Sometimes I wish I could go forward to the past
or back from the future, journey once more and recollect dust
rewind the clocks, go back in time and live my life all over
Do everything again, born and pampered forever
make foolish decisions that land me in stinky crap
fall prey to temptations and get caught by every trap
from hustle with my dad, street walk to keep the wolf off the door step
walk so many miles just to make a call to Mama
when tragedy kept hitting us as hard as a hummer
to chilling with the wrong guys till my people think I'm wrong too
crazily boozing with my friends till I puke in their car
join the college and be influential in that strike that brought change
engage in corruption with mates and when caught take the blame
get angry with unfair teachers to almost violence
meet my X for the first time again and totally fall for her
my awesome first and only love I've ever known
and she for me,enjoy two years of flawless romance again
only to break up over a phone text message
over reasons she can't explain till date, unknowns responsible for my pain
rage and hate within for love but love for literature and poetry
the two of which were my only hide outs during the hard times
if only I could jump back into the fences of school
the nervous jump outs, the frightening risks that with my gang were cool
I wish I could walk back to the short tempered childish fool
who would argue all the time with his sweet sisters
those memorable days of playing with fire and nursing blisters
the unforgettable blurred years of falling off trees
and keeping quiet until my feet swell and hurt as hell
of falling into **** I believed was deeper than any well
picking up fights over lasses we weren't even dating
the days of trying out our luck in the disastrous sports betting
oh!those sweet days gone by with the tsunami waves of time
seasons of melancholy and of joy, of kwete till we could afford wine
I would trade everything to relive those historical moments
albeit it wouldn't be okay in the end as a result
of the many surprises that happened after each and every bend
I still would do whatever I could to take the backward trend
Go to the ends of the world to play rope, goalless soccer, hide and seek
just give me a chance and I will play and dance in rain till I fall sick

I too believes I'll move on someday
Out of this love locked prison
It should have ended yesterday
But it won't till I know the reason

I won't get over the much we shared
I won't forget each and every beautiful song
How the hell can I forget you cared
In those times you swore It's to you I belong

It's obvious it will heal but leave a scar
That will constantly be a caution
To never blindly fall or trust a twinkling star
For when gravity acts earth and not space shall be my cushion

I'm aware I'll get over you with time
But like our, no other poem'll ever rhyme

The funny thing is I was prepared and willing... I was ready to remove the obstacles on the path to my heart,
to light a torch through the tunnels so that you know the directions to take in the labyrinth of my grim personality
characterized by culverts of mood swings and the stinking sewage of my tantrums... I was ready to rid myself of the dust of my haunting past
and stop sneezing good intentions like yours away, I was ready to hold your hand
and match along with you to a future that keeps getting brighter every other day.
I was prepared to cut open my soul and let you put the candle of affection inside so that you drive out the darkness of cynicism that's plagued me for years,
I was ready to make you the handkerchief that finally dries my invisible tears...
The uplifting embrace that finally brings my silent sobs to an end, I was willing to make you more than a friend
by ripping away the high fences of my diffidence and letting you into my sanctuary,
my innocuous zone so that you would drive away the compulsion I have for desolation...
I was even open to letting you help me gather the pieces clattered all over the floor of my reality
that have eluded me for what seems like epochs, I was willing to overlook your flaws as I thought they were faultily perfect
and you earned a chance to flip the pages and let me read the chapters beneath rather than judge you by your cover,
I was eager to be an open book, to open my mind and let you be the radar, that guides the wreck of my life back to the shores of romance
Whose flame for the fuel in my soul was promising to burn and never die out and even if I’d run out of fuel,
I was willing to seek help from the glow of the sun to light our way if the flame ever died out...
I was keen to whither the storms if it wasn’t a happily ever after, to feel our way through dark times
To never admit defeat till time when the moonlight of joy crept through the alleys of our hearts.
More than before, I was ready to let you be the blanket that warms the winter in my soul into spring
and that cools the summer of confusion in my mind into autumn where the leaves of loneliness would fall
greener optimism was already budded awaiting the despair to fall,
I was willing to let you explore deeper than anyone had ever been in a very long time, close to the first cut
Until you chose to ruin it all…and made me shut my doors even tighter with your guns loaded with bullets of empty promises
albeit I cautioned you against promising anything because in my experience it was the expectations that hurt
You’ve made me build even bigger walls, locking out even the little warmth I was starting to gather…
You’ve made me put bigger barriers on the boulevard to my heart and turned it into a boulevard of broken dreams
and by doing so, you’ve locked me away forever, and lost the keys yet am grateful
to you for showing me that the world outside the cocoon is still what it used to be before my hibernation
a world where butterflies cannot survive for even the roses have Datura within their sweet nectar…
Am grateful you didn’t wait for me to fly so high before severing my wings, so grateful you’ve confirmed to me
that even the most splintered of fragile hearts can still be broken…I was saving forever for you, thank you for not letting me waste it all.

