There’s a nation that paints it’s outermost covering with a bright colour, showcasing the white edges but burying the dull surface under the red carpet,
A state of narcissistic individuals who prey on the muscles of the destitute, a desperate newspaper vendor,
Sweeping the hard-earned coins of a shoe shiner into their overflowing storehouses,
A country that knows not the law of empathy, draining away the bowls of a street beggar! And still walks away as if nothing happened!?
Author: Wyclif M. Musau
Journalist| YouTuber| Creative Writer| Online Content Creator| Africa's King of Narrative Poetry| Alumni of Kenya Institute of Mass Communication]
It’s Not Easy To Be A Man
A council of grey-haired wise men once said that “whatever doesn’t slay man makes him stronger!”
In my community, whenever a boy is born, the first duty of the midwife is to let him taste a drop of honey,
The baby whirls his tongue through his tiny mouth licking every drop of it, then a piece of red pepper is introduced thereafter!
Then everyone stares at him as he struggles to drain soup from the wrong honey comb, the clamorous cry lasts for more than an hour!
Why The Lion Doesn’t Greet Man
Even though the flesh eaters raised a white flag and veered away, a ferocious rivalry between man and the beast of land grew in a massive way!
Hyaenas would hide in the midst of the leafy scrublands and wait patiently until a sheep steps in the their territory,
Wild dogs too became vengeful, they would isolate a goat from the herd, scoop away the inner parts and disappear before it’s too late,
The baboons and monkeys waited until it was harvest time, when there was plenty of food in the shamba, things became tough for mankind!
Coping Up With An African Mum
If there’s a person I feared most when I was a teenager, that “devil” was definitely my mum,
I would rather choose the option of swimming through a swamp of hot porridge than to face my mother after breaking one of her precious thermos flasks!
Disobeying an order that directly came from my mother’s pie-hole would attract a mortal chastening,
So my younger siblings took advantage of that indefinite gap to bully my fearful soul, “Mum has said that you should go and collect firewood!” Or else…
Please Remember Me, Adonai
When Elisha and his servant were surrounded by a battalion of the Syrian army, he prayed to you Lord that you may reveal your power!
You opened the eyes of his servant who saw a vast army of heavenly hosts in fiery chariots engulfing the enemy!
Elisha also prayed that you may close their eyes, which you did, he tricked them to follow him to Samaria a stronghold of Israel,
When you opened their eyes, they were shocked! Elisha your servant enquired whether to slaughter them or not, but you refused! (2nd Kings 6) may the Lord of Israel remember you, Amen 🙏🏽
My Neighbour’s Hen Seems A Goose
The nature of human beings remains a conundrum or rather a mystification since time immemorial,
Have you ever questioned your inner self why he still believes that his neighbour’s grass is ever greener?
Why up to this moment he craves for the apples of the other side of the wall which seems more attractive and sweeter than your own?
If you haven’t probed him yet, I guess this is the right time to summon him before the sun sinks in the west horizon!
Before The Devil Became A Tailor
Are you satisfied with the fashion trends dominating the clothing arena currently?
Have you ever sat on a bench in your nearby town and watched ladies, older and younger passing by the streets?
Does it not perturb you when you see these little ones pulling down their tiny skirts in the sanctuary?
Or does it mean that age is catching up with me, if I refuse to wear these rugged pieces of jeans? I don’t think so!
Struggles of The Night Watchman
Have you ever pondered about the life of a night guard, a sentinel, a watcher?
The man who stays wake all night under a squeezed room or standing from dusk to dawn on the watch tower?
With his eyes wide open all night scanning through the edges of his master’s perimeter wall,
Lest he blink and lose his head to the sword of the night burglar! Have you?
The Girl Everyone Else Feared
But since I had listened to “Michael Learns” and “Westlife” love songs, I made up my mind to climb a palm tree without a ladder,
I have always had the notion that a man is still a man, with my five dollars for pocket money, I bought an ice cream and kept the change for future endeavours,
You know ice cream, lollipops and choco bar was the in-thing then, so I raised my collar, tucked in half of my shirt and bounced towards this daughter of dynasty,
She used to stay alone, all the other girls used to envy her, I guess they felt intimidated by her flourishing beauty and the shouting yellow skin tone,
When I Was A Kid
Life was good then, I was being treated as a real prince, with all the royalty and numerous maidens around, untill the king decided to add another small pikini,
I was deprived off my “all-time favourite” title which now was wholesomely granted to my younger brother,
The attention and favour that I attracted when I was the only “last born” around, vanished away,
The master became the servant, “go bring me a spoon from the cupboard drawer, I want to feed your small brother, faster!” My mom’s high-pitched voice commanded,
Little Strings of Poetry 