JUST KEEP BREATHING. I was tagged by Kimberly J Fitzgerald in the ongoing JUST KEEP BREATHING CHALLENGE which was originally inspired(started) by Sheri Jacobs and here is my submission. This is just a REMINDER that life will be difficult and out of control sometimes but the only control you have over it is…

FIRST DAY IN SCHOOL The little boy held his mother’s hand as she walked him into the new school. He was very shy and reserved. His mother took him to the principal’s office on the right wing of the school compound. He was a step behind her as she took…

Bibidibabidiboo (Cry Baby) Bibidibabidiboo, Bibidibabidiboo, Please do not dilly-dally the shally-shally, For your eyes crave sleep And your tiny mouth desires breast milk But though you have been fed, You choose to torment me? You may cry as much as you please For if you had not at birth We would have reckoned you as dead. Oh for God’s sake my darling, Close your eyes and dream, While at it, talk with the angels And inquire for your future For I am haggard and in need of sleep So Bibidibabidiboo, Bibidibabidiboo, Please do not dilly-dally the shally-shally.

Poetry — 'Help, help me!’, The Lilly called beside the asphalt. 'I am paying for what I didn’t commit.' The asphalt was perplexed. 'How do you mean?' The Lilly sobbed and said, 'The tree took the wind Now the birds are after me Thinking I stole their transport.' The asphalt was amazing, 'How come they think you stole it?' 'I am small and…

Poetry — Swifly, selfishly, You abandoned me But you told me You wanted to remain friends. Slowly, painfully, I sought to move on Like a tax collector You chose to return. I bid you farewell And welcomed in the new, Playfully, gently, You reach for me. What use is goodbye When you sought to make- It about yourself? Will it not remain goodbye? My darling, my sweetheart, Gone is the naive lover Who always ran back to your arms, I am the new.

I-PROBLEM Poetry I seem to always be the problem; At birth, my mother almost died, Miraculously, we both survived. Her marriage was in shambles So I asked 'Why remain?’, She said it was 'Me’. My sister and I were always at war, Less than a year apart we are like twins, We…

BEACH (SEA-SIDE) Poetry I have never been to the sea But once, when I was sick with malaria- I felt I was swimming at the bottom of the sea; I wanted to tell my mom, but she would think it was A water spirit, calling my spirit to come underwater. …

SPINNING (BEYOND CONTROL) Poetry There is no job for me, I want to be a writer, I want to enjoy my profession But loan-apps keep calling, I run from creditors. Life is spinning beyond my control. Stable jobs pay peanuts, Humans can be chronic liars, I do not know sarcasm, My friends think I’m boring; My family placed me on a crumbling pedestal. Most nights I drown myself in movies, Deep down I hold grudges- Against my family and society. Some of my friends feel- 'She is living the dream’, Sometimes I drown myself in a bottle, Other times I keep away from God; My sins smell before His nose. My pains and guilt are ever alive, I cannot seem to forgive myself And yet, life keeps spinning.

THE CALL A short story “Mummy, can I use your phone to call daddy?" I asked my mother who was breaking melon seeds in the kitchen. "Oya now," she said, not lifting her head to look at me. …