About Me
Genesis's Poetry
blog #45: Patch Adams Couldn't Fix This
b45:
It’s been a rough couple of weeks. But not as rough as it’s been for Mishkat, my 21 year old niece.
Mishkat was diagnosed with Typhoid - a not so rare occurrence in our humble Sudan. The doctor who diagnosed her prescribed the necessary medication. Mishkat also has an ulcer. She knew that Typhoid…

- A remake of Maya Angelou’s ‘I know why the caged bird sings’
- Why does the caged bird sing?
- I’ll tell you why,
- a part of it dies when it gazes at the sky,
- Its romance with the big blue forcefully terminated,
- it’s insides clench when it tries to fly,
- only to be told otherwise by the chains tied to its little bench.
- And the memories of the freedom its wings once symbolized,
- stolen, it’s heart cries because it’s freedom’s been compromised,
- and the symbol that God made it to be,
- has been shattered, its impressive sight blinded by the cloth covering its cage.
- You really don’t know why the caged bird sings?
- its composition is not one of joy, but of a great depression,
- lacking the means to express its aggression,
- with a voice as hollow as its bones, it sings.
- of hopes and dreams broken by the entity that put it there,
- one that enjoys exploiting his natural talent for torture.
- It sings because it has no choice,
- without it’s wings all it has is a voice,
- a voice virtually unheard beyond the bars covers,
- blocked out by the constant humming on the other side.
- You cage the bird and then dare ask why it sings?
- its every urge to spread its clipped wings and fly goes unsatisfied,
- its very nature, compromised, its tears, invisible,
- its song, heard, but never verified.
- it sings because its hurt like it fell to the pavement,
- its freezing cage prevents its movement,
- the ice in its drinking water prevents the quenching of its thirst,
- and the bars, prevent the quenching of its thirst for the prevailing winds.
- I know why the caged bird sings,
- It sings because you force it to,
- it sings to ease the pain of its soul leaving its entrapped body,
- It sings because it can’t speak,
- It sings because it’s reached its peak,
- It sings, from morrow to morrow,
- It sings to express its misery and sorrow,
- It sings so its life isn’t consumed by boredom,
- it sings, because it longs for freedom.

- I once heard that Our generation will leave scar on the earth,
- That the torch passed down to us would combust from the hydrogen that is our arrogance,
- That the future mothers and fathers will fail their children starting a line of ill blood,
- I heard from our predecessors that walking a mile in their shoes would be too far for us.
- Everything sounds negative when said with a sadistic tone,
- like a dull voice over the speaker of a busted phone,
- our pro’s downsized, our cons swollen,
- like slugs in massive quantities all over like pollen.
- My generation is a revolutionary genesis,
- A breed bred with a creed to succeed,
- to strive, to conquer, to survive,
- to show the world the difference between living, and being alive.
- My generation will take their footsteps and turn them into miles,
- will create an entire new world from their 4-wall based infrastructure,
- Will make their technology more efficient than it’s ever been,
- Will create a perfect world for our descendants to live in.
- We won’t pester our children with depressing rules and regulations on how to live,
- nor will they grow up subjected to any mistakes our predecessors made with us,
- We will raise a great generation to raise a better generation,
- Hopefully a brighter tomorrow with no segregation.
- One thing our forefathers forget is, we learn all their lessons,
- but have enough time to learn more than they did,
- We have the potential to accomplish all the goals they haven’t,
- the chance to efficiently make they breakthroughs they hadn’t.
- Every generation has it’s line of black sheep,
- consumed by corruption destroying what the hardworking create,
- and every generation tries it’s best to rid the world of these hindrances,
- but they will always be around, it’s the law of the universe.
- Thou can’t judge what thou can’t be,
- like how thou can’t describe what thou can’t see,
- just because your generation gave birth to me doesn’t give you the right to judge me,
- nor does it give you the power to control me as a person to ease your stress.
- Who are you to judge whether or not I should be seen,
- because of my modern dress code of polo T’s and baggy Jeans,
- is it the rugged afro that I shamelessly flaunt?
- then walk with me in the street we’ll count the compliments and taunts.
- Were it not your forefathers who looked down on you?
- were in not them that belittled you and criticized what you do?
- You may have sat there silently as they forced obedience upon you,
- but we will not share the same fate.
- The day will come when the world is passed down to us,
- and when that day comes, the change that they wanted in the world will be in fruition.
- The dark clouds that they caste will be purified,
- Leaving no shadow for our descendants to live in.

