Maswali Mengi

by

They come rushing in, faster than furious.

The questions.

I expected them. But not this fast.

I have unleashed the Kraken, it seems.

Maswali mengi, kilio kimoja.

Who is, what is, when is…

Who is…

 

 

Ajami

by

You slipped in.

Somewhere between laughter, witty comebacks,

age-jabs, whatsapp connections,

long talks about everything and nothing,

you slid into place. Settled in.

To stay, it seems.

Immovable.

Braced against attempts to displace you. Continue reading →

Dear Death

by

You always knock at the door of the young, it seems.

I am not writing to piss you off. Trust me.

Simply, I am curious as to your methods.

You show up, with your hood and sickle,

no warning, no audio (for the most part),

just a sickening silence and a beckoning

that nobody else but your intended can see.

Can one turn you down? Can one seek postponement? Continue reading →

Not Sure

by

She was not sure what it was.

No words that she could put her finger on, confidently,

could describe the feeling in her heart…was it in her heart?

It felt like the bubbles exploded in her stomach, across her thighs,

slamming against her chest and gushing all over her back.

It was a warm feeling, the warmest she had ever had in a long time.

She did not know what to call it.

Someone, her friend, laughed at her and Continue reading →

The Barber Shop

by

It’s about time I threw in the towel. I have been the (mostly) sole provider of Austin’s haircuts since he was born – I even carried out the traditional year 1 cut usually reserved for the hands of grandmothers. Well, I have never really been the traditional type. I started off his last haircut in Kenya and then it was finished off by our neighbor, Martin. And I felt that Austin’s head suddenly looked like a very bad, u-shaped bald version of Mr T. Then I tried again on my own here in the US and at the end of it, despite his cooperation, he had two dipped-to-the-scalp patterns on one part of his head. Thankfully, nobody really noticed them. Best of all, the subject himself remained blissfully ignorant of the hot mess atop his head. Continue reading →