The beat becomes a little faster,
A little louder
As time passes the muziki picks up strength,
The tempo increases
The melody weaves patterns
In and out of the rhythm
The cycle repeats.
Until finally the volume lowers
Ears re-adjust
The muziki becomes less irregular, settles into a pattern.
Life moves on
One song running its full length before another begins
No skipping around
The muziki becomes softer
Softer
It fades into the background
It slows
Almost to stop as work
As life
Carries on;
The lyrics tattooed inside the brain
Thinking is no longer required
The muziki slips to the back of the mind.
Forgotten,
For now
Retirement doesn’t block out the music,
It brings it forward.
Nothing else on the mind,
muziki pushes its way back in;
Taking on a different shape
In songs heard a thousand times,
Suddenly there comes new meaning.
The muziki gets louder,
Complicated
Beautiful
muziki pounds until the red light flashes,
The iPod’s battery wears down.
The volume gets softer;
Preserving energy
Until finally
The energy is gone
The muziki has run its course.
---
Apart kwa Contestant Number 15
She said, “If I didn’t know your name,
“I’d call wewe home.”
When he touches her hand, it is not butterflies
that make her ashamed of her chipped nail polish,
and she has no inclination of heaven au angels…
Between the secret glances…
In the negative space before they touch…
In the hidden limbo between Midnight and Morning…
It simply Is.
But then, Sunday screams quick as lightening
She's shattered in shambles (feed the fire)
His hunt is hindered, haplessly haunted (point of no return)
kwa lullabies of a cartoon masquerade
“I upendo you”
And as I do
I upendo to lie to you
A man can learn that a woman is a dungeon
in which he’d be glad to drown.
And a woman can learn that a man is a hero
who will always let her down.
“Don’t be afraid, Daddy’s coming home,”
As soon as the alcohol rots my bones.
Her nyasi can’t be greener if I scorch it black
And then, it won’t grow back again.
This is the lament of the ugly duckling
Who never became a swan
This is the revenge of the ugly duckling
Who always played the pawn
… But in the negatives of Polaroids, you’ll still remain the same…
---
Expressions kwa Contestant Number 16
This is the happiest I've ever been
To be here today in joy and light
To shine in glory though not all mine
I've never been so happy in my life
I aknowledge those who brought me here
You, wewe and not forgetting the best, You.
I upendo that wewe upendo me enough to be here
To give me this so I can smile again
I'll never forget the way it is
au was au could ever be
I will always remember this bouquet
My favourite flowers in all of springs glory
I'm poor and doomed, dried and dead
But always, I know you'll be my listening ear
The shoulder to lean, the hand to help
Now I'm sure,
This is the happiest I've ever been
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 17
My moyo hurts but it has no reason
tears, distraction, screams, reaction
How selfish of me to think I'm
alone
---
Lingering, whispering kwa Contestant Number 18
Inevitable
my eyes glisten,
as hatred rests in my gaze.
I’m staring at shadows,
whispering your name,
while burning tears scar my face.
Even with only anger left, I doubt,
for I hate you,
because of what wewe are…
so much zaidi than I.
But I stay silent,
watching you, and wewe alone, from far.
You’re chained to my heart,
but even so, these uchungu, chungu words on my tongue
make me deny.
And they make me wonder,
make me wonder
why.
Vengeance makes me strong,
keeps me alive
Yet this “love” breaks my soul, so I close my eyes.
But I’ll have to open them once again,
and the trail will linger,
even if the tears will dry.
---
Love and Light kwa Contestant Number 19
Darkness
it stands resolutely at the edge of our minds
constantly it stays, causing doubt and hatred
we must fight the darkness
fight with our souls
wewe are not alone in the battle
light must prevail
believe with your whole heart
in the goodness of men
for that is the only way
to fight the battle
We must brighten the world
but what to do it with?
what do we, mere mortal men
have to battle darkness?
We have the greatest thing
no shadow could overcome,
Light must battle dark.
the greatest weapon we have,
is love
So fight the battle
fight for the right side
wield the right sword
Fight for upendo and light
---
Don't Plagiarized kwa Contestant Number 20
If wewe want to create a poem
wewe must learn zaidi words about English.
Don't make similar like famous Shakesphere,
If wewe do it, That is a act of Plagiarizing
like stealing an ideas
and stealing a plots
and stealing an makala like wewe reads
and That has been plagiarized.
If there's a person who copy that,
The original who make it will gonna put wewe down!
So do it your Own.
like wewe do a write term for college.
If wewe have a great idea
that wewe didn't plagiarized
Don't share your untrusted Marafiki and someones
So wewe keep your idea for the future.
So Please Don't Plagiarized!
Don't take the ideas from someone else,
Don't take the writings from other else,
But Don't Plagiarized!
---
Why? kwa Contestant Number 21
Why didn't wewe come when I called you?
Why didn't wewe hold my hand every night?
Why didn't wewe Kiss me in the moonlight?
Why did't wewe invite me over sometimes?
Why? Why didn't you? Why?
I used to upendo wewe
becase wewe use to care about me!
Why didn't wewe care about me anymore?
Why? Just Why?
---
Tomorrow kwa Contestant Number 22
Yesterday I was happy,
Today not so.
Yesterday Iwas in Heaven
Today the devil has me in a chokehold.
Yesterday I went to the doctor,
Today I got the results,
Today I found out it was terminal.
Yesterday I was happy.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 23
upendo wondered inside stronger than wewe stronger than I but now that it has begun we can not turn back we can only turn into one, and I'll always remember the part of wewe so tender and I won't hesitate at all whenever wewe call and I won't ever be to far to give a call, so don't hesitate at all just call
---
Love kwa Contestant Number 24
I'm tired of being your booty call;
the one wewe call when no one cares
I'm tired of feeling the way I feel,
so I'm going to take my self out of the game.
and watch from the sidelines
Cause whats the point in playing the game if your gonna loose....... like i do.
I'll always be here to cheer wewe on;
I'll even shed tear just because your gone.
Inside I'm hurting;
and I know wewe are too...
I'm sorry it had to end this way;
but maybe in another life we could play the same game,
and win everytime...
but for now all I'm going to say is bye,
I'll see wewe inayofuata time.
---
Carving Angels kwa Contestant Number 25
Above me, with my head on the grass,
I thought I saw eyes peer down at me,
Golden kwa nature and clear as glass.
Tragic as the battle of the Bismarck sea
Did we meet,
With her hand in mine and a smile open wide.
Inside me, where my moyo lay still,
I felt her image rest within me,
Warm with ease and dressed to kill.
Engraved in my mind were her words
She spoke quietly,
Promising to bring me to that unknown place.
Beneath me, where the ground sunk away,
The nyasi had yet to touch her feet,
Agile and pale like a liquid diamond display.
Forgotten were the days I dreamed of seeing
Slowly fade to black,
As she blinded me with her sun
And buried me in her clouds.
---
My Angel kwa Contestant Number 26
The beauty of an Angel sweet
Did fall from heaven above
And toward some beautiful pearly feet
Came gliding like a dove
But oh this girl on juu of which
The Angel did descend
Did indeed have quite the itch
Upon a river to wend
And so she went and bought a boat
To take her on her way
She stepped aboard and was afloat,
then glided from the bay.
A fellow traveler did she meet
A’stranded in a pond
And with her beauty oh so sweet,
She saved him with her wand
Upon her joyous face a smile
Of never ending cheer
Evoked from old and hidden files
Bright eyes devoid of fear
And so was every siku aboard
The angel’s elusive ship
A bigger, grander, zaidi magical reward
Than on any other trip
He prayed that He could ride with her
for many moments more,
and find a way to dine with her
and talk of upendo and lore
Because upon one fateful night
She made this poor boy soar
And now I live just for the sight
Of wewe outside my door.
