The River

The riverThe unlimited waterThe beauty of natureDark in the night, blue in the day but am colourlessHow well I have been shapedHow soft I have been createdBigger than water but smaller in quantityI conduce smaller things like pinbut carry bigger things like ferryI Am welcomingI create power but reject powerThe river is my nameThose that…

When God Makes Love to You

When S/HE enunciates I Love You It can take you a lifetime to really believe IT As to accept this endearment Is to learn a whole new language Altering the rhythms of your heartbeats forever As you now appreciate subtle motions of Love In the mundane & profound Much like clouds wafting, mutating Yet serene…

Remember The Days, Big Butt?

I remember the days when they called me Big Butt, imitated my walk, and stared. “Do you walk like that on purpose?” Today, they hold the titles for the biggest butts in show business, Australia, the world. The day they smelled chocolate. I said it was cocoa butter and they exclaimed, “Why would you put…

Invisible Cuffs

They stepped in And cuffed my hands In police custody I asked What’s my case. The state Vs Annet. He shouted. In cuffs In cuffs. Invisible cuffs. They suffocated me in my own house. He raised his hands. His finger prints stained my cheeks. In tears I asked. What’s my case? Nature Vs Annet. In…

A Beating for Love

Your fist pounded my face In shock I stood there Not moving, not screaming The first time it happened You said you beat me because you loved me You put the blame on me I don’t remember doing wrong Your gambling and drinking Your womanising and flirting Your problems and woes Were all my fault…

If My Heart

If my heart could grow You could have seen its seed Augmenting Pushing through the light Ready to produce fruits.   If my heart could talk You could have felt the unfelt; The love, the fear, the insecurities, the hope, the anguish, the frustrations.   If my heart could show You could have seen the…

Beauty Knows No Shame

A new kind of beauty to embrace and to celebrate There’s no room for shame here There’s a power that pushes through from within There’s a power that will push out and bring my bloody insides with it… But that’s something of a pain that I’d love to succumb to in a natural, agony-sedating, physical…

An Exposition of My Fate

A woman is a pot of poisonous honey. A woman and heaven, unpredictable. Yeah, that’s the voice behind the flesh! Cancel her and tell me what affix you will give the nation. Listen. On my way to school reeds sing a song. “Your uncle is on a secret deal, For feeding is a prolong” Yet…

Forgive to be Forgiven

If forgiveness had a formula I would pursue a whole course just to master it. It’s not that I’m in love with the whole concept of forgiveness But I need to learn it and become it. See I’ve been searching for forgiveness for a while now. Singing praises and turning my life into worship just…

Nusayba Alareer

You were a witness to a heinous atrocity of war, a crime against humanity Wildflowers in open spaces Wildflowers in closed spaces, in spaces that have been tampered with You lost a husband, your children lost a father, the world lost a poet I sit in my room and write this poem I, too, am…