WidemanPoetry

My Beloved

My beloved you are mine and I, yours,

Hold my gaze with your mysterious blackness

Enchant me with the mystery of your darkness

For the shine of your face is like polished ebony

Like an African night in a moonless sky.

Bewitch me with the mischief of your wink,

And the flutter of your lovely lashes,

While your eyes twinkle like stars of my black skies.

Bind me with the beauty of your look,

And the love so intent in the look of your eyes.

Undo me with magic of your tongue,

In a sweet love ballad, a lazy whisper,

And the curl of your lips as you pout,

In a mock sulk, like the baby you are-

A young heart in a woman’s dress.

Blind me with the shine of your smile,

And the glint of your teeth in a merry grin,

In mischievous sneer or unbridled happiness,

Bright as a milky way in a moonless night,

Lighting my night when the moon won’t shine.

Mesmerize me with the dance in your step,

And the sway of your hips in measured walk,

The heave of your bosom in unbridled laughter,

The angelic crane of your neck, like a painter’s model

And I’ll paint you on the tablet of my heart.

I am amazed by the humility in your heart.

And the genius of your sober mind.

Though fairer than most, even all,

Like a bridled horse you rein your pride,

In measured words and careful steps.

My beloved I am yours and you, mine

A willing captive of your endless charm,

I’ll ever explore the mystery you are.

My beloved I am yours and you, mine,

To ever love, to ever cherish and forever hold.

A Lover’s Wish

I want to be the night’s darkness

That hugs you closer than I ever will,

Caressing you in a velvety feathery touch,

The inky blackness that fills your every pore,

The soft nothingness that feels your every curve,

Your every breath, every flutter, and every sigh.

                          

I envy the dreams that fill your night

And flood your mind with blissful thoughts

Flattering, daring, telling worries to take a walk

Floating within your mind without a care but your happiness

Rolling back the hands of time in happy memories,

Touching your future before your morrow comes.

I wish to be the golden ray of a brand new sun

And bring a joyous sparkle to your big round eyes

The virgin touch on your ebony temple,

To brushe your lips with a morning kiss,

Kiss the dimples in your chubby cheeks,

And draw out your smile and the angel in you.

Let me be the glare of a blazing noon

To melt your heart and will away,

And burn on your soul my blessed name,

I shall wilt your fears and cares away

And make a shadow for your blessed feet

While you walk watch your step, while you run, break your stamp.

I want to be the red hot blood within your veins

So I’ll know your every crook and every nerve

Know what you tickles and what you ails,

When I touch the fountain of your sacred love,

And rush the breath and width of your being

To keep your heartbeat alive and make you tick.

                                   

I wish to be the evening’s breeze,

Fresh and cool to feel your skin tingle,

From my lazy touch on your rounded hips

And savour your scent when your skirts flutter

Running unseen fingers and ruffling your hair

Unseen, carefree, dancing, whistling our love song.

I want to be the dawn that breaks your day

The shadow, at noon to ever kiss your blessed feet

If only I would be the sunset; paint you a beautiful ending

Or the night to hold your dreams, so you’d ever cherish me.

I wish to be this and I want to be that

But I am only me, my love, and you love me for who I am.

A Jack Of All

My name is Broom

I sweep your trash and your children’s filth,

Mop your vomit on the polished marble

And your wife’s piss on the waxed wood

Where you lay yester night, belching from bloat,

Pregnant with drink and foreign smoke.              

My name is Carwash,

Your limo is clean and the hood all waxed

The black jaguar, the pink Ferrari all revved up!

Julia daughter must speed off to school!

And Jimmy boy must rush that tender.

Mama, your Benz in a minute! One more snore!

My name is Chauffer,

To this gossip meeting and that women’s workshop

She needs to learn how to tend her own husband

And that from a bachelorette and a serial divorcee

“Do as I say not as I do but if you must, do as I do!”

The women laugh, high fives, and money flies.

My name is Cook,

Oh midday it is! How soon! Where’s my breakfast?

Wait, the cat is meowing, the bulldog needs bone        

Madam is calling, gossip luncheon is due

The workers are cursing, their lunch is overdue!

Utensils need scrubbing and the lamb needs chopping.

My name is Shambaboy

The lawn needs mowing and these weeds, oh my!

The kennel needs cleaning and the bitch must bathe 

This sty is stinking but the cows need milking

Where is my breakfast? Oh it’s evening already!

The Boss is hooting but the sprinkler needs moving!

My name is Yaya

School is over; Julia’s boy needs picking

Feeding and changing, a child’s child, this one!                   

Homework then supper, lullaby or bed time fables?

Mama is screaming, Yaya, my back needs scratching!

And Julia is snapping “iron the nappies, will you?”