- So he said he’d be there till the very end?
- That he’d be there for you more than your closest friend?
- and you believed him when he said you need not worry of his ways,
- Saying he’d take care of you until the end of your days,
- Wasn’t this the same guy that said you’re nothing without him?
- Wasn’t this the same guy that made your life about him?
- the same guy that would make you think you’re a pebble in his shoe?
- well the love that he promised you is way overdue.
- He strikes you to the ground and you can’t say a word,
- can’t make use of your fists like you’re swinging in the mist,
- You have a blackened eye yet you can’t object,
- to the pain inflicted by the man that swore to protect?
- It’s amazing what depths you’d go through to satisfy him,
- to make him feel like he’s always right and you’re right beside him,
- you’d let him make a fool of you to the whole wide world,
- yet you’d still cuddle up by his side like daddy’s little girl.
- Have you no pride? No self respect?
- how can you lay there awkwardly as he violates your integrity,
- how can you live with yourself knowing you sold your soul,
- to a man you thought was cool, but just turned out to be cold.
- Honey, this rainbow has no shades of white,
- when you sold your soul you sold all your might,
- in return for a bruised face, and a disfigured heart,
- yet still nothing seems to tear you apart.
- Be brave, It’s never too late to do the right thing,
- save yourself before you’re sent to an early grave,
- save yourself for someone deserving,
- save yourself, before there’s nothing left to save.

- Let it go, ease the weightload on your shoulders,
- there’s no use in carrying boulders,
- The world has a lot of land and people to support the weight,
- so let it go, before its too late.
- Let it go, let the aftermath of your endurance pass,
- leave reality behind you, it’s temporarily irrelevant,
- you can move a lot faster if you put the past where it belongs,
- a lesson to learn is all you need from it.
- Don’t let your cons confine you, let your pros define you,
- appreciate yourself for who you really are,
- you live in a shell like a hermet crab,
- hiding away all your scars and newest scabs.
- You let life wound your pride,
- strip you of your dignity,
- the pillars that support you are what you lack,
- you, and only you can take them back.
- When life brings you back to where you started,
- the only direction you have left is forward,
- to re-take a path from your past,
- or embrace a new.
- Let your anger fuel you,
- let your shame school you,
- follow your heart, however damaged it may be,
- it’s your only navigator, use it wisely.
- Bring back the head of the beast that humbled you,
- rise above the hate, anger, shame, and guilt,
- forgive yourself for all you’ve done,
- and you have a fresh start, A new, brighter tomorrow.

- Inspired by LOVELESS.
- Tick, tock, the clock ticks for you,
- because there’s something I was promised, and it’s way past due,
- I ponder it’s arrival, subjected to suspense like flames are to smoke,
- thoughts of you corrupting themselves, but you can’t break what already broke.
- Fate is cruel, and it casts it’s merciless eye upon what I thought was a promise,
- it would seem all hope is lost, but a shred of it clings on for dear life,
- not enough to sway me, but just enough to put a smile on my face,
- enough positivity to make clear the negativity brewing at a steady pace.
- Recognition, Acknowledgement, truth, words like needles pin-pointing my nerves,
- aiming for where it hurts the most, taking it’s time to pick-apart my very being,
- the fall of a dreamer, a fate no one deserves,
- yet still that shred of hope, disregards what I’m seeing.
- It had been my dream to be the wind that sails the still water’s surface,
- quietly, but surely, bringing peace and prosperity to those calmed by my gentle breeze,
- and legend would speak of me as the dew that quenches the land,
- but alas, not all dreams come true.
- My purity has been compromised, my soul corrupted by vengeance,
- hath endured torment to find the end of the journey,
- torture, seeking my own salvation,
- in your eternal slumber.
- but fate would see fit that I am left deprived of a dream once again,
- and time would see fit that I rot in the memory of fate’s repeatative betrayal,
- the more they try to end me, the more I live longer,
- and the more they belittle me, the larger I grow.
- For now, I retreat,
- conceding yet another painful defeat,
- but your debt still stands, and I intend to collect,
- for there are more important things I must protect.
- But to spare the lands, the seas, and the skies, I offer thee this small sacrifice,
- a loss to be named victor, while subjected to fear and doubt like playing with fire is to burn,
- and even if the morrow is barren of genuine promises,
- this I promise you, nothing shall forestall my return.

