Charlie Maison Ole Nkurrunah

YOU So I sat down and tried to define you Tried a hand at some descriptive adjectives Forgive me for any objectification For  it is all out of affection You are the shade of the Osokonoi tree On a sweltering January afternoon You are a drop of mountain dew straight from the slopes of Oldoinyo Oiborr If love was a person That would definitely be you You are a Queen  For your invincible crown illuminates bright Brighter than the beautiful sunset on Motonyi hill You are the cool breeze that flares the embers of my inner fire You are You.

I hope it is well with you wherever you ended up I hope it is with the ancestors, our other African forefathers Nelson Mandela, the forever father of the rainbow nation Patrice Lumumba the political martyr of the Zaire Leopold Senghor who taught us all the essence of black consciousness Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah himself  Give my sincere greetings to other African saints The ones our tears will forever flow for The ones that Africa shall never forget! El Presiente! Forgive me, forgive us  Forgive Africa for being a disappointment to the ideals you fought for For constantly and consistently being a disgrace to black consciousness  The beautiful future you fought for is now more blurry and so uncertain The continent is in a bigger mess than the one you left it in Corruption is more rampant, neocolonialism is at its peak China just joined the fray and is fully utilizing the black gold that is Africa Now our descendants are already indebted   You tried to help Ho...

Every time I took the sheep out to the fields It was both out of responsibility and out of unblemished affection for the bleating of the lambs was the backdrop to our love sessions When our hearts were intertwined like the soft branches of the olopito weed coiled together in pain, through hard times and in need When I look back and remember, your smile lights up my own Sometimes I shed a tear too and feel it flow down For you For us For love I still wish I could pick you the maasai love grass Like I used to do in April while they were in full bloom Or lay down by the Siyapei river Feel your sharp shy gasps of breathe cut through the country air These beautiful memories are my cardiac strings  the motivation I need for my heart to beat I still chuckle every moment that memory train crosses my mind Those childhood memories that we left behind Yet they remain engraved in my soul in letters of gold pure, naive and gloriously untold

Ore esiai e nkulupuoni  netiu anaa oldututai  tiatua iltauja lang' Keme naleng' Empepedoi sii too seseni lenkaji e Maa Nemeishiu intarasi keishirie yiook intarasi  naa olomoni odua too irng'enjepa lang' Oyie kulo le nkaji e Maa  Ilooti wo ilbotorok Natoyie ang' naisiriri nemen ilewa ooshali Enyeito siake! Entudumunye enkaji e papa o yieyio Entasho tesipata inyi  Entang'orr olosho linyi Amuu intae eetiorie Entudumunye siake! Toompala o tooremeta Teng'eno o temboron  Kake!  Enchoo eeku intae oong'orr olosho linyi Metaa murrano inyi  Nalo ashuku enkop ang' sidai Ashuku e soit sampu Arrinyu Olchorro Oirowua Nemarikino entapipiy Neshuku sii Osupuko le Mao narok Neitapaash ilmang'ati ewuaso oo nkidong'i We emakat ang' sidai Neshuk iyiok kirra enkaji Entorror Amu mikirikino akata Ololulung'a Otumutieki ilmeiruturut Ashuu Oloisuishoi loo mbene dapashi Leiton eudo iltarakwa Neikirikira iloik loorkitoip Enyeito siake! Entooru inkishu inyi ilowu...

The pain is too deep yet your face is all dressed in a smile I get perturbed by the mystery in your happiness Is your joy a product of me hurting? Is your smile as a result of my heart cracking? Every time you hug me and I feel your heart beat Reminds me of who we were Long before we got where we are When the smiles were real The hugs were tighter And we both cared about us Until we fell off and became a shell of our former glory Lost in memories we cannot rebuild Swimming in a pool of cold comfort That we hold on by our teeth To love that is escaping our grip With every single morning We drift further apart and no longer feel our hearts as intertwined As before We have lost our touch and glow All we remain with is a state of complacency With no idea who we really are What we have turned to Or where we are headed.

Love is a warzone A battle of the soul and the mind An arena for the bravest With pain and pleasure in equal measure We cannot just rise up at dawn and forget everything The pillow fights, the actual fights and the tears that ensued It is not a band aid We cannot just rip it off It is not an afternoon siesta that lacks the privilege of a sweet dream For it is a dream itself It is fantasy brought to life The enemy is your insecurities  The temptations that come with complacency and human tendencies It requires strategy, tact and planning For if you lack the willpower, the urge and the push To move when your strength falters The nursing of a heartbreak is unavoidable Longer days, darker nights and lonely sunsets It is the aftermath of the battles of the heart