Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
 
nyant Sep 2023
Sitting still in the silent sound of crickets,
Ballers catch me out as they hit the wickets,
Looking back on my life in snippets,
Who can save my bones so rickets?

Idol of my heart is self image,
crooked and corrupted by a hidden shame,
fig leaves in my finances,
failing even on second chances,
cover on cover i hide,
don't get too close it's dark inside,
rather fake the mess,
running from nakedness.

Mama, papa i ain't so innocent,
and i can't buy my penitence,
who can look past our misdeeds?
A righteous king who's blood pleads,
always living as he intercedes,
cold recitals of apostles creeds,
won't free us from sin's disease,
we need a change of heart from stone to flesh,
we need to cease from works and find our rest.

So i look up to that cross,
Carrying my shame, my pride, my fears, my lies.
The holy lamb of God crucfied,
And count it all as loss.
Genesis 3:7, Ezekiel 37:1-10, Philippians 3:8, Hebrews 4:11, Ezekiel 11:14-21
nyant Aug 2023
It was a slow descent to sloth,
preceeded by greed,
but not before envy had his say,
then we met gluttony,
as resentment built up we found rage,
and when lust lingered like a vine connecting all these vains,
it was discovered at the root of it all,
at the start of the fall,
hidden deep inside,
was a piercing pride.
nyant Feb 2018
Algeria a rich land poor people,
Angola seems to have kings,
Benin is blessed with voodoo,
Botswana blood bulls diamonds,
Burkina Faso can't cope coups,
Burundi twelve years a slave,
Cape Verde has half a million,
Cameroon got cocoa,
Chad's lake is shrinking,
Comoros has under a million,
DRC is third largest,
Congo is it's neighbour with capitals facing,
Côte d'Ivoire has few elephants,
Djibouti's on the horn,
Egypt has mummy's,
Equatorial guinea struck oil in 95 but didn't loose change,
Eritrea has 5000 running annually,
Ethiopia's great rift is pretty ******,
Gabon is subject to black gold,
Gambia got a peace of it after 65,
Great Ghana oasis of peace,
Guinea is diverse,
Bissau too,
Kenyans have beautiful smiles,
Lesotho is SA's baby,
Liberia oldest republic,
Libya needs liberty,
Madagascar where are the penguins!
Malawi has warm hearts,
Mali is 8th,
Mauritania is 11th,
Mauritius marvel,
Morocco fine leather,
Mozambique keeps the dugongs,
Namibia Windhoek ah,
Niger after a river,
Nigeria makes zuma rock,
Rwanda listen,
Sao tome and principe 2nd smallest,
Senegoals,
She sells Seychelles,
Sierra Leone free?
Somalia loose,
S. Africa reign,
South Sudan independent?
Sudan - black,
Swaziland more than solo men,
Tanzania trade,
Togo up down,
Two knees yeah,
Uganda teacher come simeon,
Zambia's peace?
Zimbabwe got rid of Mugabe.

Always thought zed was co.za but we're actually co.zm,
so what's zim?

One way we'll loose change is when the overseers begin to acknowledge the under looked.

-nyanta
nyant Feb 2018
Oh JD how I admired thee,
your sinister sarcasm,
your sharp screeching scream,
your pink pursed lips,
always as if you were to whistle.

You sat in your chair arms rested,
after another exhausting session with
disengaged delinquents,
I'd always feel a sense of guilt,
as your red face cooled down after every class.

I'd always appreciate the days when we pleased you,
How hard it was to please you.
The prince of of punctuation,
when will these fools stop forgetting where to place their commas,
when will they wake up and realign to the standard Oxford rule.

I wonder if you studied there,
or why you wouldn't drive one,
perhaps that's why you loved the phrase manners makyth so much.

You taught me about literature and African history,
the best possible combination of Shaka speare,
I feel that I impressed you more in the latter,
but that doesn't really matter.

We're world's apart now,
as you continue in your most precious profession,
I lay in my bed writing poems,
slightly clueless about this post adolescent world.

I forget much,
but I'll always remember the strolls to the cats and dogs,
the advice and complaints,
the doubts about saints,
the sky blue in your eyes.

How I wished you would fly,
above  from the gloom that seemed to,
keep your head bowed down to the ground,
that you would once again smile at the sound of the birds at dawn...
Bygones be bygones.

Little did you know that you became a father figure,
I respected your resolute resolve to stand for your convictions,
clarity climbed off the cusp of your tongue as you cried,
you were sure of yourself and spoke your mind,  
I do think you could have been a little more gentle,
kind.
So could I.

I learned so much from you,
but I may have also learned your sadness,
but it's something I had to let go,
your roots run deeper than I'll ever know,
maybe something sour happened along the way to embitter them.

Whatever the case may be,
please forgive any inaccuracy,
I'll always hold you fondly,
JD.

Kanyanta
nyant May 2022
Constantly becoming,
hopefully better rather than worse,
questioning whether I'm part of the cure or the curse.
nyant Mar 2021
Life appears as a sea of disease,
with waves that whelm woefully,
while wisdom wails from the deep,
"Perhaps in pain, they'll notice me".