Today I poured away my favourite beer
for the long awaited tomorrow's already here
tomorrow I dust my feet and wipe sweat off my face
because finally I've finished running this race
tomorrow I bend down to my shoes and free my lace
pen and paper down, in honour of the moment I rest my case
tomorrow I pat myself in the back and wish myself luck
for seemingly bright is a future that was once dungeon dark,
After writing the very last word in Human Resource Class
tomorrow I'll finally take a deep breath and out, alas!
Another beginning for preference of not using new
tomorrow I've got tops to pop goat's meat to chew
tomorrow I'll dance to the rhythm of momentary serenity
I'll shout out loud from a three years' pent up insanity
to set free the monsters that had sieged my psyche
tomorrow my life changes because I'll start another hike
an adventure to nowhere for that's what I call everywhere
this life hasn't been my cup of tea, neither has it been my food
so tomorrow I say goodbye to calculus, albeit probably not for good
I've learnt not to think that the last page means the story is over
No! Happily ever after doesn't mean no more rolling in the clover
tomorrow for once in my life I shed a tear of relief
it wasn't a record breaking hike but I've overcome the cliff
tomorrow I credit tension and debit nonchalance
I've lost a drink today but I'll make up tomorrow
****** drained and deadbeat till the bone marrow
forget the agony of the fateful arrow of sorrow
tomorrow I'm the man with the whip, the legend of Zorro
A butterfly ready to fly straight out of the cocoon
the air caught within an overinflated balloon
tomorrow I start sailing the high seas once again
in the rocket ship of ambition, space bound shine or rain
for this isn't one of those stories of escapes so narrow
but one of years in a fortress from whence I get acquitted tomorrow

Consumed by hunger, creed to my philosophical mind feed
and by greed of finding more words you may never read
I stared straight at the sun and my eyes hurt
when I noticed it doesn't hurt with my eyes shut
and whatever still aches is 'cause am looking back
at the wounded mark rather than the new doors of luck...
With eyes shut the heat was doing my icy spirits unfreeze
I listened to the serenity of the of the breeze amidst trees,
they said sometimes lads move on but on their knees
and it's what the shards gotta do as it's all there's
that as long as I walk there'll always be a road to follow
and as long as I despair my soul will often be hollow...
so am gonna find another to hitch on my ride rather than go solo
I'll drink to quench the fires of my delusion
I'll make a path through which to move on of this confusion
even if it was a perilously deep first incision
and albeit it took so long to make this decision
to finally cope with the fact that we're totally through
and to find happiness in a world void of you
rather than hurt myself and others along trying to find another you
am glad I bled this long,it proves every word I said was true...
I hope you know whilst you promised to be there till your very last breath
I never promised but my affection's bound to outlive my death...
All the same, I'd still wait for you but I've run out of years
I was willing to cry forever, but I run out of tears
yet as well learned that I can be Superman to another Lois
and the only distance there's between melancholy and Joy's just a choice...
So I've made this choice, to laugh louder than I ever cried
to tend to all the bruises I have inside
to make a presence of your absence and to live as much as I died...

