Struggle Poems
A Race with My Mind
by Yasmeen Kamel
The stars don't shine as bright tonight,
Their distant glow can't feel the fight,
The struggle to keep it together,
And not feel under the weather,
The struggle to keep a smile on my face,
When it feels like I'm in a race,
A race with my thoughts and emotions,
......
Appalachian Plight
by Joseph Fultz
Hey there young man with that shovel in your hand.
Did you ever think you'd wind up here.
Eyes made of glass digging at a rash hoping to conquer your fears.
But it's far to late it's been eight straight days since you've laid upon your bed.
As each night wanes the stakes are raised for death across these lands. Whispers of hate and judgement misplaced was enough to spark the flame.
Of murderous rage the crystal beget a fierce imperial reign. Tried not be swayed but conditions were made to infiltrate the state.
Coping With Covid
by Bhaskaranand Jha Bhaskar
Caught between Covid teeth
Some fall down;
Some with guts and zeal
Usually stand up.
Among all who exist and rise
Only the fittest survive.
History smiles on paper
As mankind is known for eons
By its immune power—
......
Pomelo
by Kimani Hare
An even thicker rind of bitter pith,
Estranged from the serenity that lies outside its comprehension.
For what resides within is a supple flesh dissonant to its confines,
Exuding a sweet nectar that remains clothed in the abstract.
But the bitter fruit thrives in its circumstances.
......
My ancestors ran
by Rukudzo Kachambgwa
My ancestors ran
Thats why I'm not American, or British, or Jamaican.
it's because, they ran.
Away from the slave traders
away from the greedy chiefs who clinged glass with the slave traders.
They ran...
That's why I'm sitting on hard bench with no money and wallet
That's why i will go home after writing this poem to no electricity
and no water
and no polony.
......
The Mess (A Danfo Poem in Three Movements)
by Seyi Ojenike
I: The Gathering
we are all tenants of the same misfortune,
this Lagos sun, a landlord charging double,
so we flee into whatever moves.
“Yaba! Ojuelegba! Enter with your change!”
the conductor hit the top as he leaned halfway out the door,
then the chaos began, survival of the fittest,
the willing, the late, the have-no-choice,
struggling, we poured ourselves in like garri into an already hot pot.
......
A Colossal Loss (A Tribute to Andrew Efemini)
by Fidelis Peter Olowu
You never claimed to know it all
For what you believed in, you stood tall
Taking no sides with foes nor friends
But with equal rights and justice
You did your due diligence to all
Never minding what could you befall
Many battles you had to fight
Many foes you did put to flight
In an ocean of accusations
......
OCD =/= The End Of Me
by Anna Wakefield
I pick and scratch and stretch
Mutilate
Infect
Bleed
It drives me, separate
From relief
Akin to hunger.
Manual breathing
Counting
......
The Infinite Moment
by Anna Wakefield
There is a moment,
But it is seldom felt.
It seems as though breath catches-
Wind stops-
And there is a pause in the relentless tide.
That moment can stretch
For what can seem like eternity…
A blink,
But an era passes…
......
Die dans van die siel
by Mario Odekerken
Verby die konsepte van reg of verkeerd,
is daar 'n veld waar die siel weer leer.
Ek sal jou daar ontmoet in die sagte wind,
waar die soeker uiteindelik die waarheid vind.
Die liefde is die brug tussen jou en die al,
'n stem wat jou roep voor die donker val.
Moenie jouself in die spieël van die wêreld verloor,
want die hart het 'n ritme wat die siel kan hoor.
......