What a mess we've made,
foolish game we've played,
the scene is tense,
at what expense?

Nonetheless we must not cower to fear in this new year.

Be cruelly kind,
frightfully fearless,
expedietly patient,
drunkenly sober.

Believe a better story,
knead a neater narrative,
apathy is insidious,
for every sickening sad tale,
seek a double dose of positive too.

There is a call to resolve,
till the final curtain creeps,
there is a call to dissolve,
till one's final baited breath,
there is a call to live in love,
embodied and embellished,
laying awake with a dream of a better day in the face of apparent decay,
putting on the full shield,
we must not yield,
either hand is the upper hand,
having done all we can, we must stand.
nyant Dec 2018
Once a time I heard it said,
let the dead bury the dead,
I never quite understood what it meant,
until I felt a numbness in my chest,
a desire to die,
a dream deferred,
a strangled sigh,
a song unheard.

I often feel like I walked in the dark,
Ever since I ran from the wilderness,
with all its doubt, drear and shame,
I never want to go back there again,
I strolled the streets of the cold Cape,
saw men punching and talking to the air,
wondering if they're led by its spirit,
I could almost hear their right minds crying from this coat of confusion,
a caged bird singing,
what could lead them to such a crawl,
each man for himself,
God watch us fall.
nyant Feb 2018
Banakulu
She died, I cried,
at least I tried,
she's gone, I realized,
Will I see her again?
Another life,
Diabetes took her away,
Her pain was visible.
She held on but let go,
condition critical.

I didn't know vernacular,
that was sometimes a barrier,
more time we could've spent together,
but I preferred my extra time with video games and TV on the weekend,
so when mum would ask, "do you want to see grandpa and grandma today? "
I'd say maybe next week and sometimes next week was a month or two.

I played a song for her in the guest room as she lay there days before she was taken to the hospital.  I sang my heart out as she shed a tear.

I know she would want the best for me,
she was diligent concerned and had pedigree,
she seemed to find the miracle in the mundane,
or maybe she simply settled in the calmer seas of life early,  
she left her imprint on all her daughters,
care, action, cleanliness, and honesty.

Banakulu is missed and hopefully, I'll see her again. For now all I know is bonds are formed with memories and memories by time spent together.

*banakulu - grandmother in icibemba(Zambian language)
nyant Apr 2020
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
nyant Nov 2021
Went to my magwinya lady today,
she's contained at the canteens on north campus,
As she rose up her left eye was bluish ****** grey,
A lump in my throat formed not as big as the one on her face,
my eyes secreted their salty solution,
my mind quickly processed confusion,
"M-m-m-m-may i-i-i p-p-lease have five magwinyas"
She smirked at my muttered utterance as she began to fill the thin transparent plastic with the oily flour-filled *****,
I reluctantly asked "What happened to your eye?"
She responded in Xhosa reasonably assuming my common cocoa coating meant our tongues matched until I told her otherwise.
Eventually she simply said, "Fight".
I said, "you got in to a fight?"
She said "Mmm".

I went over to my banana lady and said the magwinya lady has a black eye and she casually claimed, "Her boyfriend beat her yesterday."
Confirming what my teary eyes and lumpy throat knew to be true when I saw my sweet magwinya lady with a swollen eye ****** grey and blue.

Frustrated at the nothing I could do.
Powerlessly pirched on a brown bench as the black sparrows chirped pleading for a piece of my last magwinya,
Should I tell her to escape?
Is that even my place?
How many black eyes are blotched on this bruised land i, a fearful foreigner, trace?
I'll bury my brain in my book,
somewhat cowardly crook,
I'll see what i saw but take no second look,
like a camel's head in the sand,
I'll timidly tell myself these things are just too hard to understand.
nyant Feb 2018
Brothers and sisters borrow me a blessing that brings no sorrow,
everything I chase seems to cage me in this rat race of life,
why must all that I do require such strife,
as long as the outcome is income they say,
sometimes I'd do anything to make the
pay go away,
even if I've never worked a 9 to 5,
just so that I could run outside and play,
carpé diem,
seize the day they say,
well okay,
what if the day has nothing to hold on to?
Must I make myself mused by the mundane,
married to the morbid mistress that has become my mattress,
spark a fire when I'm matchless,
I'd much less be away,
chalice to wonderland,
peter to never land,
perhaps Rome,
no Juliet,
all alone,
see the sunset,
gone,
take flight,
into the night.
nyant Nov 2021
Brothers and sisters borrow me a blessing that brings no sorrow,
everything I chase seems to cage me in this rat race of life,
why must all that I do require such strife,
as long as the outcome is income they say,
sometimes I'd do anything to make the
pay go away,
even if I've never worked a 9 to 5,
just so that I could run outside and play,
carpé diem,
seize the day they say,
well okay,
what if the day has nothing to hold on to?
Must I make myself mused by the mundane,
married to the morbid mistress that has become my mattress,
spark a fire when I'm matchless,
I'd much less be away,
chalice to wonderland,
peter to never land,
perhaps Rome,
no Juliet,
all alone,
see the sunset,
gone,
take flight,
into the night.
nyant Jun 2023
I walked by a sunflower blooming yet small,
A big monarch butterfly perched on it glorious and tall,
An ant like me loves to stay on the ground,
I fugured it best to assess how I could serve the crown,
I longed for the rose to be thr place where we'd meet,
Though I have accepted the sunflower to be sufficiently sweet,
Whether you consider me a servant, friend or a king,
Maybe even a jester,
Just know that your laughter, companionship, the joy that you bring,
Have led me to ask how to make things better,
I'll be content with the oil and forsake the nectar,
Near or far I'll be by your side so aim high,
I just want to see you fly.
nyant Apr 2021
Tik tok kills the clock,
Twitter when I'm bitter,
Insta when anxt,
Facebook for a quick look at my standing on the social strata,
what's the cost to my oblongata?
nyant May 2021
Can't forget the depths from which we were brought,
that would waste the weight of all
we were taught,
the tension in the string,
as puppets pass the plate,
hoping it will decide their eternal fate,
little knowing the price was paid in full,
sometimes it matters where you go to school.

