As I sat at the banquet following the wedding, realization dawned that this man that I now proudly called my friend, had changed my perception about the homosexuality. Via his own magnanimous heart he had helped me be comfortable around the very people whom I had kept a distance from. His ebullient personality had infected cheer and laughter into my drab world. And, I was just one person whose life he had touched. I wondered how many more lives his magnanimous heart had enriched and would continue to enrich.

The wind chimes on the door jangled as she pushed it open. Even after over two decades, the store seemed familiar. The layout had changed but it still smelled the same, of mystery and intrigue. It was crammed from floor to ceiling with artefacts and collectibles. The minute Rohan spied the nautical ships, his demeanour changed. His eyes shone with excitement as he darted between the display racks. He suddenly seemed roused from his insipidity.

When he came to, he found himself in a small thatched hut. A man was squatting next to him. In the dim light that permeated the hut, he looked quite fearsome. Tall and wiry, he seemed old even though he was not bent. His wizened face looked like it had weathered many seasons. Covered in otjize*, his skin shimmered red gold as it caught the rays of the sun that was spilling in through the crags in the thatched roof. His hair was fashioned backwards into a horn shaped braid. He was bare bodied except for a loin cloth made of sheep skin, draped around his groin. His chest was adorned with beaded necklaces. They clinked as he shifted on his haunches. A huge lion’s fang hung from a black thread and rested midway to his navel. His face was painted in shades of red, black and ash. He smiled a toothless smile, as Mbambe came awake.

Floating on a warm breeze, hope appeared My heart sang, suffused with joy, but alas, It was but a dream!   Life gained momentum, my career took flight I rejoiced, I thought I’d be free of domesticity It was but a dream!   I settled into matrimony, the kids came …

It casts a glow deep, the streetlight at the corner Like an aura it extends, intruding upon the dark. Poking, prodding, subduing the dark into submission It impinges upon the shadows lurking at the rim.   Is it my imagination? Or does the aura extend? Gradually eating away at the …

Freedom is a wren singing on a golden morn It perches on hope, sings to the new day born. Freedom is a warbler, warbling a song of love It flits from bough to branch, like a silver dove. Freedom is a koel that coos in the wee hours It brings …

Hold my hand, if you must but let me walk alone. Walk beside me, hand in hand But, let me choose my own path, let me lead. My fortitude may not be evident, but I am strong Offer companionship, not a direction I know what I am doing and where …

By the shore we used to sit, wetting our feet, Our souls damp with love. Under the bejeweled skies, we would sit, Gazing at nothing, Just you and I, holding hands, souls entwined Love surging in our hearts.   Image – Joyce Huis via unsplash

  Halt thy ascent on the granite sky Stem thy hand shooing the sun Let the crimson of my wounds Bleed more on the far horizon Let it seep on into the sunset For my heart keens.   In the darkness of the eventide Leave me be, let me be …

In the bustling ado of my life, chaos reigns The ambling morn picks up pace, it trots by, Often meshing into a rushed afternoon. That too brings no respite, no succor; it spills Forth into the twilight of the dusky evening And then night descends, veiling my efforts. Try as …