UNBROKEN

Unbroken - PART ONE.

Shake me, push me to the ground
I swear I won't make a sound
Slap me like a child
Curse me
but you will not take my pride
Undress me before the crowd
Strike a hundred lashes on my back
You will not hear me quack
Crack my bones if you must
In my lord I put my trust
You can cut each finger from my hand
You can leave me eight days out the burning sand
You can stand
and watch me bleed out like a cow
No word will come out of me anyhow.
Poke and probe me like a science experiment
Leave me with a permanent impairment

Be violent!

Do not hesitate to punish this prisoner
Mr. Police, judge, jury and executioner
Barry me alive if need be
I do not need my freedom, I was already born free.

You Can't Break Me!
You Can't Break Me!

*Inspired by the movie ‪#‎Unbroken‬
©Zuhura Seng'enge
~ A.L 2015

ME AND MY BROWN SKIN

I asked God if it was a sin
To be born with a black skin
To have a protection from the burning rays of the sun called Melanin
Because everyday I see
Sisters buying products to become brown free
Apparently,
Sold complexion is everything
To the 21st century woman than loyalty
Everyday I see
A stranger honored more in my own country than me

I asked God if it was a test
To be born so different from the rest
To have more scars buried in my chest
While my quest
For justice has barely begun
How can one compete with a barrel of a gun
Pointed at their head since they were very young
Living by and by as the praise is sang
'O hail the white man who made spoons and pans'
Forgetting that the steel was forged by their own hands.

I asked God if it was a mistake
To be born in such a state
Of rejection from other races
A misfit
Out solving cases
Out changing places
Because no one suspects the man with an accent
To be the perpetrator of an accident
Excuse my sharp tongue, but tell me if you ever saw
A foreigner being charged for breaking the law
Not in this country brother, so I do wonder
If it is the knack for perfection
Or the talent for deception.

I asked God if it was maybe a gift
To be born so exceptionally unique
To be singled out in a continent that was not known to exist
With millions of treasures to handle as we see fit
but that became history after they came and made us toil
For what was ours
Separating us from our families
Hungry, but working for hours
Forced to pay tax for existence
Killed on spot if showed resistance
So I worry, all this attention
That we give so respectfully
Is it maybe pretense
Or just loaded obsession?

I asked God a lot of questions
and I know that it is wrong
but I needed direction
A sign of hope
I need salvation
To be pointed to the light
Because I want to be right
For beauty and respect seems to be something we lack
I wonder why,
Is it because we're born black?

©Zuhura Seng'enge
~ A.L 2015

SACRED

My love,
I never detested it
Never questioned it
Never pretended it did not matter
Or that it did not carry meaning
I respected it
I valued it
I prayed for it
I longed for it,
A light in my dark moments
A lullaby in my sleepless nights
A song in my gloomy days
For it is sacred,
Then when it found me
I had found my serenity
A timeless heaven
More than a light
Better than a lullaby
Sweeter than a song
and like the scorched earth when kissed by the rain,
It quenched for me my burning desire
To love,
and to be loved

O my love,
It is like a flower garden
Carrying a myriad of scents:
Scents of adventure
Scents of passion
Scents of pleasure
Scents of happiness
Scents of strength
I am blessed,
Dancing like a butterfly- pleased to have found its rose
Yes it has quenched my thirst
It has made me contented
I did not detest it
I did not question it
I do not lie in its name
Nor do I take it for granted
For it is sacred
I respect it..
I cherish it..
I accept it..
It is not here be explained
but to be felt,
Experienced, shared

My love, it is another sunset,
and today you stand next to me
I know, my tomorrow will not be the same
and I, shall not wish it so to remain
Because you make every today more beautiful,
more special than yesterday
My love, you make me happy in every way.

(C)Zuhura Seng'enge
~A. L 2016

MAGIC WORDS

Say something,
Break down these walls
These stone cold walls that keeps us at a distance
Even when we are close,
We are still so distant
Save us from this fall
This deep dark hole sucking out our energies
Making us lose our souls
We are broken,
Shattered by our pasts into fragile pieces
To be whole, we need to be put back together
Every piece, patiently, gently, kindly brought back together
but we can only achieve that together, if we stay together
Be there for each other
We can find ourselves in each other
So say something,
Break away this silence
This emptiness inside us that feels like there is nothing left to fight for
We are what we should fight for
Say something,
Hold me close and don't let go

I regret words i never said
Chances I never took
Opportunities I never made
I regret not going all the way
Not fighting everyday,
For great things are hard to get
I wish I knew that before quitting the race
I regret not trying once again
Not embracing the pain
So I could see the sunshine after the rain

Say something,
Do not leave me hanging
Anxiety is killing me
Let me in on a secret that devours your heart
Put me in the know I can tell you its all right
and if it is not I will stick by your side
Still got your back
When it is bright and when it is dark
When it is best and when it is not
When you are high and when you are low
Just know I wont let go
We are broken yes,
Shattered by our pasts into fragile pieces
but together we are whole, united, undefeated
That crack in our souls let us seal it with kisses
When the world is destroyed and everything is gone
The worst way to go is when you are all alone
So say something,
Do not waste these seconds
Time is precious than any valuable treasure
If you wait too long you may lose me forever
and all I want is to be with you forever
Even if forever ends tomorrow
Say something,
Save us from an eternity of sorrow

As you will regret words you never say
Chances you never take
Opportunities you never make
You will regret not going all the way
Not fighting everyday,
For great things are hard to get
You should know that before starting the race
Coz you will regret not trying once again
Not embracing the pain
So you may see the sunshine after the rain
So you may see the sunshine after the rain.