Now the brain is bullied and battered,
as the oppressor is the professor,
divulging deceit so they can never find their feet,
there's a dependency on piety as to a diety,
drinking from a stagnant stream,
thirsty for fresh waters,
calling all sons and daughters to the river of life,
branch on to the vine that satisfies the soul.

Wrestling in the centre of the ring,
the compression in the spring,
once slaves to the waves that toss,
count it all as loss just to know the one who paid a great cost.
nyant Feb 2018
I will do it,
when the time is right,
I will do it,
before you take my life,
I will do it,
make my wrongs right,
I will do it,
show you my loyalty,
I will do it,
show you my trust,
I will do it,
show you my love,
I will do it,
tomorrow will come,
I didn't do it.
nyant Mar 2022
The tightrope we tread where life unveils itself from the filter of our imagination to it's stark shocking reality.
We can either kick or scream,
or wake up from the dream,
For the things we struggle to find the words to mention,
we walk on and hold things in tension.
nyant Feb 2018
Professors with professions listen on the sidelines to my cryptic confessions like I'm still under the lineage of the plane papacy taking note of my blank boredom.
Don't even know if I deserve to saint this message.

Look warm,
they'll think you're a sky walker,
be hot they'll think you're an odd joker,
cause these days there's no truth to bat an eye on,
Even christians bail on the touchy topics,
I too would rather travel the tropics,
But we can't piece up the peace in these last days.

It's a relative subjective river that you can choose to glide on.
Why do foolish ants labour to protest works?
Perhaps it's a minor issue and we're digging too deep.
Perhaps the devil's wearing denims down with bootleg discussions,
that bow out but never stand in the gap,
Perhaps there are finer issues like my blessings.
Perhaps everyone will eventually find their way.
One man for himself...

I used to pray for mercy,
then I'd pray to messi,
It's like now I prey for merces,
distractions and direction,
promises of perfection,
leave me licking lumps of wounds that the leaven left.
We all want to hear something new,
twerk the message and please the pew.
I can feel the Ichabod as the teaching scratches my ears.

Can a name be enough?
Can a call really save?
Or is it just a ploy to keep the black man a slave?

- nyant
nyant Nov 2018
May my dreams not die before I sleep.
nyant May 2021
As you fall from the nest,
its frightening at worst thrilling at best,
thrown in to the ocean without a life vest,
figuring out the host like an invited guest,
writing a learn as you go kind of test.
I know you're seeing the tragedies of society and existence but I hope that you'll join the resistance and find some persistence as you seek hope in the Son.

My fellow eaglet how we want you to fly,
to find strength in His wings and touch the sky,
to find healing and testify,
there is no rush,
the pressure can make it feel like you'll crush,
but I know you're a diamond in the rough,
We'll be here to help you fly again,
I can't wait till you're free MB,
I love you my gee.
nyant Oct 2021
Like the tumble trembling from a heap of crates,
As the ocean flows up and down in waves,
Sadness seems to be my solid state,
It's been a hard drive trying to get to a different place,
If I don't move I'll be diseased,
I'm sick of walling in misery,
Peace, love, joy, they're calling me,
Melt this stony flesh before I freeze,
Unlock these chains for you have the keys or did you already give them to me?
Eva
nyant Feb 2018
Eva
I had a sleep in Saturday morning,
till I decided to go outside at noon,
walked to shop rite,
got some telekom talk time,
and strolled to the park off main road,  
guitar in my right hand,
adidas backpack,
first sat on a bench but strayed from the heat,
to a spot of shade and squatted,
I began to lament as I strummed the acoustic.

Everyone around the park quietly perched,
a child came by with her mother as they played by the ground ,
then some boys came around to kick it,
it was time to leave.

I walked north to another park I knew,
I still found activity.

An old lady in a wheelchair,
some parents and their children,
some people with their dogs,
all enjoying the little enclosure.
I skipped that section and walked into the wide expanse of gleaming green grass,
unaffected by the long drought,
there was a little bench facing the enclosure,
that's where I sat.

