TWO SHOES

How could M. al-Zaidi throw two shoes
At Bush before anybody got to him?
How could he bend down twice
Picking a shoe each time he did
Without anybody getting to him?

It’s not like taking two pistol shots
Just draw once and pull the trigger twice

It’s bending to pick a shoe and unleashing it
Then bending again for another and unleashing it
How did M. al-Zaidi manage that at Bush
Before anyone got to him to unleash a push
With what we know of US Secret Service?

M. al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist,
In the heart of the Middle East
The citadel of ruthless suicide bombers
Thought Bush a sitting duck for shoe-shots
On that last surprise visit
But to M. al-Zaidi's surprise,
Bush ducked both shots
Before any could get to him

How could M. al-Zaidi throw two shoes
At Bush before anybody got to him?
How could he bend down twice
Picking a shoe each time he did
Without anybody getting to him?

Someone should have got to either the shoes
Before they overflew Bush's headspace
Or to M. al-Zaidi before he even unleashed them
Better still, before the idea was even mooted

What if he was another shoe bomber?
With abundant chance to try it twice
Those shoes could have exploded in Bush's vicinity
Worse still, Bush was still there
When both shoes landed, one after another

What if the shoes were meant to explode on impact?
M. al-Zaidi would have claimed a US President's life
As he stood there with Nuri al-Malikki
The Prime Minister of Iraq
Within the vicinity of the two shoes

like Manhattan's Twin Towers
targets of two planes of 9/11
Seven years later
Bush and al- Malikki,
targets of two shoes of 14/12

An Iraqi would have scored a first
Assasinating a US President on Iraqi soil
At the tail end of Bush's Presidency

M. al Zaidi, that Iraqi, stole the spotlight
Off G.W.B’s last visit in the Middle East

Joburg SA
On GWB's visit to Zambia Dec 02, 2011

Not Lived in Vain

Emptiness creeps into the heart every now and again,
A feeling of Loss for a life lived in vain,
Skipping the gaps and Cherishing the scarce Cherries,
Connecting the few Sparks on a Dark Path
And Counting them as Blessings,
For nothing is worth the Gain
Without mourning with Anguish and Pain
The Darks and Brights lost on this Journey
Holding Dear the Lessons Learnt and Dues Paid
To give the Breath ahead a Worthy Stay
Otherwise, I trudge in Vain With Utter Dismay
'Tis why I love You Still,
Come what may, how ever you feel!

CAMPUS DANCE

Dance the dance of the song I sing
Dance the dance I intend to bring
Welcome to Campus

Beat the moves of my beat
I sing in my favourite song
And they twist and wiggle to belong
Faster I say and harder they sway
I watch them dance to my campus song

Fools dance all night till morning light
Dancing long after the song is gone
Poisoned by the lyrics of my song
That repeats in their hearts and mind
In the spell of my vibes, fools I bind

Dance the dance of the song I sing
Dance the dance I intend to bring
Welcome to Campus

Bellies bulge, backs bend, babies bleat by year end,
Then they realize, all they heard were lies
My landlord was imaginary, my path won’t bend
I sung the campus song, while fools danced
I flipped page upon page, read and passed

Open your eyes
See beyond the lies
Come to Campus to pass
Not to sway to my song enmasse
Please, open your eyes I say
Welcome to Campus


Benne E Banda
Johannesburg,June 13,

NE NYAKULILA NINE

Niti nizingwe nine, Ne nyakulila nine
Wangu wasunama

Mtaba wa nyuka nga n’chimphuza chiliye msindo
Chimfule chaya tashala tumba pamtete
tumba na bana bansiwa pazuba
Nga akapontha akamilwa manzi muli wanda
Vizo vasankhantika, wangu wasunama
Nivine tyani mazya, iyo ninsongwe ya maliro

Niti nizingwe nine, Ne nyakulila nine
Wangu wasunama

Ne kapontha natamana
Nakamilwa manzi muli matizye

Wangu watangula kuya kumzizi
kumsili kunisali, Kufumave muswe chiliye nam’tende
nashala mpofu, nitauke tyani Lupande akaleta?
Nipite tyani mulinsenzi, usiku muli kapamphansi
Mwezi waya kumfunzi, chisaniko changu chazima,
Musinzo watambalala, ne nayangalala
naba chibebe, ne bwato uliye nkafi

Nazingwa nine, Ne nyakulila nine, Wangu wasunama

Nipandekoni mano ne,
Nakamilwa manzi muli wanda

The world’s multitudes will mourn with me
Storms of tears will burst the earthly river banks
Raising high the tides of every lake and sea,
Yet, they will never drown my sorrow!
Not today; no thanks, not tomorrow
Tears will never fill my yawning canyon of grief
For my beloved who now lies stiff

For after the funeral is done and gone
My dearly beloved interred to eternity
My bereavement shall still be intact, not even halved
My heart heavy-laden to the bream
My mind, wishing to awaken out of this eerie dream
My tongue ruefully praying in a silent scream

Pakuti Niti nizingwe nine, Ne nyakulila nine
Wangu niye wasunama

Nazingwa ne natamana
Nakamilwa manzi muli matizye

Nikumvwa msowa koma muli nanthungulu
Kuti wangu wasunama, soyasuka, sonimvwa
Naita navupa, misozi yakama, lizu yalama
Nthungulu naituluwizya, mwe mwakwasu
Si nthungulu iweme, inga nibani watemwa?