War isn't that fusillade you hear in the distance
betwixt the government troops and the resistance
it's the civilians getting tattered in the crossfire
it isn't the wham of bombardment from airstrikes
by blaring Jet fighters across a shower of black in the sky
it isn't the badonkadonk of a Rocket launcher or Black Mamba
but natives being swept like Safari ants in chunky numbers
War isn't those mines planted in hitherto playing field
but the ignorant innocent children in search for a distraction killed
War isn't the televised scorched homes and gardens with corns
but the consequent drought, scarcity and "famined" and feeble as thorns
War isn't those vehicles and motors torched
it's the blameless owner who in tears the absurdity watched
War isn't that cacophony of politicians on stuffed tables
their speeches filled with hypocritical vocabulary are but fables
speak to the maimed and dead whose voices are never heard
it's those who want the anarchy to end, it's they that are tired
War isn't the nations battling or the parties in contention
it's those set, torn and cast apart...the ones we seldom mention
the parents and siblings forced to say goodbye
while their Breadwinner falls victim to conscription
despondent and despairing as they look on and cry
knowing their brother and Son's like those taken before bound to die
or those refugees wanting to return to their cradle
but having no home and nothing to return to but rubble
those forced to stay in the first world midst racist chants and hate
jeered by the "civilised" like they chose their skin-color and fate
War isn't the famous voices we hear and talk about on the media
but the ****** girls abducted, gagged, ***** and mutilated
War isn't the beautiful monster tanks wrecking
but the historical landmarks and fashioned roads
reduced to nothing, the lives within squashed under their loads
War isn't the glamorous documentary films censored and unreal
but the muffled deadbeat voices from heartbreaks that never heal
It's seeing one's whole life sublime in one moment of savagery
compelling the orphaned and widowed into manacles of *** slavery
for with the loss of their husbands and parents, neighbours, Uncles
comes the tight grasp of inhumane chains and anchors
in those places they are forced to seek refuge
places where they are treated worse when they attempt to refuse
War isn't just being apart from your people by a million a mile
War's learning to wear a weighted mask of a smile
while the heart, Soul, Mind and one's entirety's in Tears
War's knowing all one's "perspirational" toils were but wasted years
fearing to tell one's story because among the presented ears
one can no longer tell one that truly listens from one that just hears
..
whatever's in speech be it poetry or Documentary isn't War
War isn't words, war isn't testimonies, there's more
destruction to War than the eyes, heart can handle
not ever can War fit in the descriptions of words we bundle
War's something humanity never deserve
so unfair for we make war when most can hardly make love.

I once pondered an alternate path to tread,
Yet choices elude souls like ours, confined instead.
Wanderers of fate, we never linger to find a home,
With every departure, our nomadic spirits roam.

Destiny leads us where it deems best,
Life an exam, acing each grueling test.
Fearlessness our creed, despair we defy,
Through tempestuous seas, we sail high.

Another route I could have chosen, it's true,
But options were scant, so any I pursued.
Resistance is foreign to my existence's plea,
A bird in flight, surrendering to destiny's decree.

Perhaps, I could have fought and held tight,
Embracing expectations, ready to ignite.
Yet, I flow with rivers, carried by their course,
Driven far by forces, exertion no remorse.

Different streets I might have traversed in vain,
But in the end, streets merge, indifferent to their name.
For in the mire, we find ourselves knee-deep,
No matter the road, the struggle remains to keep.

Perchance, I could have chosen the other way,
If it meant a lighter burden to bear each day.

The next one to speak about forever
Will probably lose their lying teeth
For believing again I'll never
In such a childish fantasy and myth
The next one to say for better or worse
Will never count in mine presence
For such will corrode their worth
And my respect will be of no essence
The next one to say hallo will get goodbye
For it is better not to get immersed
Into sweet nothings, It's all but an iron lie
That doesn't last and does soon rust
The next one to move the fountains
Of my heart, will have to move Mountains

How did things suddenly change?
The odds,from life mates to strange?

