I smile randomly as she comes to mind,
She can do no wrong and I can do no right.

Providing us food from our conception,
Protecting your chicks like a hen,
Placing a compass when we needed direction,
Powerfully gentle even when we drive you mental.

Adored you are my queen,
Attest I can to the kindness you 'space to let',
Asylum found in your arms with the pain life can cause,
Although you don't seek a round of applause,
Alive still you are we must give you your roses.

Mystery to me the care you have given,
Marvel at times at the trail you have trodden,
Merciful One you blessed us with a pearl,
Mother to us and Obi-Wan's girl.

Esther-esque you watch out for your people,
Ever do you rest you climb so high unequal,
Even when you left to learn and in my ignorant infancy I forgot your name,
Expect you remembered me all the same,
Estimates you have exceeded you're just the one we needed.

Love carries you as you go,
Living in a way you let all know,
Look at the fruits of your labour,
Laughter so loud and contagious,
Lines are lacking because some things words could never express.

Altogether awesome Adonai,
Again you let her see another year,
Aghast we gaze at your glorious grace,
Aquitted we are from the curse,
Appreciative of a mum who lets us know your worth.

Woven in your womb,
Wisdom had us hewed,
While I boast of your beauty,
We all were born broken.

Hence I say you are far from perfect,
However you've always had a precious purity,
Hope this makes you merry,
Have a glass or two of sherry.

Youthful you remain,
Yielding a joy filled jubilee,
Yes fintu mu chalo file moneka kwati fya onaika,
Yet mwali shiba at Yesu a têka!

Much can be said about freedom.
Is it a feeling, a state of mind, is it found in what we possess?

Perhaps you're like the African child who writes this,
often carrying a rootlessness that he can't articulate either in his mother's or his borrowed tongue.

All he knows right now is 'they' came, 'they' saw 'they' conquered.
We bowed, we wept, defeated.
To this day our ebony coating carries a curse.
Often perceived as less than,
with a lucky few who are above the rest.

Perhaps you're well versed in the beautiful tragedy of who we are.
You're acquainted with our jovial spirit,
Our fierce fortitude and our soiled scars.
I appreciate you and I hope you continue to teach others.

Maybe you're a young Paris Hilton who doesn't know there's more to us than south and west,
Be our guest,
but learn our story,
strive to know me and my children for who they really are,
some will try to deceive you like all is well and rosy.
Others will make you weak with worry,
portraying me so pitifully,
wailing my woes while waving my wins.

Anyway, today you celebrate my freedom.
As for me, I grimly grieve.
From my vantage it seems that foreigners feed the feet of the ones most trampled.
Yet your own heads gormandise at their expense.
Many are conforming to the very ways that enchained them.
Sometimes I'm ashamed to call you my children.

Yet I still hope, I always will.
That one day you will begin to shine in this darkness with all of your blackness,
ride with all of your beauty,
tread upon the slick serpents from abroad and from within,
loosen the limbs of the lions and wolves that corrupt credence to your detriment.
Find ways to forgive the injustices all the while resolving them beyond words.

Perhaps it's a dream, but I hope one day all of you my dear children, near and far, one day, may all of you be truly free.

With love,
Mama Africa

The end of 2018 felt like a dream,
I heard that you had a stroke and were admitted to UTH,
I didn't know how to feel because it was at a time when so much was falling apart,
I hoped and prayed that you would be alright.

When I came to see you,
despite your frail appearance,
you still had the gentle and warm
voice that I've always known,
despite losing some of your memory,
You never lost your kind character.

Finally you returned home and you continued to get stronger,
you were still the same warm man,
a father, brother and friend to all people you came across.

My fondest memories with you are birthday parties and braiis in Avondale,
you and bambuya were the best hosts,
sitting on your lap and crying for no reason,
also when you'd take me outside to get fruits from the tree,
even those short drives to the local bars to get some drinks for an event,
or exploiting your kindness by asking you for money for some snacks.

You have always been so understanding,
providing a listening ear and sharing lessons you've learned in life,
even though you're shy to pray,
I know God hears you because you have so much love in your heart.

I'm proud to be your namesake,
I celebrate your life,
I love you bashikulu,
We love you Bashikulu,
Happy birthday.

Kanyanta

From the day you flushed my clothes down the toilet because I took your spotlight as the only child,
to when you, "had the cali girl swag" and you "bragged about it" to your polés in B language,
to the day when you were at a high school event acting wild,
the days in between when I punched you in the spleen and received a recompense from dad.

When I'd watch 'As told by Ginger' and 'Hey Arnold' only because you liked them,
your resistance to let go of childhood soaps and all the shows we grew up with,
when we'd play waida, hands up america, the country game and all the trivialities to pass the time,
when you'd console me after an umpteenth unrequited romantic endeavour,
and all the things that my memory has failed to keep.
Oh my dear,
you've come a long way.

Now you're a lawyer but you're still my big sister,
behind your well written and thought out comments and critiques,
is a passionate, fiery lady with a desire for change,
a confident yet insecure woman who's fed up with acne, backne and banana knees.
Like many people there's more to you than meets the eye,
the grief and pain you hide,
the places you keep at the corner of your mind,
loved ones lost, breaches made, and dreadful doubts.

Before I bore you,
I just wanted to write this to say how much I adore you,
I've written poems for people I've known for a day,
but I've let my own blood slip away.

My life has felt worth the trip because of people like you,
you're such a special person even though you don't think it's true.

Cheers my friend,
you just hit a quarter century,
here's to at least two more,
even though there's tough times to come,
I'm excited to see what the future has in store,
as you put your trust in the Son,
may you fly with the wings of eagles and soar.

I love you fam.

Nyantie