---
The Unfinished Story (Based on a true story) kwa Contestant Number 27
He found himself lost, not taking credits for his acts,
he had denied the truth, the evidence, the facts.
Everyone had seen it and so did he,
but out of all the things, this wasn't where he wanted to be.
He didn't wanna talk, didn't want to confess,
but this only had made him zaidi of a mess.
All those sleepless nights, tossing and turning,
It took him a while, before he was learning.
This was something he couldn't avoid, something he truly couldn't surpass,
he had never realized, he was falling so fast.
upendo is where he would plunge, deeper and deeper every day,
but realizing who he was loving, only put him to dismay.
Somehow this had changed him, zaidi than wewe would think,
he was headed for a breakdown, right at the brink.
She was already in love, someone else had her heart,
except this wasn't the only thing that seemed to tear him apart.
They were best friends, and that's how they would remain,
that's how it would always be, and all the pain would he sustain.
What had made things zaidi worse than needed, was something that made his surrender, that raised his white flag, that left him defeated.
She left her place where they had met, leaving him in solitary,
forcing him to songesha on, give up, onward with his life would he carry.
He could not let this go, not her, not now,
so he spends his nights, thinking, what do I do, and how?
Then one night, light was shined on the circumstances,
it all came in a whisper, it showed him his chances.
He's making it now, his wounds are mending,
but there's something in my gut, something bad it is sending.
He's moving on, fairly well, but all within the process,
he's losing himself and every day, there is always a little less.
I'm hoping she'll come back soon, cause this story isn't done,
for the good guys still have not yet won.
---
I am what I am kwa Contestant Number 28
I am a lonely girl, sitting on the side walk
Pushing wewe away when it’s time to talk
I am the teacher’s student, staring into space
Not sure that being here is worth the waist
I am the walls surrounding you, grace and all
Hoping I wouldn’t fall while wewe were gone
I am the sky above you, and in my haste
Forgot what I truly was, turn dark again
Forget that I am a true color, honest blue
au at least what those below me said
I am the words wewe say, dark and true
Knowing eventually I’ll get it too
I am a path in the night, dead ahead
Trying hard to forget the hurtful words wewe said
I am the fading letters on your keyboard
Knowing, eventually, I’ll get back up again
I am the days of your life, both long and short
For reasons only wewe and I know
I am the silence heard between your words
So sure that the tables will never turn
I am the lump inside your throat
wewe feel when wewe want to say ‘no’
To all the sins wewe were a victim of
And know wewe are so dumb to think
That when the thought of it disappeared
So would the memory
I am the word hanging in the air
That ‘Goodbye’ we’re both so reluctant to share
We cannot leave until it’s said
I am this fear, so hurt and raw
Knowing this blow would make wewe fall
Hoping against hope that it wouldn’t
And, under your intense scrutiny
I am all I could possibly ever be.
---
LOVE kwa Contestant Number 29
Lookng for a piece of me
Over the distant seas
Vast landscapes around me
East to west,north to south
is where I'm going to find you
---
My Grandmother. kwa Contestant Number 30
The greatest realisation hit,
when her lover had departed.
The truth could now be hid no more,
Confusion, anger and fear.
Confusion lead to pain and weakness,
Anger spurted tears,
The fear of which we all did live with,
slowly, resolutley,
sent daggers to our hearts.
The choice was left for us to make,
the biggest... it hurt.
Although at first, unendurable,
Time made us Lost for words.
No need to be confused it seemed,
The pain had settled down,
But best of all, the anger,
reduced, deducted, gone?
And again, all seemed well.
Ourselves forgot, mistake involved,
that age cannot be thwarted.
A simple, true and honest fact,
That makes a mark on all.
No warning, preperation,
We were prehaps asleep.
But newly resurected came,
Consusion, anger, fear.
I went one siku to visit,
She was no longer there.
I call it luck,
She was alive,
A struggle to survive.
Months were spent,
In the confides of a hospital bed,
A weakness overheld us,
Waiting.. the time we waited.
Was it luck again?
That enabled her to leave.
au deservation, determination?
We were pesamistic,
We thought her gone,
Forever, we regarded,
That those three words would haunt us.
Confusion, anger, fear.
Impossible, irrecovable.
We never though she'd walk again.
We didn't think she'd eat.
How did the strength find it's way?
where, did it live?
I think I know an answer,
She had it all along.
The strongest woman I will know,
A remarkable thing,
I could never have immagined.
We were blessed,
why? I do not know.
I know it's not forever,
And so I always keep in mind,
whilst enjoying her strength and her kind.
That age cannot be thwarted,
And we all in turn will die.
---
Confessions of a Rock kwa Contestant Number 31
I sit here, unmoving, in this lovely dull park.
The passersby react to me as they might the
homeless: they may glance at me when they think I am not
looking...
but I am forever looking.
It is not impolite for me to stare.
I see imperfections, acts that they wish to hide:
The garbage tossed casually into the water,
the exchange of money and white powder
between strangers,
and one night, even the loss of innocence...
and life.
Her screams will haunt me forever.
But of all the ugliness that takes place here,
beauty surrounds it and, while the seasons change,
I remain the same.
And at the end of the siku I am content to be
just a statue
on a pedestal
in a park.
---
My True Family kwa Contestant Number 32
I upendo my Marafiki like they are my family.
The guys annoying like bros,
But they dis whatever guy hurt my feelings.
The girls are truly supportive,
Like the the sisters I wish I had.
They are my true family all in all.
We get in trouble together,
Talk about things with each other
That we wouldn't say to anyone else.
We are together whenever we are able,
Supporting each other when needed.
They are my true family all in all.
We try our best not to hurt each other.
We upendo each other just the way we are.
We usually enjoy each other's company.
We make each other laugh, smile and happy.
We try to cheer each other up when one is sad.
They are my true family all in all.
This is my true family:
Andrew, Lily, Heather, Aaron, Lexus,
Joey, Nicole, Alannah, Tony, Ihab, Keifer,
Greg, Rhea and last but certainly not least
Austin.
These are my Marafiki and my true family.
---
The Woods kwa Contestant Number 33
Twilight approaching
Walking, falling, indefinitely toward an unreachable perfection
Light coming and going, there is no hope
Pushed in the Dark Woods, stumbling, grabbing straws
Heartedly falling, no where to go, no one to see, laying there
Hopeless, timeless, immutable, staying down.
Suddenly, leering, Silver Smiles, glowing, creating their own light, I fall
"Follow," hopeless, timeless I rise to a new horizon, a new dimension, a better reality
In standing here, I sink deeper into Reality there, I follow.
I follow my teachers, darker and darker into the woods, deeper and deeper I trust.
The trees climb the sky, killing the moon, higher, higher until my guides are invisible
Unable to see the light from those smiles, I trip, stumble and grabbing pine needles, I fall
Hopeless, timeless I lay in my new grave; No self, no point, nothing felt
Swaying like a reed kwa a river's bank, an angelic like beauty boasting three heads
Emitting yet a brighter light than my awali guides
"Lead me," says my new found hope, "Lead me"
Walking we descend deeper into this forest
My left foot passing my right foot, quicker, still quicker, my beauty and I run
Chasing nothing, no one chasing.
Deeper, colder, blacker the darkness of this forest drowns my follower
She my light and now no more; no hope, hopeless
I sit, thinking nothing, not thinking.
Around me the owl, the wolf, the mountain lion, hunting in these darkened, ancient woods
Searching for survival they are, I cannot resist the instinct to stay, hopelessly.
Thicker, ubiquitous now, the dark has swallowed me
Hopeless, timeless, immutable; I sit
No self, no point, nothing felt; sitting
Chasing nothing, no one chasing; staying
Thinking nothing, not thinking; sinking
Then, driven kwa Gravity I am pushed down through the forest floor, through a canal
Light peering: changing, ticking, singing; Light
Burning my eyes, a familiar, distant Reality, the woods buried therein.
