God is a Man

I pray
Every night before going to bed.
Before and after
Every meal.

No man
Has seen my face
Since the day I turned 13
Except my husband.

My daughters
Are good
I teach them well
But take no praise
Upon myself.

The Holy Book
I know by heart
Recite it in my sleep.

Cut my flesh
To show my pledge
Devotion eternal
I said.

But....


Last night
They came and took my child
Flesh from my womb
Blood of my blood
Killed her
Threw
Her remains into the dustbin
With flies, wrappers
Banana peels

Then I know
Within my heart
You God
Are not a woman.

The Picnic

Fresh and happy
Young and new
We dance
Our ankles slinging wet mud
Upon the roasting potatoes

Hounded away from the adults
We creep
To the edge of the water
And slip our toes in cold
and slimy

After lunch
Talk has slowed to a minimum
Many stretch out and sleep on
The open ground
Grass on their backs

With the descent of evening
The birds begin to come out
A change has come
The flies are eating up the food

On the other side of the rive
Drunken revellers block our way
And as w try to pass
A little blood is spent

We were made to take off
our shoes
Sling them round our necks
And walk
Slip
Through the river
Water kissing my chin

The men stood brave
Stout with sticks
Protecting our passage
Us women
And children
Patter to the car

Nobody died
Just little injuries
I was surprised
It had looked mighty big
From where I was

They simply laughed
And drank their tea
Steaming hot
With pepper in it.

Ice Man

The wind sings
As it rushes past
Laughing around your face
Fixed
That twitchy smile
by ice and time and age.
The dirt in your nails
immortalised
Strand of black hair
new on your scalp.
Ice Man
So long I have waited
To have the last laugh.

Searching for creativity

Bubbling cauldrons
Of emotion
Feverish words
Struggling to form a sentence
Running and Slipping
And falling yet again
Careless
In their hurry
To Think

Dreaming
Of works
So perfect Utopian
Yet...

So hard
It drains
Not your Mind but your Heart
Sucking blood and memory
From its core.

Hurt

It is a quiet room
Dark
The windows shut
The curtains drawn
Strains of music
Somewhere
Someone sobbing
Softly
Whispered condolences
Shadows and Echoes
Hurried footsteps
A gasp
A dull thud
A heartbeat.