My name is Watchman,

The night has began but my day never ended

Mind the gate! Its Friday again, VIP dinner

Roast lamb or boiled pork, champagne or ginger tea?

A bite of air for me, thank you, amidst their laughter I hope

When the VIPs leave, a half chewed bone, If I am lucky.

Dear Boobs

Round plump and firm,

You are the envy of many.

Lovers are bewitched by your sight

Enchanted by the mystery of your feel

Cuddle and handle but never get enough

Suckle and fondle; captives of your mystery.

Long, full and sagging,

An oasis for suckling babies

Their Canaan where milk flows

From whence their muscle grows

And bones draw their strength

While they teeth and learn to wean

Soft, warm and pillowy

Where love’s head may rest

While he catches a breath

Or the infant’s nest

While he suckles and giggles

The lover, content, the infant potent.

Bouncing, proud andlovely

Inseparable twins you are

In motherly care or in mischief

A darling of all young and old

May God ever keep you,  

As you keep us, young and old!

  

Lessons of Life

In the deep of night,

Beneath an African night.

I sit,

And feel the inky darkness

Before the light of dawn.

And listen,

To the flap of a bat’s wings

Grasping a fluttering moth.

And watch,

A meteor flash across the sky

And crash into nothingness;

And wonder at life’s brevity!

In the quiet of night

Beneath the moonless sky

I watch

The light of a lone firefly

Dance into a spider’s web.

I hear,

The soft run of a mouse

And her feeble squeak under the cat’s paw.

I feel

The bite of a mosquito

And its smear as I crash it.

And marvel at life’s vanity!

In the heat of noon,

Beneath a cloudless sky,

I walk

Towards the dancing mirages

Dancing away with every step

I watch

The bulge of a molehill in the barren field

And the cloud of dust as the eagle swoops

And hear

The incessant whine of a lone cicada

And the silence as the cuckoo makes a kill

I feel

The slow trickle of cold sweat

And the heat as the sun licks it up.

And wonder at life’s vanity!

A Mother’s Cry

Why do you cry, and startle the women,

Why does your shrill cry split the silence so!

And drown the ululation of these mothers

Who have come to hold your mother’s hand

And usher you to your second life

While your father roams the city, searching

Searching for a drink and searching for women?

Why are you so ungrateful, child,

Why do you bite my nipple and scratch my hands

These hands that hold and feed you

These hands that clothe and dress you

While your father roams the streets, working

Working the drink and working the women?

Ah! Child, are your eyes too small or the light too blinding

Do you not see the glint of the circumciser’s knife

As he cuts you and gives you a name

The name of your father’s clan

While your father roams the fields, gathering

Gathering a drink and gathering women?

Are your ears still too wet, too small perhaps,

Do you not hear the drums, hands clap and feet thumping

The soloist’s climax and the chorus of your kinsmen

Praising your mother and your father’s clan

While your father roams the country, dancing

Dancing with drink and drunken women?

Why do you kick like a restless donkey,

And clench your fist tightly like one holding a stone

Are your fists not too small to clasp, your muscle too supple to throw?

Will you also hit me and kick me

While your father roams the earth, hitting,

Hitting on drink and hitting on women?

Why do you cry and shame me, child,

 Will you not grow tall, and strong

And hold my back when my spine is gone

When these limbs grow old and shaky

Will you not guide me to my death bed

While your father roams the earth, dying

Dying with drink and dying of women?

Who am I?

Am I the child of man,

That my uncircumcised shoulders

Should bear the burden of a man

My tender heart crucified

By endless quests for love?

Am I the child of woman,

That though still a virgin

My body has become a hive

Where drones hum and fuss

An only steal my honey?

Am I the child of beast,

That rogue dogs claw at me

And bark in hateful affection

While we grope for a stale piece

Discarded by a bloated glutton?

Am I the child of jungle

That the sun prides in roasting my back,

And morning frost in chewing my limbs,

As the rains pounds my bare head

And launders these tatters that gird my loins?

Am I the child of all

That you spit and curse and hit me

When I beg for a coin for a plate

Or a penny for a bottle at the cobbler’s

And kill me with the look of an eye?

Am I the child of none

That none should love me,

And ever wonder who bore this shame

This being with neither home nor kin

Whom am I?

The Circle of Life

The freshness of dawn crowns the beauty of hope.

An amber morning glows with light and warmth,

Sparkling eyes cherish a new sight; a wider scope.

Merry hearts bubble with an expectant beat

Eager shoulders chores await, eager feet new paths to beat.

The harshness of day drowns the promise of dreams.

A glaring noon of heat and dancing mirages

Dreary eyes endlessly squint at distant gleams

A fainting heart wallows in oblivious haze

Slouched shoulders in tedious labor, feet lost in eternal maze.        