As soon as I sat down,
she came running to me,
her father following suit,
understandably so,
she paused and smiled at me as I unraveled my caraya,
she said, 'what's that?'
Her dad with his cool 'rock' t-shirt said it's a guitar,
she repeated,
pronouncing it in an odd way,
I asked him if he played and he said no,
to my subconscious surprise,
he additionally had long black hair which added to his rockstar vibe,
she suddenly stretched out her hand and plucked the 3rd or 4th,
as her dad gave her a slight rebuke and told her to follow him,
he said she's his only one,
I waved goodbye.

I could see a blonde haired lady,
watching from the enclosure,
slightly apprehensive,
her mother perhaps,
she eventually left after the trio sat diagonally facing me,
just playing the same chords I've known for so long,
feeling as though I'd been stuck in a stagnant cycle,
birthing nothing more,
menopause.

She raced towards me again,
this time her dad simply watched,
she just stood around as I played,
almost enchanted by the sound,
I partially flabbergasted,
sure this muzungu has never seen a guitar?
She ran back to her apparent guardians.

A few minutes later she raced back,
surprisingly quick,
her hair was bouncing and her packet of mini tennis biscuits shuffled in her hand,
she halted in front of me and stretched out her hand,
I asked her to pick one out for me and I ate it,
she took them and came back with a bottle of water but I told her I was fine,
she had already paid me enough joy.
I wondered if her dad was sending her.

She continued to run around with her dad until they parted east.
She hopped on her pink bicycle as he shepherded behind.
Fading into the distance,
leaving me wondering of I'll ever see her beautiful bright smile and eyes  again.

Eva brought life to my day,
more so my existence ,
she showed so much love,
in such little time,
unlike most toddlers,
she gave,
not only that she gave the little she had,  
of her menial mini tennis biscuits,
that made a racket in her packet,
and her tiny 350 ml water bottle,
with all of her running,
never even considered my race,
after meeting her I feel like I've seen all the beauty this life can show,
she was a highlight from the Author's book,
it's these things that keep me going,
these things that keep me knowing,
maybe just maybe I haven't blown it,
I hope she turns out to be a fine young madam,
I hope she gets to meet the second Adam.
Eva Saturday love gift
muzungu means white person in Bemba(Zambian language)
Eve
nyant Sep 2023
Eve
She made me believe again,
walking with her by my side,
I felt like I had seen the world in a new light,
It was cold dark and lonely before she arrived,
she made me feel seen warm and accepted,
the greatest work of art is her heart,
her piercing eyes are so gentle,
her wide smile and soft lips,
her tender embrace and glorious face.

Her cheeky humour sharp mind,
Her sincere intention her fast drive,
her caring nature and sisterly friendship,
the rosy romance,
the list is endless.

Truly it's not good for a man to be alone,
now i have a different view of home,
i had a taste of eternity,
the sweetest serenity,
a quantum of solace,
my personal sunshine,
my secret hot spot,
an ebony escape,
a velvet vape.

Maybe i spit at grace,
to let what felt such a blessing go,
one thing's for sure is she left a trace,
an indelible mark on my soul.

My hope for her is that she thrives,
that she knows that she is an embodiment of true beauty,
that she is more than her duties,
that outside of everything she's been through she is worthy of love,
that she can free to just be,
I say this because she made me feel worthy of the kind of love that I've only seen in the divine,
the kind that few see in a lifetime.

It cuts me deep that she wasn't mine to keep but I'm grateful that I had a taste of Eden while I walked with Eve.
nyant Feb 2018
The day I opened a Bible was a tale of two cities,
The best and the worst of times,
I could no longer lay back and leave the sand in my hourglass,
watch the days of my life drift,
while logans lurk,
wolverine around the brook in the forest,
looking to claw the hope away,
make a ridge between the family I claimed to love.
There seems to be harmony in passions,
But not even Timmy knows which spell Tabitha will cast to cause more division.

The continent of the canine always barking with it's mouth open,
Feed me,
We cry,
now we are fat with corruption,
preying on the piety of poverty,
prophiting leviathans,
the cultish land with a superstition,
fearful never able to hear the mission.

We hold fast but not to the word,
starving ourselves from understanding,
traditions trump truth,
as we defecate more dangerous nonsense into our ear holes,
perhaps we're better off,
we have some peace and food,
we don't have the rat race,
maybe I've been too sheltered,
failing to truly discern the state of the land that houses me.
I couldn't even see that my house was burning but it was cool if  it was watered down by a firetruck .

I used to think that every African knows Jesus. Sometimes I act like I don't.

-Kanyanta
Fire truck reference is a silly satire at zambian government
nyant Dec 2020
An ode to Dunbar,
I binge on his broken wholesome pieces,
how strange the words of a man of long ago and a life so different from my own can strike a chord so true to my aching heart.
nyant Feb 2018
There's nothing more that I long for now.
To taste,
to feel,
the vista,
the sound,
the scent,
the love,
a piece,
enjoy,
so pure,
so true,
so right,
the cure,
so bright,
imbued,
to stand,
to walk,
to run,
fearlessly,
truly me,
new,
whole.
A dream.
nyant May 2020
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
nyant May 2021
Is all fair in love and war?
Clothe me when I'm naked and bare,
Put off excuses that you are unaware,
Do you see me? Do you care?
I'm flailing in flames yet you simply stare.