Dawn has broke
---
Oh Herald! kwa Contestant Number 34
Oh Herald! speak so that I may speak again
For in silence my moyo yearns for him.
The emptiness blinds my vision with tears,
And I fear my weakness he still hears.
Oh Messenger of my soul please make haste.
I have no zaidi sorrow for hatred to waste.
His words are the motive for his murderous deeds,
And with his witty retorts, my upendo painfully bleeds.
Oh, divine Savior please give me relief.
Please severe my incredibly hopeless belief.
au if thoust cannot end the feelings inside,
Take out my heart, and my soul may wewe hide.
For to upendo a mortal the way mortals do
Is surely the worst torture that Heaven can do.
Oh, come now and offer me a remedy!
To ease my worries and set my upendo free.
In silence his voice resounds through space,
And in stillness I can see only his face.
So Lord of Justice, take these feelings away,
And no longer in upendo with shall I stay.
---
Freckles and Teardrops kwa Contestant Number 35
see your tearstains on your face
Your mind...it seems out of place
Heard your plan to hurt yourself
So I picked up this paper from the bookshelf
I started to write
I wrote in despite
of the darkness lurking inside me
Suicide isn't a solution
Don't consider it an option
I'm your friend, you'll find
that wewe don't have to feel confined
It doesn't have to end this way
Please don't go away...
I've been there
just know...that I care...
---
My ode to pie. kwa Contestant Number 36
Pie, so sweet and savoury on my tongue,
wewe can make good of any siku gone wrong.
Whether it's cherry au peach,
wewe could even make Blagoyevich feel unimpeached.
Once my fork cuts into your crispy skin,
I know my happiness is about to begin.
---
I am the Driver kwa Contestant Number 37
‘Does that make it zero-risk? No. Is life without risk interesting? No.’ Wing Commander Andrew Green
A thousand miles per hour- land speed record.
The wind rushes through my hair as I find I can’t afford
to stop this whirlwind of a life. They’ll be
fast cars and superstars. The fee
of admission wewe ask. A supersonic engine.
Bloodhound kwa name, bloodhound kwa nature. I follow
the scent of a human frame. I’m on an Apollo
mission. But then I take off only to find
that, untrue to myself, I have become blind
to reality. And I upendo it?
Right now I’m in first place- here I plan to stay.
No competition. Bluebird, Thunderbold, Railton, out of my
way.
But make no mistake, once I reach terminal velocity
I know, I will start to slow. So I’m gonna
polish my own titanium. For now.
Editor's Note: This user would like to acknowledge that the quote at the beginning is from: link
---
Sisters Forever kwa Contestant Number 38
I could never live without my sister
That I can’t deny
wewe bring joy to my life when you’re kwa my side
When you’re gone it feels like my world has been destroyed
Together we fill our lives with laugher
Our memories will last forever and ever
No matter if we argue
au get in stupid fights
We upendo each other from the heart
Best Marafiki for life
Just always remember
I’ll upendo wewe forever
Because we’re
Sisters forever
Poet's Note: This poem is dedicated to my sis Laura.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 39
One siku
Centuries from now
They will find our bodies
Long since dead,
Long since forgotten
Buried together
Under the same blue sky,
Under the same green nyasi
And when they find our bodies
They won't know what colour our skin was
our Bones are grey
They won't know if we were beautiful
our faces will rot
They won't know if we were thin au fat
our flesh will not remain
They won't know in which gods we found our faith
they will not know our minds
And when they find our bodies
Our petty wars and hollow causes
will exist only as the tales of a distant time,
Our fleeting words of hope and fear
will be Lost to the earth and the rising sea,
And all the things that forced us
to draw lines,
to fight eachother,
to stand apart,
Shall fade to dust
And the centuries past
will unite us.
---
09 Bonnie and Clyde kwa Contestant Number 40
I sit here and think
About Bonnie and Clyde
And i cant help myself
I want that life
The running and robbing
And upendo they one had
The rush of the saa
The feeling of bad
The crossing the lines
From state to state
Sometimes theyd try
But it was to late
They had chosen that life
Til the siku that they died
And i cant help but want
That very same life
It must have been funn
At least for a while
The things that theyd done
Were not very wise
But they had there gunns
And upendo with blind eyes
I hope that one siku
I will find my right guy
Robbing banks au Shopping Sprees
One siku hell be all mine
The upendo that they had
Was unique indeed
It was the kind
The one that i need
So i say once zaidi
That one siku i will
Have adventure, romance, and why
Because one siku well be
The inayofuata Bonnie and Clyde
---
If I Were... kwa Contestant Number 41
If I were a paintbrush of splendour,
I would create a painting so brilliant
With splashes of hate brightened kwa love,
With dashes of joy darkened kwa misery,
And with an endless turmoil of every feeling, every thought,
And memories forgotten.
If I were an ominous wingu of approaching danger,
I would splay a net of warning
To the ones who cringe from hurt
And test the resilience of the fine thread
That balances the life of those who resist.
If I were the precise, focused eyes of a predator,
I would pick out the absonant lopes of an antelope
That strings a twine of discordance
Through the rhythmic flow
Of the galloping of an agitated herd.
If I were the breath of the Winter Queen,
I would arouse a storm so bitter
That the very being of life is chilled to the core,
Until all within my reach
Has felt winter’s wrath.
If I were hate,
I would rip the brittle structure of the world
Into wretched shards of envy, lose, hate,
And upendo for the pain of others.
If I were the chimes of crystal bells,
I would empty my cup of music
Onto the clouds that hover just above,
So that the music, so sweet to the ears,
Can rain down in a phantom storm.
---
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that this is a piece of shabiki Fiction based on the televisheni onyesha friends. The poet did not create and does not have the rights to the characters used within this poem.
An Abridged Version Of
The One With The Poem kwa Contestant Number 42
So Marafiki begun and it began with a bang
Chandler made jokes and Phoebe sang,
Ross was glum whilst Rachel was free
Well if wewe escaped Barry, wouldn't wewe be?
Monica had relationships but they ended badly
Joey had auditions but never got parts, sadly.
Phoebe found a thumb but never knew her Dad,
She hardly saw her sister but for that she was glad
Ross and Rachel got it on and Chandler was still funny,
But then Eddie moved in and he wasn't a happy bunny
Monica found Richard and Joey got a new job too
But he missed Chandler, well wouldn't you?!
Whilst Phoebe found her brother Rachel found the list,
Ross was devastated, but of course there was a twist
Richard didn't want kids, and a prom video was to be found,
Ross was Rachel's lobster, it was smiles and kisses all round
When Monica Lost Richard, Janice came onto the scene
But Chandler found her annoying, her laugh was just obscene!
The Marafiki played Football and Rachel was made to 'go long'
Phoebe sang Smelly Cat and so it was her signature song
Monica worked as a chef as Ross and Rachel took a break,
He tried to keep his drunken night a secret, of course for Rachel's sake
But it proved the wrong thing to do as Rachel found out anyway,
He tried his best but to no avail, Ross didn't know what to say
Chandler finally dumped Janice, no zaidi 'bing-a-ling',
Whilst he, Monica and Joey were freaked kwa a jellyfish sting
Rachel moved on as Ross found Emily and got set to wed,
But at the alter it was not Emily's name but Rachel's that he said
When they got together, Monica and Chandler surprised us all,
The gang went out to Vegas whilst Joey made a call
He didn't want them to know he hadn't got the part,
The Marafiki found out anyway, and helped him make a fresh start
Chandler tricked Monica, and a proposal was what he did,
She happily accepted, their inayofuata step was a kid!
Phoebe made kuki, vidakuzi but the recipe was not her own,
Monica found out they were Nestle's and boy, did she moan.