The chill of dusk downs the promise of faith

A darkening evening strangles another day     

Squinting eyes desperate for morning’s wraith

Heart wrinkled from waiting by a cold hearth     

Hurting shoulders from bustles, scorched feet from treading paths.

The quiet of night gowns the beauty of dreams

A hugging blackness, smiling crescent, twinkling stars

Fluttering eyes flattered to slumber and dreamy realms

A content heart with faith in dreams of better tomorrow

Stronger shoulders for morrow’s labors, wiser feet to work the barrow.

All I need

All I need is one pen,

A pen and a page

All I got is one pen

A pen and a page

All I need is one pen

A pen for your page

All I need is one word,

A word and an ear

All I got is one word

A word and an ear

All I need is one word

A word and your ear

All I need is one love

A love and a heart,

All I got is one love

A love of your heart

All I need is one love,

A love for your heart.

All I need is one heart,

A heart and a love,

All I got is one heart

A heart for your love

All I need is one heart,

A heart and your love.

All I need is a touch

A touch and a hand

All I got is a hand

A hand for your  touch

All I need is a touch

A touch of your hand.

All I need is one look,

A look and an eye.

All I got is a look

A look and an eye

All I need is a look

A look of your eye.

All I need is one me

A me and a you

All I got is one me

A me for a you

All I need is one me

A me and a you!

Sing our love

Sing a ballad for me,

In the quiet of the night.

Sing lullabies for me

Tell bedtime stories, me

When sleep flees me,

And dreams take to flight.

When night like a pilgrim,

In a black hooded cloak,

With warmth for a lover,

Shall enter so bold

Pray be a dreamer,

Of our memories of old.

The sweetness of the pain

When thee Cupid claimed,

The magic of his portion,

Oh, the beauty of his wound!

His rugged blessed arrow

I beseech forever adore.

Dream  memories of old:

by the stream we first met

The rocks like men of old,

 stars winking, like naughty peers

The crescent smiling, like a content mother.

The waters humming, our sacred love song.

Like a young sun at dawn,

Beautiful and warming,

And the full moon at harvest

A face full of promise

A thousand stars in the night,

Is the vastness of your mystery.

Twinkle, twinkle little star,

Lovely eyes in the dark,

Gently, gently in your arms

Hold me closer to your heart,

Softly, softly like a babe,

Lull me slowly till I sleep.

Forget Me

Sing no ballads for me,

Nor dirges for me.

Build no statues of me

No wakes or grave for me

Shed no tears for me

Bring no roses for please.

When night like a robber,

In a black hooded cloak,

With cold for a lover,

Shall enter so bold,

Be not a dreamer,

Of our memories of old

Swiftly, like I bid him aim

-Cupid for  me did claim,

Thine heart for me to own-

Pluck it and cast it down,

For his arrow is just vain,

Without love but just pain

Dreams, don’t dream.

For dreams are vain,

Like castles in the air

Or an old spider’s web,

Down they’ll tumble,

Afore you are settled.

Like dew at dawn,

In the soft light of morn’

Turns to jewels on the grass,

Before the sun’s hot and high,

Is love’s false beauty,

When the sun’s up and high.

Like the beauty of sunset,

A mirage on the sand,

Is the magic of love,

And the promise of romance.

 The nearer you get,

The further it gets.

 

My Rose

A sprout, frail and green,

Into a firm stem grows.

Such promise it shows,

When a bud is first seen.

Into a rose the bud grows,

And a beauty never seen.

A rose, red and preen

When the morning sun shows.

In the moonlight it glows,

Though daytime’s already been.        

Ever prettier it grows,

A lovelier rose has never been.

A fragrance for a Queen,

Is thy scent when the wind blows.

Thy beauty as sunset glows,

Is the beauty of a teen.

Endless as a fountain flows,

Thy praise has always been.

My rose I’ll be ever keen,

Thy fountain ever flows from whence thy beauty grows.

Thy petals forever keen,

Never to dull their royal gloss.

Though a thorn on thee grows,

To hold thee I will be ever keen.

My Wee Little Dreams

My dear little dreams,

My wee lovely hopes,

Like the mighty handsome ships,

Cruising ‘pon the waves,

That churn the oceans so!

By the rocks over yaller,

The ships die in pieces.

My visions like the meteors,

That light up my nights,

Setting heavens alight,

If, but only for a while.

Like the old threshers chaff,

They, too, bite the dust.

My troubles are in vain,

My day is all but pain,

The dawn brutal and cold,

And the noon burns a scald.

Where has gone the bird,

That whistled me a ballad?

The sun’s hot and high

Though rivers just pass by

Of dreams that’ll die

Mirages that do lie,

And hopes will soon dry

Wilted,

In the breeze they will fly.