The one who will love you shall come like the wind,
With a gentle breeze or a tempest within.
Their love will caress you with a tender touch,
And bring comfort, like a warm, gentle clutch.

Like a meandering stream that flows so serene,
Their love will be constant, a calming routine.
Through twists and turns, in every season,
Their devotion will remain, beyond any reason.

Their love, like autumn's vibrant display,
Will bring colors to your life, in every way.
With passion and warmth, their affection will bloom,
As leaves gently fall, they'll banish all gloom.

The one who will love you shall come like a flood,
A torrential force, rushing in, fierce and unshut.
Their love, like a bushfire, will spread with might,
Engulfing your heart in a warm, glowing light.

As a mighty avalanche reshapes the land,
They'll reshape your world, with a touch so grand.
Their love, like a soaring hurricane's gale,
Will leave no doubt, as emotions prevail.

Just as lightning strikes, unexpected and bright,
They'll electrify your soul, with love's pure light.
Like a tempest at sea, they'll stir your emotion,
A love that rocks your heart, with relentless devotion.

Like a shooting star, streaking through the sky,
Their love will amaze you, as it passes by.
In the depths of the ocean, so vast and profound,
They'll explore your heart, where true love is found.

Just like the moon's pull on the relentless tide,
Their love will draw you close, with nothing to hide.
In the quiet of night, like a twinkling star,
Their love will guide you, no matter how far.

Their love, like the sun, shining bright and warm,
Will bring light to your life, through any storm.
And just like a diamond, so precious and rare,
Their love will be cherished beyond compare.

They'll erupt into your life with fiery passion,
Leaving no doubt, it's a love that's meant to happen.
For in the journey of love, so wild and free,
You'll find the one who loves you, and you'll see,

So open your heart, embrace love's profound art,
For the one who will love you, shall conquer your heart.

As for me, life has also taught me the lesson that not all who say goodbye want you to go,not all who push you away want you to leave, not all who run tantrums and throw it on you are angry at you and not all that ignore you do not notice the effort you put in, no... Sometimes the beautiful goodbyes are just skins covering cold hearts, sometimes "just go" is camouflage for a soul desperate for you to stay, someone will shove you so hard away, just to see how much fight you'll put up to stay and those who are angry at you are at times simply angry at themselves for setting so high a bar as you keep scoring below the bar, they notice your efforts but they want and know you can do more than you are doing... All this is because we live in a crazy world where people say I miss you but seldom mean it, I love you but seldom feel it, I have faith in you but seldom believe it, I promise you but seldom fulfil it and the only test for truth is sometimes putting up a wall and seeing how many will fight to get through after all if someone can't fight for, they ain't worth loving or trusting for All's fair in Love and war, so says Shakespeare... If they won't fight for you, they should at least fight with you and if they can't fight with you, maybe it's best you stand alone against all odds than count on people who won't face up "for worse" and are only here for the better, so always understand, some of us will push you away, ignore and explode on you just to see if you really care enough to read between the lines for only those that can understand our ironies and hear our silence loud and clear are worth our time for most of us have invisible wounds and scars, and only eyes that see what's not there can tend to those...

The past
is like first love, we met and it was the most beautiful thing
it was as wonderful as listening to the nightingale sing
she was not so Angelic but her heart was as vast as the Pacific
in that I could not help but dig her like a farmer
she had a slightly long pointed nose like rays at sunrise
with tomorrow as the promising sky blue beauty in her shiny eyes
in some sense she was a definition of true innocence
trust was in the delicious taste of our first and my longest kiss
she was a treasure I would die for before time happened
and the globe beneath us shifted as I dared to blink
things changed since, the romance and innocence was lost
the promises were broken, wounded I bled
and the scars have remained, they are a ghost
from a life I want forgotten, a life that's dead
the past is my ex,no matter how bad I want her back
it can't happen, and thus I must date the present