Then came the time for Mon and Chan's special day,
Chandler got cold feet but he got there anyway
Rachel had a secret that was to be revealed there and then,
She was pregnant, and needed to tell Ross but didn't know when
Ross was shocked but was happy he had a sister for Ben,
Joey too had a secret, he loved Rachel (like most men!)
Rachel was flattered but wanted to remain friends,
She then had a baby as her and Ross made amends
As the holiday ended Ross found out about the kiss,
He pretended he was fine but it was something he couldn't dismiss
Joey and Rachel stayed Marafiki and Phoebe married fast
Whilst Monica and Chandler found a baby they could adopt at last
Rachel was offered a job but it was too far away
How could she leave Ross, could he not persuade her to stay?
She left for the plane but he raced to bring her back
She couldn't do it and boarded the plane, she thought she was back on track
Monica and Chandler had brought the twins home,
While a sad Ross just wanted to be alone
A voice message told him Rachel wanted to get off the plane,
And as the door swung open it was Rachel that came
So there it was as Monica and Chandler got set to leave,
They had all spent ten years together, it was hard to believe
Tears and sadness followed as they put their keys on the side,
As they left the apartment, knowing they'd made an impact worldwide.
The poem's full version may be found link for reference purposes only.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 43
The cigarette drags
Inhaling the toxins
Fills me with doubts
Around me the rain drips
And drops
So morose, so morose
Even if it kills me
The time of my life
Judges, please post a pick kwa Thursday, January 29th, au alert me if wewe need zaidi time (you are zaidi than allowed to take as much time as wewe need, so long as wewe let me know).
THE POEMS
"The Secret Life Of Children" kwa Contestant Number 1
The kids are hunched over fires
Laughter licking it’s way along the ground
And up the crumbling walls
Faded marks of war smeared beneath eyes
Rosy cheeks, dry, cracked lips
Dirt sits comfortably beneath bitten fingernails
Bony arms and legs jutting out
In primitive, animal, angles
The kids see everything
Crouched behind the bushes
With their shining eyes and willing ears
Adult secrets no longer whispered behind closed doors
But declared as undeniable, unremarkable truths
Gathering in worn, forgotten lots
Creating cities made of talk, and touch, and joy
Seeing all but seen kwa few
The kids disperse
Mother’s calls crawl along the breeze
Urging weary soldiers home
Wordless goodbyes, a wave, and a nod
Feet thumping along paths and pavement
Carrying them from battle, from play, from companions
Cleaned and dressed, sent to bed
Left to dream of glorious tomorrows
---
Lord of the Dance? kwa Contestant Number 2
His costume glitters with sequins and jewels
His dancing shoes glisten and shine
The muziki begins as his dancers dance in,
Feet tapping in rhythmic line
He waits for his cue in the shadows and smiles
He’s hearing the roar of the crowd
The sound of cheers is sweet in his ears
They call to him, clear and loud
(But what is he left with,
When the applause dies away and the cheering ceases?
What is he left with?)
The spotlight dazzles his eyes as he enters
The audience screams out his name
And then with a leap and a blurring of feet
He dances as wild as a flame
He’s the nyota of his show, this spectacle grand
The stage is his world without end
A vast expanse on which to dance
Where Magic and Realism blend
(But what is he left with,
When the dance is no zaidi and the stage is bare?
What is he left with?)
The grand finale now draws to a close
A standing ovation at last!
They shout for more, “Encore! Encore!”
So he grants to them one final dance
Then he flashes a smile and blows them a kiss
He lifts his arms high, he bows
Drunk on fame and the praise of his name
He basks in what fortune allows
(But what is he left with,
When the thrill passes and the glory fades?
What is he left with?)
He flirts with the ladies, poses for cameras
And waves at the crowd of his fans
Autographs here and contracts there
And for the inayofuata program, he plans
But the spark in his eyes is empty and false
And his soul remains unsatisfied
He can't fill his desire au kindle true fire
Despite every wonder he’s tried.
(For what is he left with,
When everyone leaves and loneliness surrounds him?
What is he left with?)
He has chosen mashabiki over true friendship.
Fleeting thrills over everlasting joy.
Greedy ambition over genuine fire.
Stardom over servanthood.
Arrogance over humility.
Lust over love.
He refuses to admit it...but in his moyo of hearts, he knows.
There is an aching emptiness which he cannot fill.
For he would rather be the lord of the dance
Than to serve the Lord of the Dance.
---
lost kwa Contestant Number 3
for years i have wondered where do i fit in.
anilate myself will not keep a friend.
push myself siku to siku i wonder when it will end.
this thing called life.a quest i am on.
though i dont know how to start.i become unattached to the word that
is my moyo for fear i will lose it .i want be able to pull it back.
the hurt of its Lost beat zaidi severe than a heartattack.days months and years
roll by.i sit alone but never cry.for that is weak and i am not.i yell but no one responds
is it to late for me.no its not for i have begun i have opened my eyes.i can feel the tears
dwelling in them.i have come to far i will go on.fluttering like a humming bird.my moyo rages on.
i have found love.
---
Our World kwa Contestant Number 4
wewe turn on the TV and what do wewe see?
Another bomb in Iraq, another hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.
Children are dying, houses are flooded.
People just stare, all of them cold-blooded.
Another moto in California, another tsunami swept the coast of Bali.
Another attack in India, another dead child in Mali.
While wewe stare at the screen and eat your food,
Isn’t your feast a little bit rude?
Breaking news announce the civil war in Sudan.
Tell me, Presidents, Ministers, what is your plan?
“Free Tibet” banners are burned on the beach.
Tell me, what happened to the freedom of speech?
Radars will be put in Poland and the Czech Republic,
Dear officials, do wewe care to know the opinion of the public?
Cuban news try to hide distress
Whatever happened to the freedom of press?
The world is dying, poverty on every street,
Yet wewe walk around with Gucci on your feet.
People have no chakula au water,
Every sekunde a mother loses a daughter.
As the deadly clock ticks by
People around the world die.
How can wewe sleep knowing your aid
Could’ve saved another person from Death’s blade…?
---
Vanilla Wings kwa Contestant Number 5
I stood and watched the feathers,
As they'd fall tender to my ears
Falling like an Angel
Who had nothing left to fear
Drowning in the silence of
The roaring of the tide
And none of them could surface
Their wings had all been tied
I had a word with God today
Of Angels and their kin
Of feathers and weathered dreams
Of children and their sins
How frequently I listened to
The Angels when they cried
As they'd fallen from their clouds
And had no wings to fly
I had a word with God today
But he didn't know my name
When I asked him why he said,
"Everybody looks the same"
I couldn't help but notice
Him standing in the sand
And when I reached out for him
He wouldnt take my hand
I went to see my God today
To have a word again
To have him soothe my fears away
But he wouldn't let me in
He was buried in the feathers
Of all the Angels that were fell
So I told him I was leaving,
And that I wish him well
Then I took a wingless dive into
The brand new world below
To jiunge all the Angels
that had fallen long ago
But when I saw wewe standing
With my halo in your hand
My gaze had all been stolen
As I fast approached the land
Your beauty like an Angel
Who had never seen the sky
A beauty without compare
To these Angelic eyes
I watched wewe stand there waiting
With my wings laid at your feet
I could only pray to God above
That wewe were there for me
I fell into your arms that day
With nothing left to fear
I melted into your embrace
As wewe wiped at all my tears
wewe led me to a different heaven
One I couldn't find above.
wewe took me deep into your world,
then wrapped me in your love.
I had a word with God today
About all the things he's done
Of all that he's created
You're my inayopendelewa one.
He told me he was glad to
Finally see me smile
He told me was glad that
wewe made everything worthwhile.
