BEHOLD,A VISITOR!!!

Hardly do we watch TV anymore,
its tantrums are enough to look at!
Hardly do we listen to the RADIO,
it creates its own 'annoying music'!

Hardly do we laugh at jokes of CHURCHIL,
its crackin us up instead!
Hardly do we CRY anymore,
its stare speaks terror!

Hardly do we even RELAX,
all our time is spent makin it comfortable!
Hardly do we have a DECENT SHOWER,
its drinkin up all th water!

Hardly do we read NEWSPAPERS anymore,
its an article on its own!
Hardly do we wait for the PRIME TIME NEWS anymore,
its makin news already!

SO NOW buyin more tissues has become our NEW HOBBY,
its messin up our house!
so now wakin up earlier than usual is mandatory,its our ALARM!

so now being mad is pointless,
its POKIN us mercilessly yet we cant poke bk!
so now an EMPTY BOX has become its house,
its living wt us by force!

so now a SACK has become its bed,
it takes naps when it feels like it!
so now the silence we previously enjoyed is no more,
we are screamin CHEESE in the name of imaginary photo shoots just to silence it!

so now we just PRAY
yet it still interrupts us with quacks!
so now our WRITING has been shaperned,
we are creating poems out of it!

so now EVERY VISITOR z ceremoniously announced,
its the NEW WATCH GUARD!
so now our HEARTS break,
what on earth is it doin here?

so now our house z a PLAYGROUND,
every kid is its playmate!
so now our SOULS crush,
its takin over our home!
so now our MINDS r restless,
we are thinking of ways to eliminate it for good!

BUT NOW our SPIRITS are leaping for joy,
we are having it FOR DINNER!

BEHOLD,OUR VISITOR WAS A CHICKEN!

Margaret C Tanui

Matters of Writing…

Who can define writing?

Speak of it tangibly to laymen and women,

break it down to little ones.

I wonder if it is the outpouring of one's soul on paper,

the pen playing as heart strings,

tugging with every press.

Maybe it is all intellect,

something Einstein would relate to.

One sharing their deepest knowledge of all acquired,

knowhow on events,places,people

the world to sum it up.

Is it all perception?

One's view of the world,

subjective of course,

 in a bid to influence thoughts, ideas

and systems that already exist.

What sayeth you of journal entries, diaries,

columnists of the leading papers,

New York Times as the best example.

Who sets the standards?

Calling one a writer,

dismissing another.

Is it talent, techniques

or simply matters inert,

left to spiritual discoveries.

What do they say

when they speak

of free writing,

Of poetry,

of writing scientific

 or other 'jargonistic' arenas like law?

Am at a loss dear ones!

Should I or should I not?

Jolt down my thoughts

meticulously cushion them

words that convey a meaning

 void of linguistic barriers or biasness.

I have an urgent need to speak out!

To be heard for I have reason.

My heart beat is attuned to an African drum!

To write will be my song,

my daily dose of reality

probably normalcy

for without it

 I lose sense of my wellbeing.

Margaret C Tanui

Writing Frees Me…

When days are long and nothing seems to help pass the time and make the clock tick…writing is what I do.

When I'm so stressed up, with issues up to here! When my mind is a maze,jammed,an allusion of a traffic jam…writing frees me.

When I feel all complicated, when I can't just seem to say what needs saying, when communication is 'greek'(not the series,hehe) and words hard to come by…writing always makes a way.

Writing is my life, my joy, my everything. When I write is when I'm most happy, most fulfilled.Everything always seems to make sense, the jigsaw puzzle always completes itself.

When I've tried everything there is to try I always come back to writing…my voice. More than a mere talent or just a mindless hobby, deep stuff I tell you!

My friends don't understand how I can write a page after page, a poem after another without even putting in an effort, it comes naturally indeed!

Of paper and pen, or in the dawn of  a 'global metropolis', fingers and a keypad become the closest pals, always  there when there's need for picking.

It is in writing that I vent of all the unfairness, a world made of steel and stone, just trying a little tenderness.

When writing becomes a prayer, when it's a tearful supplication, heartfelt words on paper fashioned to my maker.

When the confidence for an 'I'm sorry' is not forthcoming, a beautiful note always breaks the ice and paves way for reconciliation…wink

If it's funny, put it down on paper and add smiley faces…writing, the epitome of intellectual humor!

Talk of intimacy and writing becomes my bet in any gambling affair, it just does it for me, a blend of great thoughts, selectively chosen to create a breath taking piece, one to be shared by millions!

Of matters shared and what better way to show generosity than to express those grateful feelings through the written word.

When writing makes the world to be strangely dim(Francesca Battistelli smile)and it's just me and words…utter silence, maybe some background music once in a while…for a moment my problems seem to be at a state of oblivion, way back at the back, to be picked up later with a new sense of inspiration.

No doubt I believe in the power of music but with writing I come out a new!

I've tried to put all these in the simplest manner, a layman's perspective but still the message may still stand unclear, with only a few really being on the same page as I or for others a bit farfetched in a similar chapter.

And so my parting words become 'Tell 'em even if they know' so to write I must continue till all get it.

Margaret C Tanui

A Few Sentiments to Kenya Power…

First things first, I have reverted to writing thanks to the various blackouts that leave me no choice. I am just a youth like any other…I see a frown of misunderstanding written all over you so lemmie break it down a little: my days as a youth are dotted with watching the latest movies, the hottest series, music videos and of course downloading them thanks to this extremely wonderful age of android and a myriad of overwhelming download applications.Oh,and just in case you may be wondering and I know you were, I most certainly spare some time for a quick shower once in a while! When need be of course.