What are you running from?
Do you see that we are all refugees?
Seeking our own ideas of peace and harmony,
We all just want to be free.

I had an Israeli peer named Mahdi,
a Palestine named Ali,
both came to my country to live regularly,
they could have been great friends but war makes a stranger an enemy.

What is the price of the wars we wage?
What is the cure for this savage rage?
nyant May 2021
I'm at the brink of my ink,
the more time to think,
the deeper I sink,
it hits the fan,
the room starts to stink,
change the web of my patterns,
trying to see the link,
little extra ****** oil left in my lantern,
my light burns dimly,
you said you won't be quick to ***** a smoldering wick,
I'm tired and sick,
sad stories and tragedies,
got me feeling like faith is a fallacy,
recently all I've had is grief in my gallery,
concerned by my comfort with pain,
tell my brother not to be like professor X but I often do the same,
carry the weight of the world,
thinking that will bring some change.

If you're just about to quit,
jump, hang or slit,
I don't blame you,
this place can break you,
before you leave,
have you ever been?
have you ever seen?
The pitiable prince of peace?
I don't refer to the replicas but the real thing,
the true King,
have you ever picked up his call and let his words ring?
don't leave his message unread,
if you feel like the walking dead,
he's prepared a table for those who,
thirst for water and hunger for bread,
I can't guarantee an easier road,
but I can testify that trusting Jesus lightens the load.

After visiting his gallery,
I was perplexed by his power,
curious of his character,
lopsided by his love.

I hope he gives us enough to hold on.
nyant May 2022
Crazy to think,
that deity would sink,
down to our brink,
to bring back the link that was lost between the clay and the Potter at quite a great cost.

As they strayed from their mould,
bowed down before gold,
still carrying His image,
they scurried and scrimaged,
looking for life in places outside of it's source,
like looking for light apart from the Sun.

He saw their conundrum,
so He sent His son,
in the most perplexing form,
an innocent child.

Kings trembled at the news,
a certain Herod saught for all firstborn boys to be killed as he desperately clinged to his power.

Nothing could stop the reign of the Son of man,
he grew to be a carpenter,
a humble servant,
the epitaph of meek strength,
the fullness of God in the flesh of a man.
nyant Nov 2018
I know your to and fros,
your sisters and bros,
how many steps you take each day,
how your face looks,
where you stay,
I know what's best for you,
I don't care if you think it's okay.
Play on the word Google and cyberscurity/privacy
nyant Jul 2019
You will be the head and not the tail,
girl,
you will be the head and not the tail,
boy,
are you the head and not the tail,
woman,
are you the head and not the tail,
man,
You will be the greatest and not the least,
you will be at my table when we feast,
nyant Feb 2018
I write my opinions here,
but they are pinions if you weigh them against truth,
don't let my words be final,
my writing is a petition,
a plea,
it's my permission,
to let others see what's been done in me.
nyant Mar 2018
Yea I deleted my old posts,
got used to deleting my history,
trying to wash myself clean,
but the soap is hopeless,
every Jim cares to see the mask off,
I should probably take my hat off,
I'm leaving incognito.

Bruce Lee tapompele,
the almighty was one of us,
truly like a stranger on the bus,
I'd be the first to free Barabbas,
more in common with a criminal,
Israel in 4BC had no mass communication,
but the problem has always been about the broken communion,
2000 years later many in China are yet to hear good news,
can we break passed the great walls,
you can tell from a distance that I watched a lot of television,
spent little time in rosy parks.
recently I became aware of my ignorance of the past,
tried to to undo my evils like samurai Jack,
this is a long poem so don't expect a haiku.

See I'm one of those trees who'd take in things passively like phloem,
it riled me up when I discovered things like who Huey represented in the boondocks,
feeling like a Tom dubious making a Ruckus.

I realized I was a slave to many things,
so I'm on the pursuit of being a free man,
started to think about what it meant to say wakanda forever,
it made me wonder if maybe Zion is better.

I was wrong to complain about the land that I was born in.
I just want the Potter to hurry up,
my clay is dry I can feel it cracking,
the blackness is Syrias,
M just turned 16 but some boys his age  have seen more than M16s,
makes me wonder which direction I should pray this Easter.

No shots fired maybe I need some gun control,
Your pen is your pistol,
mind is a missle,
mouth is a canon,
don't trade it for a nickle,
no matter what burdens you carey,
I hope you get the picture,
be sure you know your artillery.

Most of my moves were fear driven,
If only you could feel the sound of my mind,
conspiracies and half-truths ain't kind,
like a big fat liar,
scared of the big bad wolf,
how could reading about four horses
make me so unstable,
walking with a cane wondering if I am able.

I knew my solids, liquids and gases,
but couldn't really tell what matters,
playing fifa but deaf to the blatters.

I started filling the gram with heavy sounding poems like this,
thinking yeah this will show them,
I'm part of the fam,
I too, a proud African,
I'm in the loop, I understand,
even if I didn't really need a tissue when Mr ***** mouth ******* on us.

