Kandaka: A Found Poem

Women are taking the lead in Sudan.

Young women in this revolution,
   who marched,
      staged sit-ins,
         climbed trees,
            sat on fences,
               stood atop vehicles and
                  threw gas canisters back at soldiers...

without any regard for their personal safety.

Women revolutionaries are called 'Kandaka',
the title given to powerful queens of the ancient
Sudanese kingdom of Meroe,

Who led nearly 2,000 years ago
and led their people into battle.

Kandaka,

eager to ensure the clock will not be turned back
after this revolution.

Kandaka,

there is much cause for optimism.  


05/07/2019



Poem is inspired through this article:

Women, hopeful for change, are driving Sudan's uprising
by Zeinab Badawi:
https://www.ft.com/content/8adf06c2-6c0c-11e9-9ff9-8c855179f1c4

Glimmer

My hope is laced
with disappointment,

At her not arriving,
yet I could never hate her.

Our connection stays strong
across the ocean;

Despite her saying that
her trip is on hold,

A glimmer of hope glows.
Someday.

05/06/2019

One Week Away

These few days leading
up to Mother's Day

Are usually approached
with trepidation,

Memories of her love
now takes the place

Of phone calls and visits,
still painful many years later.

Even knowing
that she is never far

Still brings sadness,
since our thread

Of communication
is silent.

05/05/2019

Nearly a Year

It's been nearly a year.

My creativity only carries

through in small 

passages,

Refusing to go beyond 

a full page.

It could be due to several reasons: 

exhaustion, laziness, disinterest. 

The question hung over me

day after day,

Until last night, while seeking

a poem to share;

A lengthy one, unlike the limitless

short form pieces I keep.

I notice the last time I wrote 

a poem with length 

Was back in August, while 

grieving over my friend's loss. 

Emotions flowed 

over the page that day,

My written words expressing 

the anguish my voice could not.

She always encouraged me 

to create, to write, to share.

Her absence has been felt

each passing day.

I eventually found a piece 

to share last night:

A poem about friendships,

and the sudden shifts in life.

It felt so good to share again.

I feels so good to write again. 

05/04/2019

Book Garden

It has
been months since my
creativity sparked
into life, yet last night offered
a spark.

05/04/2019

Solution

Reading
a new story
is the remedy for
a somber mood, adding needed
respite.

05/02/2019

Non-Stop

One side
devoid of sound,
with the exception of
a constant ringing, chiming noise.
All day.