From the first second I saw you
My heart wants to tell you
about what it feels
about how it knew
a crazy love for you.

I see you in the street
Snow and cold winds
Your smiles melt everything
They keep me thinking
and then make me miss.

Every word you speak
turns into melodies
of a song I sing
about new romantics.

I knit my love
into a sweater
to give you this Chritmas
with a poem above
like a love letter.

Set the alarm
Lock the doors
Lock the windows
Lock the shutters
Find the cricket bat – “put it by your bed”
Say goodnight to mom and dad

Although young, not naïve
I knew every night had the possibility of being my last

A routine that is now muscle memory.

Fear –
You may think
But life –
Normal for me.

Wake up
Turn off the alarm
Unlock the doors
Open the windows
Open the shutters
Put the cricket bat in the cupboard

Never being able to be left alone at home. Unwillingly dragged from store to store.

But – that’s the thing –
People don’t know the real Her,
They know the exquisite scenery, the unforgettable wildlife
They don’t know… But I do.
Because She is my home
Because being in constant fear for my life –
is normal.

Confused –
What do I tell people about Mother when they ask?
The person who raised me, taught me how to be grateful, how to ride a bike,         how to love.
Do I tell them? Will I scare them?

Although hidden beneath the tyranny – I would say –
the bloodshed
the faces of malnourished children left for dead on the side of the road the poverty struck soil the corruption      the greed the hunger the death the separation of class and race

Although a place feared –
Africa.

My Africa –
Whose sunshine you feel ignited in your soul
My Africa –
Whose smile is irresistibly contagious
My Africa –
Whose heart lies in the grassy terrain
The golden dunes of sand
The never-ending mountain tops
My Africa –
Who is the heart of various people
           cultures
   languages
          All who call Her home.
She is –
Where my heart lies even if I am thousands of miles away
Where my mind wanders from day to day.

Her air, instantly calls you
Her smell, instantly smelt
Welcoming you ever so dearly –
      Home.

Like all good mothers,
She is the one who can handle both the tranquil and turmoil,
the love and war.

She is my home. She is who I fear of disappointing.

My Africa –
is beautiful.

what does it feel like to be held
not by another body
not by a set of limbs, a chest, a chin
but
by another soul

what does it feel like
to see truth in another pair of eyes
instead of hidden intentions
instead of absence

what does it feel like
to hear a familiar heartbeat
resounding next to your own
reaching through skin
through bone
two rhythms
indistinguishable

what does it feel like
to write poems about
a love that exists

I pray that Love shall find you, no matter wherever you are.
I pray that you gain peace, Joy, and Freedom in Christ too.
I pray that one day your regrets shall all vanish and be gone.
I pray that your mind shall always remain free from clutter.
I pray that you shall always have enough to eat every single day.
I pray that you shall not only find salvation from Christ here.
But you shall hold it and even cling to it during the rough patches.
I pray that Christ shall always hold you tight not only in the rough times.
But even in the times where you are feeling at here in this here life.

She just gave
me an astonishing
gift from the heart.
A gift of love,
so true.
A treasure worthy
to be embraced
with my soul.
A love to
be desired always.
I melted like
the ice cream
in a warm cup
in a hot sun.
What a fantastic
way to share
this beautiful moment.
It is really divine.
A gift of
self so heavenly
that I could
see the glory
of that love
in her eyes.
There is no
struggle but
a total yielding
of self to
her love.
I lay me
down in her
***** with her
arms wrapped
around me
in such a
comforting and
reassuring soothing way,
stroking my bald
head gently.
Her voice so soft
as she tells
stories of love.
I drifted a little bit
dreaming of
another place,
a realm beyond
this place.
Peaceful and Serene,
lovely and unspeakable,
and yes magical,
full of little kisses,
a little laughter,
and a little
soft whispers of love.
©2018,Emeka Mokeme. All Rights Reserved.

My grandmother once told me
A fantastic story
Of moonlight that was lost
From beneath the moon's pale frost
She said it floated off at night
And turned into the small pale lights
That I now see in the sky
Brighter than the moon's dim eye

Oh stars in yonder sky
Born of moonlight, learned to fly
You left La Lune behind
Gently weeping faded light