Thursday, January 4, 2024

LOVE IS A WALKING STICK

The old man trusts his body
  to a piece of metal or wood
Not as his god or anything 
But as a prop to hold him up
The injured man does the same.

Alas, love is a walking stick 
Sturdy, reliable
With you every step of the way
Unrelenting, every night and day

Sometimes, the stick may break
And the rider is thrown 
Whose fault is that, 
Is it the stick? 

Even if it were, a man gets another one
And the journey resumes again. 
Be as it may, whether strong or unreliable
It's not about the form, but the matter.

Hear the spirit of the guide,
The essence of the walking stick 
Is to be with you, to support you;
Love is the walking stick of life,
To be with you every step of the way...

04/01/24

HARMATTAN AND WINTER

Long way from home, 
My first time alone.
Things we joked about in the past
Became a reality pretty fast. 

Definitely not the way we planned, 
Not at all, not even close! 
We thank the Lord for growth, 
But a bit, I miss the homeland. 

The air is dry and filled with dust, 
The weather itself is cold to touch, 
The wind is rattling my windows, 
The roof is creaking like goalposts. 

It's noisy on the outside,
The mill grinding out its content;
The sound of vehicles on the freeway, 
Children having themselves a grand day.. 

It's quiet on the inside, 
Just as I like. 
The holidays around the corner, 
To cool down the day we suffered. 

Harmattan and winter,
Opposites alike, 
Harmattan and winter,
Christmas is near. 

The months went by pretty fast, 
Bit still quite a ways to go:
Couldn't leave home fast enough, 
Adventures called for me to go. 

Harmattan and winter,
I'm not alone, 
Harmattan and winter,
I'm missing home. 

12/12/2023

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

I GIVE GOD THANKS

Wanted to get angry
But I remember God had been there
I understood the feeling 
of smashing things or smashing people
It came into my heart
Isn't it right to give God thanks? 

For good and bad, to give God thanks? 
Even to thank him that the bad was good
Or will be good? 
To glorify him in the situation 
And let him take the glory?

I'll set my heart at ease
For my God to take the glory
What other option is there? 
I'm scared of the alternative 
So mad I can't consider it

But I'll give my God the praise, 
I'll give him the glory
And thank him like he's already done it
That he's already done it
For he's already done it
Amen.

BABY, LOVE YOURSELF

You'll find time to lose yourself in love 
Put the happiness of others above your own 
Find joy in the things that make them happy 
Sometimes to the loss of your own—
Baby, love yourself. 

You've seen how wicked the world can be
How cold it gets out there 
How quickly people can turn on you
For reasons you can't even think—
Baby, love yourself. 

You're in love with how they love you, 
You're blind to how amazing 
How wonderful a creature you are
But you surrender only to what they say you are—
Baby, love yourself. 

You're happy and you can't help it, 
You're sad and you don't know why
You feel like the best thing in the world,
Then you mess up again big time—
Baby love yourself. 

Unconditionally and unashamedly, 
Shower no apologies unreservedly, 
Show the world how much you care, 
But really you don't even have to care
That Baby, you love yourself. 

When you feel rejected 
When no one has your back
When you feel unlovable 
Or consider yourself despicable—
Baby, love yourself.

When the nights get dark and you see nobody
When the days grow cold and you need somebody 
When the road gets tough and you feel so lonely 
When it's hard and the tears flow so freely—
Baby, love yourself.

Baby, love yourself 
Baby, love yourself 
Baby, love yourself 
Baby, love yourself 
Baby, love yourself...

With O. Doris 

WITH GOD, WE'LL RUN THROUGH A TROOP

Like Humpty Dumpty in a house of cards Your house fell down like the walls of Jericho [And it's hard to pick up the spare parts] Every s...