---
Cycles kwa Contestant Number 6
As one nyota dies
Another is born
As one civilization crumbles
Another is born
As one life ends
Another begins
So goes the endless cycle
Of life,death and rebirth
---
Deliberately Delirious kwa Contestant Number 7
Deliberate applause for each moment left for a pause, i purposefully do not applaud.
They raise their fists; clenched at each wrist, pointing at my deliberate ploy to topple their wingu like a toy.
I hear the screams in the background, oh Gaza, with its deliberate beat thumping in my mind like all of our bad dreams; picha of hope wrestle with deliberately distorted beliefs encased in dope.
I open my eyes to see what i am shown, and then deliberately close them to my own wise thoughts, free from these thieves.
The tarehe is written, the time is clocked, history is made today at four o'clock, as i deliberately run, not walk, through those doors made of rock.
Discrimination is not a fabrication to be deliberately littered with empty fruitless words that only aspire to fruition.
And so i too clench my fists, stamp my feet, and dance to the tune of rebellion, happily whistling as their wingu topples down in a wingu of dust.
---
Home kwa Contestant Number 8
The Honking of Horns
The Constant Movement
The Diversity of Neighbors
The Tourist Traps
The Tourist,
Strangers
Lady Liberty at Her Post
Ground Zero,
A Place for
Mourning.
Central Park,
For Care-Free Souls.
All these places
Are my
Home.
---
Best Marafiki turned Strangers kwa Contestant Number 9
She was a girl with a lifetime of experiences
He was a boy who had been through a tough time too
They grew up together
Best Marafiki forever
That was the promise they made
A promise that would soon fade
As tragedy struck the younger of the two
The little boy’s mom got sick and went away
They Lost touch with each other
She found the words too hard to say
Years later they met again
Mere glances across a crowded room
She was too afraid to speak
He was too shocked to move
They aliiba glances at each other all night
Both too afraid to speak
But never losing sight
Of the one they thought they would never again meet
When the night was over
And both had gone there separate ways
In the end both too afraid
To speak the truth
And end their silly charade
They thought of each other
Both with a tear in their eyes
Wondering if things could have been different
Had they both not decided to hide
---
My private intervention kwa Contestant Number 10
The other girls are going to the mall,
I have no energy to.
I act differently,
but this drug has a weird affect.
When I look in the mirror,
I don't look back.
It's someone else,
not me.
I tell everyone I'll stop soon,
I know I won't.
It's a habit,
That's all,
but It's more,
and I'll suffer.
When finally I've realized what has happend to me,
it"ll be too late.
I always thought this addiction was temporary,
turns out I was wrong,
I should've never looked into your eyes,
but now your my drug, and I need help.
---
The Mask kwa Contestant Number 11
Some hearts are strong, made of steel,
On the right path forever.
Some are weak and eas’ly turned,
Like the down au heather.
The problem is, what wewe see,
Isn’t always what’s inside.
Strong behind a mask of weak,
Isn’t hard to find.
It is the weak masked,
As strong, that causes fear.
The person inside,
May not be in the mir’r.
So, jiunge me now my fairy friends,
If Marafiki wewe be,
And let us all remove our masks,
Of fear and uncertainty.
For where I’m taking you,
There are no masks.
wewe are seen for what,
wewe truly are.
In this realm, evil,
Ugliness binds, and
The pure of moyo from,
Inside to outside shine.
How do wewe know,
This is true?
Well, I’m afraid,
It’s up to you.
Choose to believe me, if wewe will.
If not, I will be here still.
Waiting for the next,
To extend their hand,
And jiunge me in this,
Magical land.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 12
Alone in the world
Memories are the only comfort
But the memories seem so far away
Almost out of slight
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 13
Have wewe ever lived my life?
Spent one dakika in my shoes?
If wewe haven't then tell me why
wewe judge me as wewe do.
Have wewe ever woken up in the morning
Wondering if this was your last day?
Have wewe ever left your house
Unsure if you'd return?
Have wewe ever seen your friend get shot
Outside his inayopendelewa store?
Have wewe ever seen a fried die
From drugs he'd never used before?
Have wewe ever seen your best
friendsmom get beat up kwa her
stepdad messed up on booze?
Have wewe ever sat beneath the stars
Hoping God Will hear?
Have wewe ever seen your friend drive away
After way too many beers?
Have wewe ever had a friend
Experiment with weed?
Have wewe ever covered up guilt
kwa doing a good deed?
Have wewe ever considered suicide
As the only way?
Have wewe ever tried to hid yourself
Behind the things wewe say?
Have wewe ever wanted to protect
Your Marafiki and Everyone in sight?
Have wewe ever felt such pain
That wewe cried yourself to sleep at night?
Have wewe ever lived my life,
Spent one dakika in my shoes?
If wewe haven't, then tell me why
wewe judge me as wewe do.
---
Barely Noticed kwa Contestant Number 14
Life is an iPod
The different melodies, the ups and the downs
Changes in tempo
Every song and every experience differs a little from the next.
Start with the tinkling bells,
Meaningless lyrics;
Soothing sounds of early childhood.
Everything is simple;
Repetition
A song for young ears
One song flows into the next
Changing subtly, barely noticed.
The words begin to gather zaidi depth;
The beat becomes a little faster,
A little louder
As time passes the muziki picks up strength,
The tempo increases
The melody weaves patterns
In and out of the rhythm
The cycle repeats.
Until finally the volume lowers
Ears re-adjust
The muziki becomes less irregular, settles into a pattern.
Life moves on
One song running its full length before another begins
No skipping around
The muziki becomes softer
Softer
It fades into the background
It slows
Almost to stop as work
As life
Carries on;
The lyrics tattooed inside the brain
Thinking is no longer required
The muziki slips to the back of the mind.
Forgotten,
For now
Retirement doesn’t block out the music,
It brings it forward.
Nothing else on the mind,
muziki pushes its way back in;
Taking on a different shape
In songs heard a thousand times,
Suddenly there comes new meaning.
The muziki gets louder,
Complicated
Beautiful
muziki pounds until the red light flashes,
The iPod’s battery wears down.
The volume gets softer;
Preserving energy
Until finally
The energy is gone
The muziki has run its course.
---
Apart kwa Contestant Number 15
She said, “If I didn’t know your name,
“I’d call wewe home.”
When he touches her hand, it is not butterflies
that make her ashamed of her chipped nail polish,
and she has no inclination of heaven au angels…
Between the secret glances…
In the negative space before they touch…
In the hidden limbo between Midnight and Morning…
It simply Is.
But then, Sunday screams quick as lightening
She's shattered in shambles (feed the fire)
His hunt is hindered, haplessly haunted (point of no return)
kwa lullabies of a cartoon masquerade
“I upendo you”
And as I do
I upendo to lie to you
A man can learn that a woman is a dungeon
in which he’d be glad to drown.
And a woman can learn that a man is a hero
who will always let her down.
“Don’t be afraid, Daddy’s coming home,”
As soon as the alcohol rots my bones.
Her nyasi can’t be greener if I scorch it black
And then, it won’t grow back again.
This is the lament of the ugly duckling
Who never became a swan
This is the revenge of the ugly duckling
Who always played the pawn
… But in the negatives of Polaroids, you’ll still remain the same…
---
Expressions kwa Contestant Number 16
This is the happiest I've ever been
To be here today in joy and light
To shine in glory though not all mine
I've never been so happy in my life
I aknowledge those who brought me here
You, wewe and not forgetting the best, You.
I upendo that wewe upendo me enough to be here
To give me this so I can smile again
I'll never forget the way it is
au was au could ever be
I will always remember this bouquet
My favourite flowers in all of springs glory
I'm poor and doomed, dried and dead
But always, I know you'll be my listening ear
The shoulder to lean, the hand to help
Now I'm sure,
This is the happiest I've ever been
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 17
My moyo hurts but it has no reason
tears, distraction, screams, reaction
How selfish of me to think I'm
alone
---
Lingering, whispering kwa Contestant Number 18
Inevitable
my eyes glisten,
as hatred rests in my gaze.
