Sometimes, the most beautiful things happen when you least expect
A cold gentle breeze on a hot afternoon,
sunshine in the rain,
a rainbow at the end of a heavy downpour.
But nothing beats love that finds you asleep
and you wake up feeling anew,
wondering what could have changed overnight.
But you smile sheepishly as you take your usual cold shower in the morning
and whistle as you run your belt through the belt loops of your old jeans
because it's something unique and you enjoy the blanket of warmth that has come with it.
After tucking in your shirt, you dance a little
because you remember the day you first saw her
how she walked distinctly at the bus park
how her legs moved gracefully step by step 
like a conductor leading a choir with the rest of her body following in perfect harmony.
For a moment, you were lost and watched her every move, breathing it all in like the smell of soil after a brief drizzle.
That is you, my Laber.
You have been a ray of sunshine
the one that shines through a forest and gives the younger trees
the eyes to see how tall they can become.
Loving you is always easy because you make it easy
talking with you always calms down my storm
for your voice, an alto, is like the shoe you pick from the shop  and your foot just fits.
And you just pay and walk away  without bargaining.
Your laughter, loud and from the depths of your stomach always gives me joy 
especially when you throw your head back as you laugh
like a child at a mischievous adult
I don't even want to talk about your smile,
we might need a book for that.
For it's alluring and highlights your sublime beauty.
The icing to the chocolate cake that you are.
If it wasn't for Jesus, your smile could have saved the world.
Men have gone to war for less
but for you, i am ready to start earthquakes
and make the earth tremble.
Because you are mine, my precious.


©Maathe

In a far away land where the winds blew incessantly and the sun was awkward with shyness,
I longed for my lover.
The one whose voice is softer than the cold winds at mid night.
For when she sang, even the birds awoke in their nests
Delighted with glee at how the song breezed through their feathers.
When she smiled, the moon always went dark with envy
For then, no one would call it fair.
And when she walked, the night froze with jealousy
For then, nothing was more graceful.
My skin longed for her gentle touch in the cold nights.
I longed for how her hands with the long fingers
Ran across my skin like an old musician plucking immaculately at the harp.
Most of all, I longed for her.
Her presence was like the evening sun
Beneath which you could sit on your old rocking chair and watch the orange disappear into the horizon.
Her stories breathed new life into you
And for a while, you forgot how difficult it was to be a man.
A man who had to have a constant plan.
With her, the lines on your old forehead melted away when she told you funny stories from her childhood.
And your heart beat youthful blood into your veins.
I wondered if I would find her the same.
If she would still dance with her head swinging from side to side as if to challenge the wind.
I wondered if she would laugh that loud laughter
That shook the walls from their lifeless slumber.
I wondered if she would still look at me with those dancing eyes
And let me hold her hand as I lead her into the dark night
To dance beneath the stars.

© Maathe

On those cold lonely nights when the world was asleep,
I spoke to my lover.
Her voice, an alto, always calmed my spirit.
For when she spoke, I knew for sure, I was home.
Her voice was like an opera song quietly playing in the background while you rock the baby to sleep
The one with the lady singing her heart out about the first time she smelt a rose.

My lover's voice never changed.

When she was sad, 
Her voice was the cloudy afternoon sky in July
The one that made you worried that it would rain
Because you had made plans with your friends
But, you were still relieved because for once
The sun wouldn't burn so brightly on the balding part of your head. 

When she was angry,
Her voice was the hailstorm that fell with roaring thunder
And shook the leaves of the large tree in your compound with fear.
But, you were never scared
Because, as a child, you danced in the rain
And you loved the taste of the stones that fell with it.
You enjoyed sliding in the mud as you composed cheeky war songs with your best friend
The one whose front teeth had failed to grow back
Because he had laughed at the old lady with a crooked back.

When she was happy,
Ooh! When my lover was happy!
Her voice was a choir of angels in a vast auditorium 
Blending the different tones into one beautiful melody
That raised the hair on your skin and gave you goosebumps
even when it was blazing hot outside
And for a moment, you were a child again
You did not want the music to end 
Because you loved the way the beat rhymed with that of your fragile heart.
And when you looked into her eyes as she spoke,
Her words wove around your body like a cold gentle whisper
Wrapping around you so tight as if to say "till death do us part".

©Maathe

When the canvas of my life was dimly lit,
You took the brush and painted the sun
and now I wake up to the orchestra of birds, 
the scent of freshly cut flowers 
and my eyes drown in the beauty of lilies. 

Your beauty made a slave of me. 
I am chained to the sound of your voice, 
a sing song that grips the valves of my heart 
and let's the melody flow through my veins 
till my entire body vibrates to each beat.

Next to you, my spirit lay still in the grass
Only floating to the rhythm of the midnight wind.
Your words formed the voice that spoke over my bones
And hardened the skin on my feet 
so I could stamp the earth into submission
And the trees on the mountain top could bow and chant your name.
For you were blessed by He who moves with the cloud.
You were the chosen one, the answered prayer.

I am going to be yours, and you, mine, even if the elders curse
Or threaten to burn us down with the fire of lightning.
I want to look into your old eyes and smile with my toothless gums when you wear your first pair of dentures.
Ready to smile for me once more
with the same radiance as when we first met.
And when the time comes, I hope we can sleep in each other's embrace
And hear ourselves snore one last time
before we hear the angels sing our names.

© Maathe