Say something..

(c)Zuhura Seng'enge
~A. L 2016

Uzuri Wako

Uzuri wako ni zaidi ya ngozi nyororo
Zaidi ya macho ya kuvutia na mwendo wa maringo
Uzuri wako, haupimwi kwa mavazi wala kiasi cha sifa
ulizomiminiwa
Uzuri wako siyo mwanya wala vito vya thamani ulivyojaza shingoni
Wala siyo sauti ya kumtoa nyoka pangoni
Uzuri wako unatokea moyoni;
Vitendo vya ukarimu
Maneno ya busara
Heshima kwa wanadamu
Bila ya kujali fukara
Uzuri wako ni tabia zako,
Kujihifadhi na machafu kuyakimbia
Heshima kujijengea. madoa kutoitia
Uzuri wako ni zaidi ya lulu, UTHAMINI.

Usidanganyike na fedha ulizonazo mfukoni
Kamwe uzuri haununuliwi dukani
Usijitambe kwa barua lukuki ulizotumiwa
Na maneno mazuuri uliyotunukiwa
Wengi huitoa sukari wakijaribu kujinadi
Ukiwapa kidogo asali, huvunjika nayo ahadi
Uzuri ni zaidi ya sura
Asikuzuge mwanadamu
Uzuri wako siyo biashara
Kuuza ni haramu.
Uzuri kwa wote upo, wanawake na wanaume
Japo wengi husema, hasifiwi uzuri mwanamume
Lakini umeona wapi watu wakipenda vibaya?
Jaribu kuvaa viraka kama hukushikwa na haya
Kila utayemuita ataenda pitia mbali
Lazima safi kujiweka, ukitaka mpata mwali
Uzuri wako ni tabia, na mwenendo wa maisha
Uzuri wako hubakia, hata umri ukiisha
UTHAMINI.

(c) 2015

NOT FOR VALENTINE

I never celebrate Valentine's day
I don't believe real feelings can be expressed in just a day
I think that love should be shown everyday
and beautiful things shared whenever one can
This Valentine's day seems so superficial
Like it's the only time of the year when everybody is in love
When everybody is happy
Then one day after they are back to lonesomeness and sadly ever afters
This Valentine's day sounds like a debt
Where everyone has to have a partner
Men to provide handsomely for their women
Women to treat their men with care
Celebrating, singing "love is in the air"
Then some hours after nobody is actually there

I never celebrate Valentine's day
I wish I understood why I needed a special day
To know and feel that I love and I am loved
Most of us don't even realize
The true meaning of this day
We have changed an ancient holly day
Into a carnival of reckless, pointless celebrations
A good business idea ofcourse
and the reason for increased unsafe sexual intercourse
This Valentine's day should be erased from calender
It is not our tradition, not in our history

I wanted to write you a poem for Valentine's day
A poem I thought of writing you for a while I might say
but I remembered that real feelings can't be expressed in just a day
and beautiful things are shared whenever one can
So i decided not to wait till February fourteenth
To say what I wish to say
I decided not to write you the poem,
and let actions speak louder instead
I decided, that i want to celebrate us everyday
Yes, we are not perfect
Neither can we tell the future
but for now, as long as we are here
We can make every minute matter,
every moment count
because happiness is what we should not live without

So please babe, let's not celebrate Valentine's,
What we feel ain't for Mr. Valentine
It ain't for Valentine
No not for Valentine.

 ~ A. L2016 (c)Zuhura Seng'enge

IT'S YOU

When I think of, a peacefulness where the heart no longer dwells into the mystery of love -
a bliss that cleanses the soul of fear of striding down,
towards its steep, slippery depth;

When I think of, beauty beyond the eye or imagination -
a pleasing existence that cannot be named, identified or categorized,
just understood, appreciated,

When i think of a song -
carefully selected pattern of sounds, notes and melodies,
perfectly aligned into delicate heart warming harmonies -
a music that lights up the face, communicates with the soul in a language not meant to be understood,
but felt.. deeply felt,

When i think of, a light that brings back to life,
those dormant, forgotten feelings that never took full shape -
energy with which one can find what they had lost, even if it were from many many years ago,

When I think of, magic with which one can just, imagine things into happening -
an untamed force that can weave dreams into reality,

When I think of, a place,
where time is deep in slumber, and how much of it spent never matters -
a home, a heaven,
safe from harm and danger,
I think of YOU.

YOU are my inspiration, my darling, my love,
I LOVE YOU.

(c)~ A. L 2016