I’m staring at shadows,
whispering your name,
while burning tears scar my face.
Even with only anger left, I doubt,
for I hate you,
because of what wewe are…
so much zaidi than I.
But I stay silent,
watching you, and wewe alone, from far.
You’re chained to my heart,
but even so, these uchungu, chungu words on my tongue
make me deny.
And they make me wonder,
make me wonder
why.
Vengeance makes me strong,
keeps me alive
Yet this “love” breaks my soul, so I close my eyes.
But I’ll have to open them once again,
and the trail will linger,
even if the tears will dry.
---
Love and Light kwa Contestant Number 19
Darkness
it stands resolutely at the edge of our minds
constantly it stays, causing doubt and hatred
we must fight the darkness
fight with our souls
wewe are not alone in the battle
light must prevail
believe with your whole heart
in the goodness of men
for that is the only way
to fight the battle
We must brighten the world
but what to do it with?
what do we, mere mortal men
have to battle darkness?
We have the greatest thing
no shadow could overcome,
Light must battle dark.
the greatest weapon we have,
is love
So fight the battle
fight for the right side
wield the right sword
Fight for upendo and light
---
Don't Plagiarized kwa Contestant Number 20
If wewe want to create a poem
wewe must learn zaidi words about English.
Don't make similar like famous Shakesphere,
If wewe do it, That is a act of Plagiarizing
like stealing an ideas
and stealing a plots
and stealing an makala like wewe reads
and That has been plagiarized.
If there's a person who copy that,
The original who make it will gonna put wewe down!
So do it your Own.
like wewe do a write term for college.
If wewe have a great idea
that wewe didn't plagiarized
Don't share your untrusted Marafiki and someones
So wewe keep your idea for the future.
So Please Don't Plagiarized!
Don't take the ideas from someone else,
Don't take the writings from other else,
But Don't Plagiarized!
---
Why? kwa Contestant Number 21
Why didn't wewe come when I called you?
Why didn't wewe hold my hand every night?
Why didn't wewe Kiss me in the moonlight?
Why did't wewe invite me over sometimes?
Why? Why didn't you? Why?
I used to upendo wewe
becase wewe use to care about me!
Why didn't wewe care about me anymore?
Why? Just Why?
---
Tomorrow kwa Contestant Number 22
Yesterday I was happy,
Today not so.
Yesterday Iwas in Heaven
Today the devil has me in a chokehold.
Yesterday I went to the doctor,
Today I got the results,
Today I found out it was terminal.
Yesterday I was happy.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 23
upendo wondered inside stronger than wewe stronger than I but now that it has begun we can not turn back we can only turn into one, and I'll always remember the part of wewe so tender and I won't hesitate at all whenever wewe call and I won't ever be to far to give a call, so don't hesitate at all just call
---
Love kwa Contestant Number 24
I'm tired of being your booty call;
the one wewe call when no one cares
I'm tired of feeling the way I feel,
so I'm going to take my self out of the game.
and watch from the sidelines
Cause whats the point in playing the game if your gonna loose....... like i do.
I'll always be here to cheer wewe on;
I'll even shed tear just because your gone.
Inside I'm hurting;
and I know wewe are too...
I'm sorry it had to end this way;
but maybe in another life we could play the same game,
and win everytime...
but for now all I'm going to say is bye,
I'll see wewe inayofuata time.
---
Carving Angels kwa Contestant Number 25
Above me, with my head on the grass,
I thought I saw eyes peer down at me,
Golden kwa nature and clear as glass.
Tragic as the battle of the Bismarck sea
Did we meet,
With her hand in mine and a smile open wide.
Inside me, where my moyo lay still,
I felt her image rest within me,
Warm with ease and dressed to kill.
Engraved in my mind were her words
She spoke quietly,
Promising to bring me to that unknown place.
Beneath me, where the ground sunk away,
The nyasi had yet to touch her feet,
Agile and pale like a liquid diamond display.
Forgotten were the days I dreamed of seeing
Slowly fade to black,
As she blinded me with her sun
And buried me in her clouds.
---
My Angel kwa Contestant Number 26
The beauty of an Angel sweet
Did fall from heaven above
And toward some beautiful pearly feet
Came gliding like a dove
But oh this girl on juu of which
The Angel did descend
Did indeed have quite the itch
Upon a river to wend
And so she went and bought a boat
To take her on her way
She stepped aboard and was afloat,
then glided from the bay.
A fellow traveler did she meet
A’stranded in a pond
And with her beauty oh so sweet,
She saved him with her wand
Upon her joyous face a smile
Of never ending cheer
Evoked from old and hidden files
Bright eyes devoid of fear
And so was every siku aboard
The angel’s elusive ship
A bigger, grander, zaidi magical reward
Than on any other trip
He prayed that He could ride with her
for many moments more,
and find a way to dine with her
and talk of upendo and lore
Because upon one fateful night
She made this poor boy soar
And now I live just for the sight
Of wewe outside my door.
---
The Unfinished Story (Based on a true story) kwa Contestant Number 27
He found himself lost, not taking credits for his acts,
he had denied the truth, the evidence, the facts.
Everyone had seen it and so did he,
but out of all the things, this wasn't where he wanted to be.
He didn't wanna talk, didn't want to confess,
but this only had made him zaidi of a mess.
All those sleepless nights, tossing and turning,
It took him a while, before he was learning.
This was something he couldn't avoid, something he truly couldn't surpass,
he had never realized, he was falling so fast.
upendo is where he would plunge, deeper and deeper every day,
but realizing who he was loving, only put him to dismay.
Somehow this had changed him, zaidi than wewe would think,
he was headed for a breakdown, right at the brink.
She was already in love, someone else had her heart,
except this wasn't the only thing that seemed to tear him apart.
They were best friends, and that's how they would remain,
that's how it would always be, and all the pain would he sustain.
What had made things zaidi worse than needed, was something that made his surrender, that raised his white flag, that left him defeated.
She left her place where they had met, leaving him in solitary,
forcing him to songesha on, give up, onward with his life would he carry.
He could not let this go, not her, not now,
so he spends his nights, thinking, what do I do, and how?
Then one night, light was shined on the circumstances,
it all came in a whisper, it showed him his chances.
He's making it now, his wounds are mending,
but there's something in my gut, something bad it is sending.
He's moving on, fairly well, but all within the process,
he's losing himself and every day, there is always a little less.
I'm hoping she'll come back soon, cause this story isn't done,
for the good guys still have not yet won.
---
I am what I am kwa Contestant Number 28
I am a lonely girl, sitting on the side walk
Pushing wewe away when it’s time to talk
I am the teacher’s student, staring into space
Not sure that being here is worth the waist
I am the walls surrounding you, grace and all
Hoping I wouldn’t fall while wewe were gone
I am the sky above you, and in my haste
Forgot what I truly was, turn dark again
Forget that I am a true color, honest blue
au at least what those below me said
I am the words wewe say, dark and true
Knowing eventually I’ll get it too
I am a path in the night, dead ahead
Trying hard to forget the hurtful words wewe said
I am the fading letters on your keyboard
Knowing, eventually, I’ll get back up again
I am the days of your life, both long and short
For reasons only wewe and I know
I am the silence heard between your words
So sure that the tables will never turn
I am the lump inside your throat
wewe feel when wewe want to say ‘no’
To all the sins wewe were a victim of
And know wewe are so dumb to think
That when the thought of it disappeared
So would the memory
I am the word hanging in the air
That ‘Goodbye’ we’re both so reluctant to share
We cannot leave until it’s said
I am this fear, so hurt and raw
Knowing this blow would make wewe fall
Hoping against hope that it wouldn’t
And, under your intense scrutiny
I am all I could possibly ever be.