When I looked at my kin,
I never saw black gold that could fuel the world,
I was too busy being a black sheep, trying to invite everyone one to my pity party,
''the world would be so much better if everybody was more like me."
If I was a king they would call me apathy.
although he took my penalty I took his gift so casually like a chip.

They marched on in procession,
I forgot my profession,
Got used to my chains,
losing direction,
it would be weird to take them off like a wristwatch,
tick tock.

I have to get back to simply city,
Trust in His foolish wisdom,
leaf behind so I can branch on,
learn to take off my specs every time that I log in.

Change my locus,
media makes it hard to focus,
forget the locusts and use the remainder,
see all the division disturbed mine,
family and friends I left behind,
I expected the watchmen to bark at the sight of the poacher,
desiring to **** agape,
forgetting love as quickly as harambe.
things get shaggy when velma can't see the clues.

I guess I was a dead dog,
****** doomed,
let the leaven grow on my trunk,
you could see it when the fungus grew and leeched on my nutrients,
slowly but surely my heart began to rot,
fearing that this gentile man had been branched off after playing with the moss.

I know I can be extra and do the most and can make faith look look complicated which it isn't,
I've had seasons of confusion which certainly weren't from the King,
he tries to steer me away from the flames that will grill me,
but I lose courage and act like a chicken from nandos,
he's not like the hungry lion,
always prowling at my week's mess,
to truly be strong one needs to be weakend,
we couldn't read the daily mail if it wasn't for the red posts.

He's debonair and gentle so now I'll take his orders,
I hope he can deliver me,
I'm encouraged by the romans,
sometimes it's just hard to express
how much Jesus changed the way I sea things,
even when storms are tough,
I don't want to lose my seasoning.

They're many silly lies that become stumbling blocks when He's supposed to be the only one,
misinformation like the titanic,
that mislead the sheep,
listening to the assassins creed,
busy brooding in their sleeper cells.

If I was a woman I'd be the one at the well,
a random Jane doe never seeing my blindspots,
hoeing around like a rabbit,
digging a broken cistern that can't hold water,
cause God came to make things pretty,
after I made them ugly.

When I sin I think about Sinai,
got all these ankle weights strengthening my golden calves,
maybe it would be better to ponder Golgotha,
maybe my bones will live if I take the flesh off,
He came to help me but I scoffed him,
he came to heal me but I licked the wounds of my old wineskin.

Despite all the unnecessary complexity and errors of my ways,
all I have left is to trust that the blood of the lamb doesn't clot,
even when I act like a goat,
even when I let my heart turn to stone,
when I can't see past the thicket,
he'll ram past the chest of my fears,
crush the treasures of my heart,
so I can be free to blow the horn of salvation for all men,
that we may never be extinct,
whether sudan or 'abyad,
to receive the free invitation,
to be reconciled with the God of creation,
a call to enjoy true liberation.
The first sentence of this poem is referring to my instagram account.
Tapompele means not buff or strong
nyant May 2022
To be a villain is often a choice,
A hero is often chosen,
the villain fights for what isn't theirs,
the hero lives within their gift,
the hero channels pain to power,
the villain breeds more pain.
3 a.m.
nyant Nov 2020
I smile randomly as she comes to mind,
She can do no wrong and I can do no right.
nyant Apr 2022
A story ****** draconian,
puzzling many a historian,
in the bleakest hour,
display of weakest power,
of God on Golgotha,
on the heal of heartache,
hung the broken Potter,
lightning severing the snake,
thunder tore the veil,
that all the dead may wake,
what a glorious tale.
nyant Jul 2019
Called out but took the bait of the Nile,
stiff-necked afraid to plough the furrow,
skin-deep till it got to the marrow,
no shield when struck by the arrow,
backslid and strayed fro
Voices that I dread,
mockers in my head,
Oh that stubborn old man!
I thought that he was dead.

Tell me a greater pain than playing yourself.
Show me a stronger vain,
than enslaving yourself.

Sent abroad only to learn I'm a fraud.
don't feel like your son,
despise what I've become,
my faith is hazy,
my hands are lazy,
just needed a bit of mustard,
**** I'm such a bustard!
most hero's go unsung;
more is always said than done.

Lust, moths, rust and exodus,
without the spirit I'm just walking dust,
without your spirit I'll keep breaking trust,
take naught, take knot, take not I plea,
cast the tempter into the sea,
don't blame the tempter when you don't flee,
that's how you turn into a pharisee.

oh Lord oh God don't let me sleep,
don't let me fall deeper in iniquity,
restore my joy,
revive my glee,
oh break these chains,
oh set me free,
I should have known it all the while,
I was once in denial but time has proven this true,
I'm in love with the Nile.
nyant Mar 2018
You know my wickedness,
my darkness,
my shame,
you've seen my barrenness,
my burdens,
my pain,
you've touched my scars,
my tears,
my scoff,
you've smelt my temptations,
my sin,
my pride,
you've heard my delusions,
my boasts,
my lies,
You've tasted my lemon,
my leaven,
my old wine.

