Unseen Veins – Runner Up!

I’m honoured my pamphlet ‘Unseen Veins’ was chosen as 2nd runner up in the 2022 Aryamati poetry prize for pamphlets on the theme of social change and peace. Thank you for the recognition, Fly on the Wall Press. [About 'Unseen Veins': In this poetry pamphlet, the complexities of how we label ourselves and where we … Continue reading Unseen Veins – Runner Up!

Unseen Veins – Short list – Aryamati Competition for Poetry

“A publisher with a conscience.” That’s the tagline that Fly on the Wall Press, a small, independent publisher out of Manchester goes by. I’ve enjoyed multiple poetry pamphlets they’ve published including “Warriors” by Sundra Lawrence, “History of Forgetfulness” by Shahe Mankerian, and “Aftereffects” by Jiye Lee. After the summer holidays I was reminded of the … Continue reading Unseen Veins – Short list – Aryamati Competition for Poetry

My Two Brothers

One left home, traveled across the seas to study, then to study further. He found a job in a city. There, he met his love. They held hands and moved across the seas, to a third and neutral place, together. Both landed as strangers in a new world; their separate pasts and ideas packed into … Continue reading My Two Brothers

Crown of Moons

A crown of moons appear in dreams, the five of them merged as one. Around a table they sit, they speak of being, doing, of light and dark. “....all are equal in madness and in dreams,” they say. I hear: mwenye, hindiye, lao wai, gweilo, farang. Stand tall,  ground your feet, my children kneel, defy … Continue reading Crown of Moons

You —

    are            the sweet,  thick,                 honey that        flows              through                          me      from        the        top        of       my       head,   between my     breasts, into my hips,      down      to my         toes.                                     You —               are the pure nectar         that thrills me   to bloom, for  You —     leave a            trail;                  petals of               affection and            admiration           behind          my            every                step You —    are my … Continue reading You —

Into the Light

I trip and slip through the cracks, free fall into the dark of the underworld, into the depths of past lifetimes. Gravity pulls me down and back a few hundred years, to be buried deep beneath the roots, where the air is cold and damp. And then, a feather of warmth lightly flutters over my … Continue reading Into the Light