---
LOVE kwa Contestant Number 29
Lookng for a piece of me
Over the distant seas
Vast landscapes around me
East to west,north to south
is where I'm going to find you
---
My Grandmother. kwa Contestant Number 30
The greatest realisation hit,
when her lover had departed.
The truth could now be hid no more,
Confusion, anger and fear.
Confusion lead to pain and weakness,
Anger spurted tears,
The fear of which we all did live with,
slowly, resolutley,
sent daggers to our hearts.
The choice was left for us to make,
the biggest... it hurt.
Although at first, unendurable,
Time made us Lost for words.
No need to be confused it seemed,
The pain had settled down,
But best of all, the anger,
reduced, deducted, gone?
And again, all seemed well.
Ourselves forgot, mistake involved,
that age cannot be thwarted.
A simple, true and honest fact,
That makes a mark on all.
No warning, preperation,
We were prehaps asleep.
But newly resurected came,
Consusion, anger, fear.
I went one siku to visit,
She was no longer there.
I call it luck,
She was alive,
A struggle to survive.
Months were spent,
In the confides of a hospital bed,
A weakness overheld us,
Waiting.. the time we waited.
Was it luck again?
That enabled her to leave.
au deservation, determination?
We were pesamistic,
We thought her gone,
Forever, we regarded,
That those three words would haunt us.
Confusion, anger, fear.
Impossible, irrecovable.
We never though she'd walk again.
We didn't think she'd eat.
How did the strength find it's way?
where, did it live?
I think I know an answer,
She had it all along.
The strongest woman I will know,
A remarkable thing,
I could never have immagined.
We were blessed,
why? I do not know.
I know it's not forever,
And so I always keep in mind,
whilst enjoying her strength and her kind.
That age cannot be thwarted,
And we all in turn will die.
---
Confessions of a Rock kwa Contestant Number 31
I sit here, unmoving, in this lovely dull park.
The passersby react to me as they might the
homeless: they may glance at me when they think I am not
looking...
but I am forever looking.
It is not impolite for me to stare.
I see imperfections, acts that they wish to hide:
The garbage tossed casually into the water,
the exchange of money and white powder
between strangers,
and one night, even the loss of innocence...
and life.
Her screams will haunt me forever.
But of all the ugliness that takes place here,
beauty surrounds it and, while the seasons change,
I remain the same.
And at the end of the siku I am content to be
just a statue
on a pedestal
in a park.
---
My True Family kwa Contestant Number 32
I upendo my Marafiki like they are my family.
The guys annoying like bros,
But they dis whatever guy hurt my feelings.
The girls are truly supportive,
Like the the sisters I wish I had.
They are my true family all in all.
We get in trouble together,
Talk about things with each other
That we wouldn't say to anyone else.
We are together whenever we are able,
Supporting each other when needed.
They are my true family all in all.
We try our best not to hurt each other.
We upendo each other just the way we are.
We usually enjoy each other's company.
We make each other laugh, smile and happy.
We try to cheer each other up when one is sad.
They are my true family all in all.
This is my true family:
Andrew, Lily, Heather, Aaron, Lexus,
Joey, Nicole, Alannah, Tony, Ihab, Keifer,
Greg, Rhea and last but certainly not least
Austin.
These are my Marafiki and my true family.
---
The Woods kwa Contestant Number 33
Twilight approaching
Walking, falling, indefinitely toward an unreachable perfection
Light coming and going, there is no hope
Pushed in the Dark Woods, stumbling, grabbing straws
Heartedly falling, no where to go, no one to see, laying there
Hopeless, timeless, immutable, staying down.
Suddenly, leering, Silver Smiles, glowing, creating their own light, I fall
"Follow," hopeless, timeless I rise to a new horizon, a new dimension, a better reality
In standing here, I sink deeper into Reality there, I follow.
I follow my teachers, darker and darker into the woods, deeper and deeper I trust.
The trees climb the sky, killing the moon, higher, higher until my guides are invisible
Unable to see the light from those smiles, I trip, stumble and grabbing pine needles, I fall
Hopeless, timeless I lay in my new grave; No self, no point, nothing felt
Swaying like a reed kwa a river's bank, an angelic like beauty boasting three heads
Emitting yet a brighter light than my awali guides
"Lead me," says my new found hope, "Lead me"
Walking we descend deeper into this forest
My left foot passing my right foot, quicker, still quicker, my beauty and I run
Chasing nothing, no one chasing.
Deeper, colder, blacker the darkness of this forest drowns my follower
She my light and now no more; no hope, hopeless
I sit, thinking nothing, not thinking.
Around me the owl, the wolf, the mountain lion, hunting in these darkened, ancient woods
Searching for survival they are, I cannot resist the instinct to stay, hopelessly.
Thicker, ubiquitous now, the dark has swallowed me
Hopeless, timeless, immutable; I sit
No self, no point, nothing felt; sitting
Chasing nothing, no one chasing; staying
Thinking nothing, not thinking; sinking
Then, driven kwa Gravity I am pushed down through the forest floor, through a canal
Light peering: changing, ticking, singing; Light
Burning my eyes, a familiar, distant Reality, the woods buried therein.
Dawn has broke
---
Oh Herald! kwa Contestant Number 34
Oh Herald! speak so that I may speak again
For in silence my moyo yearns for him.
The emptiness blinds my vision with tears,
And I fear my weakness he still hears.
Oh Messenger of my soul please make haste.
I have no zaidi sorrow for hatred to waste.
His words are the motive for his murderous deeds,
And with his witty retorts, my upendo painfully bleeds.
Oh, divine Savior please give me relief.
Please severe my incredibly hopeless belief.
au if thoust cannot end the feelings inside,
Take out my heart, and my soul may wewe hide.
For to upendo a mortal the way mortals do
Is surely the worst torture that Heaven can do.
Oh, come now and offer me a remedy!
To ease my worries and set my upendo free.
In silence his voice resounds through space,
And in stillness I can see only his face.
So Lord of Justice, take these feelings away,
And no longer in upendo with shall I stay.
---
Freckles and Teardrops kwa Contestant Number 35
see your tearstains on your face
Your mind...it seems out of place
Heard your plan to hurt yourself
So I picked up this paper from the bookshelf
I started to write
I wrote in despite
of the darkness lurking inside me
Suicide isn't a solution
Don't consider it an option
I'm your friend, you'll find
that wewe don't have to feel confined
It doesn't have to end this way
Please don't go away...
I've been there
just know...that I care...
---
My ode to pie. kwa Contestant Number 36
Pie, so sweet and savoury on my tongue,
wewe can make good of any siku gone wrong.
Whether it's cherry au peach,
wewe could even make Blagoyevich feel unimpeached.
Once my fork cuts into your crispy skin,
I know my happiness is about to begin.
---
I am the Driver kwa Contestant Number 37
‘Does that make it zero-risk? No. Is life without risk interesting? No.’ Wing Commander Andrew Green
A thousand miles per hour- land speed record.
The wind rushes through my hair as I find I can’t afford
to stop this whirlwind of a life. They’ll be
fast cars and superstars. The fee
of admission wewe ask. A supersonic engine.
Bloodhound kwa name, bloodhound kwa nature. I follow
the scent of a human frame. I’m on an Apollo
mission. But then I take off only to find
that, untrue to myself, I have become blind
to reality. And I upendo it?
Right now I’m in first place- here I plan to stay.
No competition. Bluebird, Thunderbold, Railton, out of my
way.
But make no mistake, once I reach terminal velocity
I know, I will start to slow. So I’m gonna
polish my own titanium. For now.