Now things are totally an upheaval ,a black out that has taken me a decade back as I'm now using a stove to get things going in the kitchen and are now rocking a 'smoky' fragrance; I was just taking my first little baby steps to revive my reading culture that was an envy of many in my high school hay days. It's clear you do not have my best interests at heart!

Now showering is a screeching affair, I just jump to all the corners of the bathroom warming up for a cold shower for my heater is on a strike thanks to you!

Boredom has become my new bestie and I hear you sarcastically ask why I can't just whats app,facebook,tweet up my friends or simply meet up.Well,boy am I glad you asked…I can't charge my phone so am 'mteja!'

The silence in this house is killing me, it's like zombies raided the town and somehow forgot to bamboozle me like the rest. I need something! Some music, some necessary noise at least. Even if it's a fly minding it's own annoying business loudly! It's that bad! I might end up institutionalized!

I've tried all the pass time activities to a regrettable halt…I've tried sleeping only to realize I don’t rest easy!I;ve stretched my imagination to imaginable levels that magic sees me and flees! All the thinking is almost frying out my brains so I've turned to writing just to get the hours going! And if you must know, as I write this I am contemplating where to get a candle as with you guys we never know, even on Facebook your profile is non-existential total blackout so I'm guessing this may take a while.

Can you imagine that in a bid to make 'conversation' we have run out of stories in the house so all we do is blankly stare into space if we are not giving each other some weird blank looks! I wonder what Meredith Grey is up to now, I was catching up on the latest of Grey's Anatomy.Oh,all the cartoons I am missing out on, Oh MY King Julian, I miss laughing!

Do you realize that you guys are the reason for the ruin of many, the dates that will never happen because a guy called up a chic who was out of reach and thought she was blowing him off. Or people who can't deflate their mpesa accounts because their phones are powerless. Of missing marks that will arise all over campus universities because assignments never reached the printing stage? Of long distant relationships that are now in two dark worlds wondering what the other is up to? Of people who will end up in jail because they missed their court date all because their couldn't communicate with their lawyers? Do you see what you guys are doing?

And to top it all this might be my last article as my laptop charge is at 7%.just hanging on the balance as I profusely try to type this up quickly before I am thrown into a world of oblivion!

I have said all there is to say and it's like the clock didn’t even flinch yet I feel like I have been ranting on and on for eternity. Anyway as I conclude forgive my somewhat 'harsh' outbursts, I simply  speak for many that suffer at your merciless hands from time to time !

Margaret C Tanui

A Lonely World?

Of moments spent scrolling through phones

coming across 'touchy' contacts

down the memory lane of life

a friend perhaps,

A relative being a classic case,

 lost love for many

that co-worker,mmmh!

… … … …

pausing in an indecisive trance

 to call or simply text,

to keep in touch or let it go.

A sad and quite rigorous activity

 every passing contact a reminder

Of loneliness becoming an integral part of us

trying hard to reach someone close

only to realize that there is no one.

No one to call in the middle of the night

 when counting sheep becomes a tiring affair.

Someone we can text out of the blue

chat on and on simply because

 they actually get your sense of humour!tihihi

Of nostalgic pauses about a time

when we had such a person but

along the meandering  road of life

they moved on or

 we just tossed them aside because

we had the 'miss independent syndrome'

and figured we had it all together or

 they did a mistake that is taking a lifetime to get over!

Sometimes I personally am stuck in the same rut,

whether to let the past go without oblivion or

 try to make amends,

to reach out to that difficult relative,

that friend that said nasty things about you,

that colleague who simply hates your guts for no reason or

 even a relationship that was somewhat meant to be.

Where do we draw the line

 of whether to leave things as they are and

 live with the 'what ifs' or

 to try and make things 'right' per say.

Sometimes we block people out of our lives,

open new Facebook accounts,

change phone numbers,

move churches and even cities,

quit jobs in an effort to avoid encounters,

people that we think we don’t need

only for it to dawn on us that

our lives are more fulfilled with them in it or

 that they need us more but

 we simply won't budge

so we carry on…

Margaret C Tanui

A Stand Against Hatred!

It eats one up while they breath.

Chokes the soul

darkens the  heart

a world of emptiness,

greed and selfishness.

Every dream fashioned in the loins of the mind

 simply won't do for the disregard that of a friend is elevated .

The classic case of me, myself and I,

no room any other

even if the label is clearly screams 'family of friend!'

Of magnifying minute problems to gigantic extremes

that every emblem  of importance ceases to be.

Of plotting to bring others down,

to cause strife with every word uttered,

action meted.

Of not leaving things as they are

but riding on paranoia,

always singing the song of 'the world is out to get you',

talk of ill will!

Of pessimism,

the negativity consumes!

Always thinking the worst is bound to happen

sooner, rather than later!

Tossing out all shreds of tenderness,

always in the business of criticizing

 and offering judgmental delicacies

yet no one says 'bon appetit!'

At the end of the day,

it's does no one justice

to put people in 'imaginary categories',

of those to talk to and those to swear into silence,

those to help and those to play deaf with,

those to be kind to and those to play Cruella with,

those to overlook mistakes and those to add to some grudge list.

In all the drama and fussing,

love has proven from time immemorial to be the easy path

 as it is without cost

 and one reaps what they sow anyway

 so…he he

Margaret C Tanui