Month: May 2013

Good Enough?

free verse

There’s a certain arrogance and vulnerability

That comes with exposing your soul

With words that stem from deep within

Like a Greek God with glass Achilles

Courageous in expression

Fearful of defeat

Take these words that I have in stanza

Are they good enough for you?

 

In companionship, when cracks begin to show

Tremors shake the foundations of what was once

Serene and wonderful

Like late night calls with compliments that are never far fetched

When trust becomes unreciprocated

The value that you bring is questioned

To the point where you wonder

‘Am I good enough for you?’

 

When I’m spiritually blunt

With conscience dulled

On a train of inconsistencies

With no desire to get on

The right tracks

When my passions stray

And day to day I make mistakes

God, am I good enough?

 

When you see my flaws

If my eyes stray

And I betray your trust

If I bring you a dozen roses

Plus one, everyday

If another woos you

With diamonds and chiselled looks

Things I can’t afford and not genetically gifted with

Would my love be good enough?

 

What if I fail the test

And my best does not compare to the rest

My dreams too big

Sense too small, goliath ambitions

With no ammunition

Swinging and never hitting the mark

World, am I good enough?

 

When I disappoint the inner me

Integrity chips, excellence slips

I’m faced with weeds within my spirit

When my reflection looks back with disdain

And shadow reels in darkness that I swim

AM I GOOD ENOUGH?

Miss me

free verse

Twenty four minutes past midnight,

Scrolling through your collaged reflections

Vainly scouting for pieces of me

Hopefully traces of us

All I get are faint clichés shrouded in ambiguous paragraphs

Amidst cloudy thoughts and fancy portraits,

You look happy in your photographs.


We were only a season

Though you said forever.

A student’s prayer

free verse

Father, I am guilty

Of neglecting Your Word

In order to sin in peace



Embracing desires with unforeseen consequences

Inevitably relinquishing blessings.

Truth is, my passion for You is dwindling



As imperfect as it might be

My love, however, remains intact

I recognize my wants conflict with my needs

So I ask that my thirst for your purpose increase

Guide my affections to your intended streams

And teach me to see the world the way You do

Selah

free verse

When I was a child

In Lagos or Douala

Maybe even in Kampala

The latter, I can’t quite remember but

After dawn or before a meal

We would congregate

Heads bowed to send prayers up.

When I reached the age of discernment

The age when my soul must be accounted for

It was time for me to send a prayer up too

 

Hands clasped, I would pause

In contemplation and my prayer

No matter the occasion was:

 

“I thank God for everything.”

 

“Amen”