You wash the awful attire that I try to lord,
offering me clothes that I could never afford,
I stay in my nakedness,
I feel set in my ways,
you say you're older,
the ancient of days,
I have removed the blocks from the road,
help me drop the lies of this load,
help me ABBA,
dear lord,
my striving has ceased,
by your grace,
help me to walk,
in a way that you're pleased.
nyant Sep 2023
Soft, sweet and bright,
to the dark night of my soul,
she brought light,
she showed me love and care,
beyond what I had ever felt,
with that came a deep fear,
so used to the unrequited,
perhaps i was too shortsighted.

Maybe i lacked the faith to believe we could sustain a covenant commitment,
Maybe things moved too fast and we just needed an intermission,
So much laughter and vulnerability,
So much peace and joy,
How could i let that go,
some part of me will always wonder,
if i didn't believe in the power,
How did i let love leave at the 11th hour?
nyant Aug 2020
Deers panting painfully,
the breath of death roams optically,
fibres of fear torn through the year.

Peering through a glass dimly,
ripping what was sewn grimly,
hollow laughter stitched by a phony braceline.

The tears were always true,
dormant they had been till they poured down bountiful.

An ocean of gloom.  
All the while a joy at the base vibrates with every rising tide and wave.

Even with a desire to cease and find reprieve,
The birth pangs insist that the vision they must conceive,
behind the cumulative nimbus lies a quantum of solace that will make the ghastly trip seam a breeze.
nyant Oct 2023
Cautious where my heart's placed,
careful where I show face,
when we reach the final lap,
start to see the true pace.
Tired of being surprised need to be harmless yet wise.

Jew wish to share the good fortunes,
the gossip makes the muzzle tight,
First you hear a lot of bark,
waiting till you bear the bite.
Tired of being surprised need to be harmless yet wise.

Can't always be right or liked,
the pallbearer to one who digs their own grave,
can't liberate one who sees freedom in chains,
Let me disclaim that I'm often the same,
I'll pause the refrain.

Starting to see a pattern feeling like an omnibus,
getting harder to know who to trust,
fool me twice shame on both of us,
I needed real ones to get me out my slum,
better wounds from friends than enemy hisses,
the certainty of a brides than volatile mistresses.
Tired of being surprised need to be harmless yet wise.

Bottom line is teeth are bones,
many playing an act like clones,
standing in glass yet throwing stones,
friends are few but fear is fatal,
thread between child-like and childish,
faith is so neonatal.
Tired of being surprised need to be harmless yet wise.

Learning where to seek applause,
not trying to make enemies without a cause,
best to make amigos but never know who i might offset when i take off,
need discernment to see the cain while I'm still able,
cause even if my blood cries,
I know it's been paid for.
Tired of being surprised need to be harmless yet wise.

"When Christ calls a man he bids him to die."
Though it doesn't sound like the most bonne offer it takes away the fear of the grave,
grace would have a hollow cost if no price was paid,
the hand of ****** would still leave a thirst for retribution,
Dietrich knew the true ruler of the people,
the one who holds the keys,
which is why he confidently said before he was sent to be hung for protecting the young,
"this is the end – for me the beginning of life."
1 Peter 2:20-24 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
nyant Apr 2021
"Clocks" coldly plays in my ears,
"...part of the cure or the disease?"
It's amazing how misunderstandings (and music) can help one cope.
When I feel short of oil in my lamp,
the right words at the right time act like an amp,
"Rage rage against the dying of the light."
As Dylan Thomas mourned paternal mortality,
in ignorance the words of the weeping Welshman gave me temporal vitality,
even now that I'm aware of their accurate intent,
to my own interpretation I remain bent because if I don't hold the meaning that I first saw I lose breath as they become irrelevent.

Hence, in a an era of persistent pandemics, "progress" and injustice,
my spirit crawls with a flickering wick,
body weighed weak like a walking stick,
mind searching for life in a eulogy,
still seeking to slay the cynic in me,
wishing for wrongs to be made right,
raging against the dying...
nyant Mar 2018
Well it's pretty cold over here,
my doubt makes it difficult to draw near,
revelling in the *** of the ruminate that I retch,
wondering why I want to stay a wretch,
heeding fables,
constantly unstable in many ways,
as I mule and bray away my days,
wasting time looking for a needle in the hay,
worried about wheat and chaff,
never about the rod and staff,
forgetting what the Miller said,
the ball is in your court,
stick to your field old sport.

I dined the dark with the swine,
as we crafted the mud and mocked the divine,
on lonely island we speak of filthy things,
the kind that should be kept private,
like pirates out for innocence,
we burn our idle incense,
looking for a pharaoh to harrow,
any Jack or sparrow,
hovering to find any hose here,
little loose rats into the water with the Pied Piper,
we **** the fishmonger with fear,
he was meant to guard his stock,
we bribe the shepherd as if he never heard,
meant to guard his flock,
he probably never cared.

Casting out our cunning lines,
telling them to enter in,
but never through the gate,
hoping they'll take the bait,
carrot and stick,
on to the slave ship,
men of clouded Eris,
forever luring sinbad.

Timon and Pumba said hakuna matata,
that option was to obvious for my ominous oblanganta,
the rooster crows when it sees the raven,
but we forget our roles when we're in a haven,
rafiki said look beyond what you see,
but I was in the desert and the thirst was real,
you could say that I was in my feels,
I chased the mirage,
missed the ever open oasis,
still thirsty,
it didn't lust.
listening to my logic,
ate the food on the palace plate,
who can relate?