The present is the girl I can't avoid
She is just my consolation in the period of hopeless oscillation sometimes she's beautiful and most times she's ugly
she's close to someone I'd marry but she isn't the one
for she is always on the move, tick by tick
with her ruby lips that are over spiced by lipstick of anxiety
I love her or I think I do simply because she feeds the ***** of my esteem
and wets my dry lips of despair with her tasteless kisses
I **** her ******* of opportunities like a hungry puppy
I totally enjoy the moment, I know she won't last forever
after all I have my future to work for and she's somewhere
at the end of the road waiting to lay eyes on me
she's so tired of waiting to meet her soulmate

The future is the lady of my dreams
we haven't met yet but my mind has a vivid picture of her
she has a soft light skin, straight organised white teeth of responsibility
and dimples of uncertainty that dig deeper whenever she smiles
she has the qualities of a mother to my children but she's currently
bedding wrong people (laziness) and getting hurt
albeit we haven't met, whatever I do has an effect on our life together
she is blinding bright like the midday sun,
with a pony tail of destiny hanging down her back
she loves children more than I do and is desperate to have some
she's an Angel and thinking she might fly back to Heaven scares me
she loves me and I love her more even if we don't know each other
and when I meet her, she'll be tired of getting hurt
and trusting wrong people, she will not trust me easily
but I'll steadily build the trust with my loving future
she's the only one who can make me forget the past with her beauty
but sometimes I fear that's just an imagination
and she is actually as ugly as the marabou stock
with a coerce voice that will make me hate hearing her talk
she might be as black as charcoal and scary as unemployment
I'm afraid she might even be a ****** from the countryside
who doesn't know what kissing is let alone making love*

that's the thing about life, the past is
an Ex, the present is a loveless consolation of an affair
and the future the perfect soulmate we're not quite sure will find their way here

She snored like a stuffed pig
and he so much hated it
but every time he remembered
her breathtaking smile, he cared less
about how loud she actually snored  
because the perfection in the joyful stretch
of her ****** muscles in juxtaposition
to the snore not only reminded him about the vows
" For better for worse" but also that every blessing had a curse
and people were really two faced like the coins
and we decide which face we see when we flip
he knew there's a dark side to even the most twinkling star
just like there was no beautiful one without a scar
what mattered was he chose her and she chose him
and once he realised that life wasn't as hard as it may seem
the snores suddenly turned into sweet lullaby
that he badly missed them the moment
she phoned and confessed she couldn't make it home
silence felt worse than the snores had ever felt
it was a torment the moment he placed down the phone
he hated it and whenever she was away he would die
in longing for the completeness of her lovely imperfection
he ached, tossed and turned trying to find her in the void
just like he did when they'd just married due to her snore
only this time it was because of true affection
he badly missed her, an irony he just couldn't ignore

A ‘times your chain's your freedom
Treasured freedom is your prison
You feel you want to hold on
It's the way you choose to move on
Your future could be in the past
Past catching your future rather fast
A dream turned to a nightmare
'Cause it’s **** big it does scare
Here was once your "wish I was there"
Your success was a whisper in a prayer
The uncertainty that kept them guessing
A curse turns out was a disguised blessing
I heard the path could be the obstacle
Hardship passed turns to a spectacle
Heard things that tend to make us cry
In Jan, in a year we laugh about or in July
Worst enemy was once the closest friend
Fighting wars to conceive peace is a trend
I hear every end is just another beginning
The race doesn't end but we are winning
Heart never rests, panic when it stops beating
We blend in trend, trust is for them cheating
Lust took to the stage, nobody applauded love
Those who lack losing the scant to those who have
Life's a death trap, them who care are loathed
The heartless are wrapped in care and clothed
The foolish are philosophical and wise
Probability's certain, no longer roll the dice
It's a game we ignore the rules to win
Since we're more sober after a taste of Gin
Sometimes the end justifies the means
Yet a ‘times the means justify the end