Nazingwe nine, Ne nyakulila nine
Wangu wasunama

Nashala neka ne
Nakamilwa manzi muli wanda

Mtima wa fina nachitinthi ngan’mkumbi yam’zambwe
Misozi m’menso yalokwa ingan’milochi m’mainza
Nalabantha kupula kaleza, naimba nsongwe nsiku zapaka,
Sunulala, nulila m’zuba na usiku, mkuya nsiku
Koma yayi, wangu wasunama mphela

Niti nizingwe nine, Ne nyakulila nine
Wangu wasunama

Njavyeni kulila mwe
Nakamilwa manzi muli matizye

I look into the teary eyes of the mourners
Thinking, who knows my loss better than I do?
Who among them has lost theirs to the monster too?
Like the dew that comes with the breeze at dawn
When the sun rises, won’t they all too soon be gone
And I just remain a flitting image in their minds
Fading away at every moment in new things they find
Eventually dusting me off their memory shelf with time
Yet to me I am, and will still be for years to come
The most bereaved by my most dearly beloved

Pakuti ne nyakulila nine! Niti Nizingwe nine
Ni wangu wasunama

Nipandekoni mano ne,
Nakamilwa manzi muli wanda

The whispers in my ear, contained in the wind
That’s blowing past me this day, speaking to say
‘the loneliness I fear, the longing in my mind,
the yearning for that touch, the solace I cannot find’
Exceeds all the pity I can summon, c’mon

Asukulu echiti, ‘We mwana, uku niye kukula,
Kosa, upole mtima, koma kaze n’kaze, osaluba’
You are the only hope for tomorrow!

Ne nyakulila nine, pakuti wangu niye wasunama
Nine nakamilwa pa chitowo

Uwa Kwensha Ubushiku

It Is Growing Up – That Is What They Say
A Tree That Has Never Lost A Leaf To The Wind
Will Never Know The Pain Of Lacking
It Will Never Learn To Cherish Its Own

It Is Growing Up – That Is What They Say
A Bird That Has Never Hit Into A Tree In Flight
Will Never Cherish The Benefit Of Sight
It Will Never Learn To Embrace Precision

It Is Growing Up – That Is What They Say
A Wheel That Has Never Lost A Sprocket In A Spin
Will Never Know The Pain Of Imbalance
It Will Never Learn To Appreciate Each Sprockets Worth

Yes, It Is Growing Up – That Is What They Say
A Flock That Has Never Lost A Shepherd To A Monster
Will Never Know The Benefit Of Initiative
It Will Never Conjure Positive Intuition For Guidance

Experience Is the Best Teacher – That Is What They Say
Uwakwensha Ubushiku Bamutasha Lilya Bwacha
Unfortunately, They Might Not Be There At Daybreak
Thanking Them At Every Point Is Good Practice

Is This Our Point Of Intersection In Growing Up?

With The Visionary Lost To The Monster
The Main Sprocket Broken In Speed
A Nourishing Leaf Lost To The Wind
Will The Flickering Light Shine Brighter In The Mind
In This Instance Of A Rude Awakening?

Footprint



Inhale to exhale

For one is absent without the other

Yet both are nothing without the in-between

The combustion, the oxidation, the perspiration,

That nourishes the body to prosperity

For our world to keep green

Yet still a carbon footprint remains

To mark the days of our time on earth

Be born to die

For the tomb gains not without a womb

Yet both are nothing without the in-between

The living, the learning, the working

That nourishes humanity to prosperity

For our nations not run thin

Posterity judges justly upon that footprint

That marks one’s time spent on earth

Lose to Win

For success doesn’t count without failure

Yet both are nothing without the in-between

The determination, challenges, hopes and flops,

the exams, results and eventually the certification

Certifying the individual’s accomplishment

Accreditations line the walls to list the academic

Qualifications in a lifetime

Start to end

For endless starts are a worthless effort

Yet both are nothing without the in-between

The clashes and reconciliations, the mess-ups and corrections,

the achievements that signify worthwhile work

Contributed to the development seen

Milestones signposting the direction one traversed

Are the evident footprints posterity judges upon

Only upon such stalwarts a befitting farewell is bestowed

What will my footprint be?

AVERAGE JIM

Sometimes Your Hero Loses Focus

Has A Brave Heart With Human Flaws

You Get Hurt About How They Backed Out

When Even You Could Beat Average Jim

Sometimes The Guy You Knock Into

Has A Lot More Skin Than You Do

You Get More Hurt Than You Thought

Yet They Could Have Just Been Average Jim

Sometimes The Girl That Steals Your Heart

Has A Heart Well Preserved For an Average Jim

You Get So Prickt By All The Roses You Bought

When All You Needed Was To Be Jim

Sometimes The Job You’d Give Your All For

Has An Inept Buffoon Bungling It At Will

You Get Really Hurt They Are Not Found Out

When They Were Just an Average Jim

Sometimes The Music That Soothes Your Soul

Has Sent A Wretched Gabby Dangling On A Noose

You Get Totally Hurt By ‘In What’ He Was Caught

When Survival Lay At The Level Of Average Jim

Sometimes The ‘I Love You Too’ You Yearn For

Has Earned Someone A Bullet Between Their Eyes

You Get Immensely Hurt By The Pain That Brought

When They Could’ve Taken ‘No!’ Like Any Average Jim

Sometimes The Intelligence You Wish For

Has Been Someone’s Ticket Into The Mental Asylum

You Get Solemnly Fraught By What Such A Brain Got

When All They Just Refused To Match Was Average Jim

Yes, Sometimes, Just Beat Average Jim

Work A Little Harder To Stay Above Him.

Yet Sometimes Just Be Jim

There Will Be Those To Whom You Will Still Be A Dream

A Hero!