Joy of pain..
Added by Ann Kamoni

the pains were gone..
and the screams were low,
it was finally over,

for it had just begun.....

with a loud cry,
the world opened up to me,

Tears of joy,
sarcastic laughter filled the bright room
a baby had been born..

Far into the horizon,
lay a journey..
untouched,uninhabited,

dreams,
shattered and fulfilled
promises,
kept and unkept

friends,
to hold my hand and break my heart,
whispers,
true and untrue..

my smile dimmed not,
for i knew,

even in a long tiring journey,
there will be time to count the stars
and smile...
at a world so cruel.

MY SHADOW

By Redscar McOdindo K'Oyuga and Misses Noel Poet-Freestyle

Redscar McOdindo K'Oyuga
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels upto the head:
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into bed

Misses Noel Poet
i wish mine would have a heart,
it alone goes with me everywhere
who would know me by every step than my shadow?
like my gaurdian angel
always at my side

Redscar McOdindo K'Oyuga
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow-
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India- rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

Misses Noel Poet
sometimes i wish he could talk
i could replace him for my diary
sometimes my tears are my only solace
but a companion is what i crave for
he would hold my hands
even when i speak not
for he is like my better half

Redscar McOdindo K'Oyuga
He hasn't a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

Misses Noel Poet
guess it has no choice
but to be my body guard
in the morning stands out tall at my side
at noon it hides beneath me
in the evening tall besides me
but at night it hides in the cave
for it is an enemy of the dark

Redscar McOdindo K'Oyuga
Every morning, very early, before the sun goes up,
I rise and find the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
He stays at home behind me , fast asleep in bed.

Misses Noel Poet
i would love to swap bodies
me being a shadow
without a heart
no break ups
no heart attacks
no fear of the dark-
for anway i would not exist to testify
the cold brutalty that looms in darkness

Charlene

By V3rse ('Verse' Wordsmith)

I wrote this for you and made it tight like shoe strings. Choosing each word right, just so your facial muscles get tight… and the way you’re light, must have been first on sight; because at the beginning God said let there be light! When I board that flight, relax; I’ll be back soon like conjugal rights.

I can’t replace you with even pronouns; because you stand out like Chinese pronounce. You make me weightless like an ounce; you make me wait less at your house. ‘I love you’ I proudly announce, and I mean it like 60 sec is a minute. I am easy when am with you like 96.3; so at ease, I day dream of a night dream. Our bond is like James, let’s call it ‘double 0 seven’; it was born soon after 2007. We’ll always stand tall like twin towers; as God did on the seventh. I pray for the day, we raise our left hand to the reverend; f**k September 11th.

I pour my hearts intestines with similes and metaphors, writings and microphones, assisting my spirit unfold. Untold story now told; uplifting like hands up in a show! If we dint meet, I don’t know… like shooting, ‘am blank’. I’d be confused like sperms that are shooting blanks. This isn’t a rap but I think I’ll call it a wrap. A picture perfect end as if I attached my snap. Yours truly; my soul to your heart!

My composure while composing this verse was composed. My pen unopposed what my heart told, so instead of a full stop; I finished with a pause,

Untitled

By Lawrence Njuguna

Its name kenya
an epic of the Kenya i know
my beach people its shore
it's boundaries, walls for this our house
neighbours hatred animosity hostility arouse
happy i am on this diet though unbalanced
plate full but my tongue not tranced
the kitchen is in chaos and tension
broth spoil cooks, cooks i have to mention
leaders play catch with our hearts
our actions massaging there guts
the nation is in flames of fire
unemployment,disease,poverty woods to sire
first world, IMF, World Bank donations, water to extinguish
thought beggars would ride on horses oh! wish