Busy helping people pick up their shards
That I've even forgotten my pieces still
Linger on the floor, some too shattered
To be picked.
I'm busy trying to shine some light along their path
Forgetting the beam seldom gives as much light
To the person holding the torch of inspiration
I'm so caught up cleaning up other people's mess
That even when mine stinks I think It's just the remnant of theirs
I'm so ******* helping them deal with their demons
Probably because I fear facing my own monster
With a heavy log in my eye but I only see the specks in theirs
I'm the life guard of their swim across the ocean of despair
But my anchor is sinking me deeper and deeper
I'm teaching many the basics of combat in life
Yet life is the one battlefield I have failed to fight on
I guess I'm worse than them who seek for healing
For they are unlike me brave enough to realize they need a therapy

There Is An Old Poet Called Bill
Who hid keys and thought remember he will!
and when he found, what it opened he forgot
He's kind, engaging and chats a lot...
That Good Old Poet Called Bill.

I've walked this ****** road for long
maybe I need to return to where it started
to understand where it all went wrong...

There Was A Baby in A Manger,
Whose divine life was in dire danger,
Of a prophetic destiny born
bound for crucifixion to mend the lives torn,
That biblical Baby in A Manger.

There was a Cat That Married a Mouse
and dreamed of making a home out of his House
but worse than the bird that married a fish
his ravenous appetite grew at her every kiss
until the night he forgot to let her out of his paws.

There Was A Dare Dog In This Town
That often ventured the wild and returned at dawn
He treasured the jungle floor he could lie on
till the night he lay on the tail of a Lion
and never lived to tell of the Lion's frown.

There Was A gorgeous lass in my Class
Whose dressing always outlined her ***, alas!
When she walked it was gracefully with ease
yet attracted glances like petals and bees
That enchanting lass in my class.

There Was A Kind Poet Called Donna,
With pieces as vintage as the Madonna;
She had a thing for nature's Echo
Decoded in her magnificent Haiku
That unforgettable Poet called Donna.

There Was A Long Month Called January
Which Filled All  with untold constrain and worry!
Tired of her scotching haze right from her beginning...
everyone ached for her end that was never beckoning
That Hell of A Long Month Called January

There was an Oak tree in Kampala,
Whose leaves were always blossomed in color;
and its life was dumped to the dogs
When they cut it down for timber and logs
That ornamental Oak tree in Kampala.

There Was An Old Bird in A Nest,
At dawn,a weaver or nightingale at best;
But age had probably stolen every feather
Till he shivered a trifle under the weather
That sick Old Bird in A Nest

There Was An Old Farmer called Zelalem
Whose dream was to visit Jerusalem
for which he tilled crop and prayed for rain
to mint some buck albeit in vain
That relentless Old Farmer called Zelalem

There Was A Quiet Girl by the Corner
A loner and all her folks were goner;
But she hardly did mind being kind
to all in need, even wounded birds she could find
That reserved pale Girl by the Corner

There Was A Strange Lady with A Big ****
Who frequented the bushy path by my Hut!
I could tell from her ogles and giggles
that she knew I melted at her wiggles...
That antagonizing strange Lady with a Big ****.

There was a road which led to a desolate hut
an outrageously long road, winding and rough
her ticklish humps and portholes made passengers laugh
whilst they cruised through the dusty dirt
upon that road which led to the desolate hut

There was a sky that was always blue
loved by the Sun for all she spoke was true
a big beautiful blue sky, every heart would sigh
albeit at times the clouds of envy would make her cry
that sky which was true, big beautiful and blue

In the end the world grew small
And her earth harder
As you dropped further
Down and neared the inevitable fall
The sun in her mocking yellow
Awakened before your eyes
Each rise and rise
Smiling a hello
**** those days
When minutes crawled
The delays
While away,rolled
The ***** of your dreams
Alike Steady speedy rims
Of cars imagined forever
On and ever
The moments lost
Love toast
The many defeats won
Tightly and to melancholy prone.
At such times
Cool were the chimes
Of the bells of hope
That caressed HEART
and helped her beat not to stop.