You'll find me lurking

In the liminal

Clawing onto

Either side

Of the in-between

Disappearing down the gap

A permanent piece

Of the bridge

I exist out of focus

In the blurred lines

Of omission

In not thinking

In not questioning

In tuning out the racket

Cocooned by comfort blanket

I'm not a lie

I'm just not admission

I'm folded into double lives

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Why don’t you come in

And wash the winter away

Curl up

In the mouth of the flames

And breathe

It’s over now

You’re the prize cow

Your ring finger is heavy

As your shoulders

Why don’t you come in

And put your comfies on

You’ve finally outrun the storm

Your bodies wrung, wrought, worn

And you’re finally done

You have a nest egg to protect,

To sit on

Ta...

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A memory of Africa in the 60’s.

POSTAGE

“Will you get the mail please, Susan? Take Clement with you. And the gun.”

I stood up, shoulders back. “I can drive myself. I’ve got my license now.”

Clement Ngoma loomed in front – a no-argument smile on his face. This was the late 60’s and our country’s struggle before independence still impacted everything we did.

“Madam, the boss, he doesn...

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I’m sorry to disappoint you

That I can be too sweet and so weak

And yet I can be cold and cruel too

That I can completely snap to my core

And morph into a creature of different sorts

I’m sorry that I’m not white or black

Or immaculate

Or of any matter 

For that fact

I’m not anything 

At all

Not wholly whole

You see,

Incompleteness 

Has been my superpower 

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You pulled me into your orbit

when I needed your help

and so, I made you my centre 

to centre myself

That was my first mistake

I looked inside you

for places where I could hide

I hoped to run from reality

into the delusions of your mind

I was happy to believe you were one of a kind

chuffed upon chuffed that you were mine

and I felt adored

grateful to m...

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The Plant of Liberty

Ujjal Mandal, India


A man wading through blood
holding the plant of enfranchisement.
It is none but an Indian fighter and
we are all overshadowed by
the tree unchained today.

[This is based on 75th Independence Day of India. ©]

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"The Soul of Freedom"

The morning on our creation day

Had the charming face of a young cheetah

But ran in the pace of a snail.

Who would have known that the trophy of independence

That we fell over eachother in celebration of

Will tighten again the locks of slavery yet the more?

We cried of faces white as the moon

But not anymore, not anymo...

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The evening lights are bright, 

The car has come to a stop,

The colors are different this time,

Shades of orange, white and green,

A quick flash, oh I held onto it,

A memory making its way through, 

A sweet stolen reminiscence.

 School walls adorned in colors, 

Merry of White uniforms, 

Green bands, Orange ribbons,

A paper flag pinned to my chest,

Flying high,...

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The leaves of the tree

Behind the house of glass are falling

With each step of the wind

They liberate themselves from the branches

From the complexity of the connections

Connection of the root with the trunk

Of the trunk with the branches

Of the branches with the leaves

The leaves liberated themselves

From the connections

From the dependence

The leaves of the ...

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Others create self-serving expectations

That they thrust upon you with no hesitation.

Always remember you have two choices,

To heed or ignore the many voices.

Most define themselves by what others say,

Resigned to play the games people play.

Sooner or later they will awaken,

Realizing that they’ve been mistaken.

Then a rebirth for all to see.

Some will rejoice, some will...

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Took myself to lunch today. Just the way I like it. Actually, I'm sitting here at the table waiting for my food right now. I put my phone away so I could just enjoy my mind and the things around me. I'm surround by gossiping people. Literally each table I tune into consists of one person telling a loud story with a snarky voice and flailing arms, with the others at the table either trying their ha...

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I . Taytu Betul as a leader

“ Ethiopia is famed for being
A peaceful,hospitable and a warrior nation
How come  then it failed
To come to your attention,
As bees whose hive is threatened,
Citizens are ever alert to
To foil provoked aggression!

The 1889 treacherous
Wuchale treaty
I will tear apart
A messenger,with a tail
Between your legs,
Before you depart.
The Italian version
Th...

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I long for a time, 
when i will be free.
When one would have,
no strings on me.

A place far away
from the busy throngs,
In a land beyond time
amidst lilting songs.

A time when i can
pursue my dreams.
And give in to my desires,
let them flow as streams.

A place where the world,
will let me be.
And there will be,
no strings on me...

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I want to be alone,
but only within my family.
I want to to teach you
but only with him too.
I want to help myself
but only if you help me.
I want to be confident
but only if you are there.
I want to be creative
but only if you allow me.
I want to be a parent
but only if I’m parented.
I want to be an adult
but only if I can be a child.
I want to feel emotions
but only if you hold me...

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If the Scots become the late departed

Will we English be downhearted,

Knowing they're gone beyond recall

On the darker side of Hadrian's Wall?

Or willl we sing aloud in praise

For leaving us our longer days

And New Years free from haggis and Burns

With wailing pipers taking turns

To make us deaf to proper tune

And gentle voices born to croon.

Let English foo...

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