is it shoot to kill
or shoot to still
people bull's eye for the police stray bullets
wonder if graves to guide and protect
assisted suicides illegal and illicit
but aren't our hospitals and doctors the institutions fit?
education to furnish my mind
but corruption sacred and virtue of a new kind
weak in society to procreate and labour
no application of yourself love as your neighbour
nothing for yourself have
look in expectation for the one above
in soul and body dry and in famine
economy of the stomach is decided by the rich all is fine
theft by way of tax
perturbed by our government our pocket axe
sites,parks,animals our names high hold
mountains,lakes and culture our natural gold
our athletes raise our flag
tribalism,greed and politics cause it to sag
justice be our shield to defend
courts, prosecutors of truth and contraceptive till end

stagnant no development as it swells like yeast on pastry
yet presence of trade democracy health technology and industry
its capital city of complete capitalisation Nairobi
to each according to his work no A.O.B
you can despise it, love it but never know it no
The world's chameleone colours change in a row
not because of the government i live
but the almighty up and down my chest heave

Mrs. Muhia

Scared of losing myself to her,
But also looking forward to a spiritual communion
Scared of growing old alone,
But also scared of relationship drama
Looking forward to the physical communion,
But also scared of ending up a divorcee
A chance to establish my legacy,
But risk expecting too much from my children
She brings perspective and attention to detail,
But also brings nagging and perfectionism
A girlfriend would have been for a season,
But Mrs. Muhia is till death do us part.

Lend a helping hand

Caring about the welfare of others is as selfless as one can get. Even Christ shared this while He was on the planet through the famous words ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’. Charity and charitable causes are as old as the communal settings we used to live in during the caveman era. The survival of the species was hinged on protecting fellow tribesmen and women from the vagaries of the weather, from hunger and from wild animals.

In today’s world however, it is an individualistic and capitalistic mindset that is favoured above all else. More people are disenfranchised now more than any other time in history. From emotional disenfranchisement to financial disenfranchisement, the world is full of it. There are more street children than we care to count, more poor people than we care to give a second glance to. And some of our policies ensure that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

Where can we strike the balance between profits and exploitation of workers for instance? Where can we strike the balance between handouts and empowerment of the poor? Where are we heading as a human race when we spend more in military defense than we do in food production? We want to keep our citizens safe from perceived external threats but we aren’t keeping them safe from hunger or disease.

Won’t you lend a helping hand today, won’t you donate some food items to that local charity that runs an orphanage. Won’t you help cover the medical bills of that poor child that needs open heart surgery? There are many ways to lend a helping hand. The world could use a few more genuinely caring people like you. There are more natural disasters now more than any other time in history. Help that family whose house was destroyed in a storm, help pay school fees for that bright student whose parents cannot afford to take him to university. Be a mentor to that young girl who is deciding which path to take in life.


Think of a way of lending a helping hand this Ramadan even if you are a Christian, Hindu or Buddhist. Charity has no religion, nor specific time that it should be performed, strive to do it always.

Muslim girl

She usually sat next to me in class
A cunning fox with a very light skin tone
Hair covered but with the face showing
A black laced buibui over ordinary dress
What I liked about her are the long flowing skirts
I always respect a woman with self-respect
And who leaves a lot to the imagination
She was frankly surprised at my savvy
Because I had my lecture schedule on my phone
That’s the first time we spoke, about lectures
From then on we became inseparable classmates
However, I was more afraid of her culture,
Than I was of admitting that I liked her

A happy poem

I’m sick and tired of writing dull poems,
That will turn your smile upside down poems
That are emotionally draining and exhausting poems
Rather I want to write me a happy poem
Make your stomach smile at lunch poems
Make you fall in love with somebody poems
I want to write a poem so good and happy
That you will want to make babies to poems
Make you call up your moms poems
Even smile at strangers in the street poems
I want to write me a feel-good poem
Make you wanna be friends with your boss poems
Nothing political, nothing religious, but celebratory poems
Make you wanna buy your friends a round, poems
I want to write a poem that’ll make you feel alive
I want to write a happy poem for once
Like I woke up on the right side of the bed poems
Like there was no jam at rush hour poems
Like my coffee had two sugars and extra cream in it poems
Like a scarf around your neck on a chilly day poems
I just want to write me a feel-good poem