My spider senses were webbed by the sandman as I drilled for digital  dopamine to derail my depression,
dusty roads laid in the distance as my discernment was damaged.
Now I'm afraid to have a dialogue because I'm no longer used to analogue,
fight fleeting.

I'm fed up of spinning in cycles,
gotta check my psyche like Nike,
can't bet on chance,
I need discipline unlike Mike.

Do you want more?
I scream encore,
wondering why I've become so numb,
why I've lost control,
walking the isle of isolation,
hiding from the groom,
even after all the light,
all I saw was gloom,
tossed by the wind and waves,  
I hide in the bush from Ned like Homer,
I could make a joke of this quagmire,
but I really feel like Gomer.
Sometimes you have to leave the cast if you feel like you'll remain half the man.

With all my getting I never understand,
I just peter in the storm,
hoping He will stretch out His mighty hand.
nyant Mar 2018
Lone wolf where is your pack?
Was nobody fit enough to track with you?
What was Thomas without Percy, Emily and Gordon?
Would they have driven to all those great discoveries and found the lost treasure?
but you fed fast on pleasure,
ignoring the words of the fat director,
pretending to be strong,
all along 'you were wrong',
preferring that electric surge,
though could have ran together
you know there ain't no bolt without us,
but you chose to park the bus,
defend yourself from your perceived threats.

Go and lead your charge,
pay your own wage,
no time for the old way,
do what's current,
coin something new,
shave your heir off,
or bleach it,
quit our race,
howling slowly in the wilderness to your dearth,
crying who who who did this to me?

We'll stand by the trees,
boats by the sea,
with our big yellow eyes and just watch, feed on the vestiges of your lonely island.
as you sink in panic,
only to be remembered as that ignorant titanic,
Tell me how is it there?
nyant Jul 2019
First you endured birthday pangs so we could live,
let us rent your womb with every kick,
for all the harsh words in anger you still forgave,
you nursed our wounds and cared when we were sick.

Like a lioness working for your cubs,
showed us the way of the lamb is best for life to be led,
even when we stray you welcome us home again,
how could we ever recompense,
it will never make sense.

You raised us to stand on mountains,
to walk on stormy seas,
but we'd not be strong because we were on your shoulders,
you raised us up hoping the son would set us free.

Thank you for the love and the care,
merci ma mère.
nyant Apr 2020
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
nyant Feb 2019
He started a company called misery but he didn't get many shareholders.
nyant May 2023
Our cousin's are our first best friends,
Blood leave's little room for pretense,
We fight with no compromise until the fittest has their way,
in a patriarchal place sometimes the girls sit or work and watch the boys play,
These are the types of things my big brother would challenge about society,
What was the best way for us to coexist?
How could we ensure that we could all flourish?
Male, female, sexist, racist, brown, pale, Christian or atheist.

Anyone who really knew Musenge knows he didn't shy away from controversy,
He knew that change cannot come from conformity,
Though we didn't always agree,
I saw him as mind that was free.

I was so glad when i heard he was pursuing journalism,
Like when we were kids i thought he was stepping in to his rhythm,
We would dance to Michael Jackson at family gatherings,
Without a care for whether we were actually happening,
It was the two of us against the world for that moment.
Those are my fondest memories.

Then he went to the UK and we became slightly estranged,
The next time I saw him,
his jawline had changed,
His voice had a buzz,
but his eyes were the same,
The eyes never change,
but the face tales a tale,
of struggle and pain,
fear and rejection,
but also of joy and of hope,
love and acceptance,
I was curious to know how his journey had been since we last met.

He was still like my best friend and we picked up like he never left,
He really enjoyed Marvel movies so we'd go to the cinema whenever we could,
recently we'd grab a shawarma and a beverage from the local neighbourhood when I'd come home for the holiday.
He was a fan of a good story.
He looked at life as one and he often questioned his own and our own.

One thing I'll always remember was Musenge's cry for unity.

He felt that there was a drop in love in the family and not just the Kasese's but Africa.
Having lived in three different continents his mind became global and he no longer saw Jew or Greek, slave or free. As much as he sometimes had doubts about God as we all do he was getting closer to the heart of Jesus more than he probably knew.

So what then must we do to honour the life of our friend, brother, son and nephew?
I believe we must try to love like he loved,
He had the best wishes for each of us,
St. Thomas Aquinas said To love is to will the good of the other,
Though sometimes misunderstood,
Musenge's intentions were good.

May we tell each other how much we love each other more often and may we show it too.
May we give big open hugs as he would.
Make this journey a little less lonely and cold,
May we have discussions and not arguments and listen to each others views.
May we be curious to challenge the status quo and ask how we can improve,
May we heal the world and make it a better place,
That's what Musenge was trying to do.

May we not be crushed by the pain and grief.
May the spirit of God comfort our hearts and may we be grateful that we got to experience the wonderful enignma that was Musenge Geoffrey Chibwa.

We will miss you my friend,
Your story had too soon an end,
May mercy make us meet again.
Lord graciously hear us.
Next page