Editor's Note: This user would like to acknowledge that the quote at the beginning is from: link
---
Sisters Forever kwa Contestant Number 38
I could never live without my sister
That I can’t deny
wewe bring joy to my life when you’re kwa my side
When you’re gone it feels like my world has been destroyed
Together we fill our lives with laugher
Our memories will last forever and ever
No matter if we argue
au get in stupid fights
We upendo each other from the heart
Best Marafiki for life
Just always remember
I’ll upendo wewe forever
Because we’re
Sisters forever
Poet's Note: This poem is dedicated to my sis Laura.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 39
One siku
Centuries from now
They will find our bodies
Long since dead,
Long since forgotten
Buried together
Under the same blue sky,
Under the same green nyasi
And when they find our bodies
They won't know what colour our skin was
our Bones are grey
They won't know if we were beautiful
our faces will rot
They won't know if we were thin au fat
our flesh will not remain
They won't know in which gods we found our faith
they will not know our minds
And when they find our bodies
Our petty wars and hollow causes
will exist only as the tales of a distant time,
Our fleeting words of hope and fear
will be Lost to the earth and the rising sea,
And all the things that forced us
to draw lines,
to fight eachother,
to stand apart,
Shall fade to dust
And the centuries past
will unite us.
---
09 Bonnie and Clyde kwa Contestant Number 40
I sit here and think
About Bonnie and Clyde
And i cant help myself
I want that life
The running and robbing
And upendo they one had
The rush of the saa
The feeling of bad
The crossing the lines
From state to state
Sometimes theyd try
But it was to late
They had chosen that life
Til the siku that they died
And i cant help but want
That very same life
It must have been funn
At least for a while
The things that theyd done
Were not very wise
But they had there gunns
And upendo with blind eyes
I hope that one siku
I will find my right guy
Robbing banks au Shopping Sprees
One siku hell be all mine
The upendo that they had
Was unique indeed
It was the kind
The one that i need
So i say once zaidi
That one siku i will
Have adventure, romance, and why
Because one siku well be
The inayofuata Bonnie and Clyde
---
If I Were... kwa Contestant Number 41
If I were a paintbrush of splendour,
I would create a painting so brilliant
With splashes of hate brightened kwa love,
With dashes of joy darkened kwa misery,
And with an endless turmoil of every feeling, every thought,
And memories forgotten.
If I were an ominous wingu of approaching danger,
I would splay a net of warning
To the ones who cringe from hurt
And test the resilience of the fine thread
That balances the life of those who resist.
If I were the precise, focused eyes of a predator,
I would pick out the absonant lopes of an antelope
That strings a twine of discordance
Through the rhythmic flow
Of the galloping of an agitated herd.
If I were the breath of the Winter Queen,
I would arouse a storm so bitter
That the very being of life is chilled to the core,
Until all within my reach
Has felt winter’s wrath.
If I were hate,
I would rip the brittle structure of the world
Into wretched shards of envy, lose, hate,
And upendo for the pain of others.
If I were the chimes of crystal bells,
I would empty my cup of music
Onto the clouds that hover just above,
So that the music, so sweet to the ears,
Can rain down in a phantom storm.
---
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that this is a piece of shabiki Fiction based on the televisheni onyesha friends. The poet did not create and does not have the rights to the characters used within this poem.
An Abridged Version Of
The One With The Poem kwa Contestant Number 42
So Marafiki begun and it began with a bang
Chandler made jokes and Phoebe sang,
Ross was glum whilst Rachel was free
Well if wewe escaped Barry, wouldn't wewe be?
Monica had relationships but they ended badly
Joey had auditions but never got parts, sadly.
Phoebe found a thumb but never knew her Dad,
She hardly saw her sister but for that she was glad
Ross and Rachel got it on and Chandler was still funny,
But then Eddie moved in and he wasn't a happy bunny
Monica found Richard and Joey got a new job too
But he missed Chandler, well wouldn't you?!
Whilst Phoebe found her brother Rachel found the list,
Ross was devastated, but of course there was a twist
Richard didn't want kids, and a prom video was to be found,
Ross was Rachel's lobster, it was smiles and kisses all round
When Monica Lost Richard, Janice came onto the scene
But Chandler found her annoying, her laugh was just obscene!
The Marafiki played Football and Rachel was made to 'go long'
Phoebe sang Smelly Cat and so it was her signature song
Monica worked as a chef as Ross and Rachel took a break,
He tried to keep his drunken night a secret, of course for Rachel's sake
But it proved the wrong thing to do as Rachel found out anyway,
He tried his best but to no avail, Ross didn't know what to say
Chandler finally dumped Janice, no zaidi 'bing-a-ling',
Whilst he, Monica and Joey were freaked kwa a jellyfish sting
Rachel moved on as Ross found Emily and got set to wed,
But at the alter it was not Emily's name but Rachel's that he said
When they got together, Monica and Chandler surprised us all,
The gang went out to Vegas whilst Joey made a call
He didn't want them to know he hadn't got the part,
The Marafiki found out anyway, and helped him make a fresh start
Chandler tricked Monica, and a proposal was what he did,
She happily accepted, their inayofuata step was a kid!
Phoebe made kuki, vidakuzi but the recipe was not her own,
Monica found out they were Nestle's and boy, did she moan.
Then came the time for Mon and Chan's special day,
Chandler got cold feet but he got there anyway
Rachel had a secret that was to be revealed there and then,
She was pregnant, and needed to tell Ross but didn't know when
Ross was shocked but was happy he had a sister for Ben,
Joey too had a secret, he loved Rachel (like most men!)
Rachel was flattered but wanted to remain friends,
She then had a baby as her and Ross made amends
As the holiday ended Ross found out about the kiss,
He pretended he was fine but it was something he couldn't dismiss
Joey and Rachel stayed Marafiki and Phoebe married fast
Whilst Monica and Chandler found a baby they could adopt at last
Rachel was offered a job but it was too far away
How could she leave Ross, could he not persuade her to stay?
She left for the plane but he raced to bring her back
She couldn't do it and boarded the plane, she thought she was back on track
Monica and Chandler had brought the twins home,
While a sad Ross just wanted to be alone
A voice message told him Rachel wanted to get off the plane,
And as the door swung open it was Rachel that came
So there it was as Monica and Chandler got set to leave,
They had all spent ten years together, it was hard to believe
Tears and sadness followed as they put their keys on the side,
As they left the apartment, knowing they'd made an impact worldwide.
The poem's full version may be found link for reference purposes only.
---
Untitled kwa Contestant Number 43
The cigarette drags
Inhaling the toxins
Fills me with doubts
Around me the rain drips
And drops
So morose, so morose
Even if it kills me
The time of my life
Hello my name is Cristina Xtri ,i am 15 years old and i upendo every singer's songs because SONG IS MY LIFE and also if singers wasn't even here exist then there would be no songs and i wouldn't even listen to song but now singers are here my life in on a ROCK AND ROLL!!!! WELL want to say something i upendo every singer's songs well they are GREAT for me it is my LIFE!!
SINGERS THAT I KNOW :Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj,Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez,Jennifer Lopez, well i just upendo every singers !!
Well i wish all the singer a big GOOD LUCK!!!! and also i upendo every songs well they are great!! hujambo all the singers make zaidi song for me please want to see zaidi !!! well just upendo every singer!!, well my inayopendelewa song is WORK kwa Rihanna and what is yours?
SINGERS THAT I KNOW :Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj,Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez,Jennifer Lopez, well i just upendo every singers !!
Well i wish all the singer a big GOOD LUCK!!!! and also i upendo every songs well they are great!! hujambo all the singers make zaidi song for me please want to see zaidi !!! well just upendo every singer!!, well my inayopendelewa song is WORK kwa Rihanna and what is yours?
MOONWALKER THE SERIES