- I am the words you find so hard to say,
- I am what you want to hear from those around you each day,
- I am what you ponder when you gaze into the starry sky,
- I am what I am, so you ask, what am I?
- well I’ll tell you.
- I am a weapon of the merciless, feared by my victims,
- A life changer, to liars I am but a stranger,
- I destroy what lies have built,
- I am the main reason you’re full of guilt.
- I serve no man, fear no man, favor no man,
- liked by few, disliked by more, hated by millions, and denied by billions,
- I am the monster underneath your bed,
- I am the true memory of you when you’re dead.
- I wear the mask that reminds you of all your fears,
- I am the face that brings about your tears,
- I am what is left, when everything is gone,
- I am that which shines in the darkest of hours.
- I am the spark which you see when all lights are out,
- I am misunderstood, not all know what I’m about
- I am a word that has no similes,
- I am the force that brings about epiphanies.
- I am not a man, I conquer men, women and children alike,
- I am the bully you pretend to like,
- I am the fate that awaits those who deny me,
- the payback deserved by those who despise me.
- I am what snitches snitch, I am what pigs squeal, I am what snakes hiss
- the thought of me is subjective, if you hate me, then you hate yourself,
- I follow the foundations built on dishonesty, like a bad smell follows it’s creator,
- I am a sinner’s liberal, and a saint’s dictator.
- I am the entity that brings about ill speech,
- I am what impurities refuse to hear, what priests and Imams preach,
- every day I turn critics into believers,
- and make soothsayers out of pathological deceivers.
- Fear, guilt, I am your father,
- your mother is humanity,
- I show no mercy, I am brutal, barbaric, unstoppable. To no one I am Ruth,
- I am what I am,
- I am,
- THE TRUTH.

- We say life is hard when we have nothing to compare it to,
- We complain that life isn’t fair, but make it worse is the only thing we do,
- We border our lives with made up rules and live under our own curse,
- And we exile those who don’t abide by our made up ways,
- Leaving them swimming in self doubt, wasting their days.
- The meaning of ‘Humanity’ has been replaced with ‘Survival of the fittest’,
- For life, is a mental game and those who are unarmed are taken prisoner,
- Into a prison of the mind, one that a simpleton is doomed to die in,
- It’s a sea of misfortune and we are encouraged to dive in.
- One form of imprisonment is when you can touch the bars and see,
- Another is when you can’t see the bars and you think you’re free,
- Brainwashed down to the core, believing in other people,
- When it’s those people who wont let you be.
- The heart forces upon us things that logic can’t explain,
- And if we try to fight it our efforts will be in vain,
- And in the darkest of hours,
- The darkness within creeps up and devours,
- It sucks you in, swallowing you hole,
- Creating new pits of shadow in your soul.
- And when we are uncomfortable under our own skin,
- We take it out on others, illuminating our differences,
- Making wrong from right by judging appearances,
- But discrimination only magnifies insecurity,
- And pride there of only illuminates impurity.
- And as we quarrel amongst ourselves the inequality proceeds,
- Planting in our minds its seeds and germinating its disease,
- The sins that the almighty warned us about are now part of us,
- Part of our being, part of our new meaning for ‘Humanity’.
- While others have skinned their scalps to cool their heads,
- We lay under artificial breezes and grow long dreads,
- We complain about our sleep but some can’t even afford beds,
- We complain about our small houses while others live in sheds,
- We complain about our shoes while others have no feet,
- So when the light at the end of the tunnel comes to take you, I hope you’ll acknowledge,
- Life was a game, and you’ve just been beat.

- We used to be brothers, none like any pair,
- we used to share one pair of shoes should one of ours tear,
- but now you’ve changed for the worst, and it’s me you try to scare,
- And to think, I thought we were brothers.
- You lay in watch like a crocodile, planning my demise,
- you throw darts at my face, piercing my eyes,
- you spend days and days perfecting your disguise,
- And to think, we used to be brothers.
- You try to break me, make me cave in,
- you try to shake the ground below and force my head to spin,
- you fight a downed opponent because you’re confident you’ll win,
- how could you, we used to be brothers.
- You smile when I’m around, and curse me at my back,
- you aim at me with precision deciding where to attack,
- you conspire against me, when it’s dark, pitch black,
- how could you, I thought we were brothers.
- I try my best to find out what went out of place,
- why we’re neck-in-neck like we’re in a race,
- I try to find out why you flinch the sight of my face,
- yet still you, humiliate me in the presence of others.
- Well keep knocking like a def person at a wooden door,
- you can never bring me down, my back will never reach the floor,
- because I know you’re weak and I’m hard to the core,
- I’m ashamed to even call you my brother.
- Revenge is a dish that is best served last,
- I plotted my revenge so that I can laugh last,
- you fell for my trap, now your conscience is your cast,
- and I’m so glad we’re no longer brothers.
- Now you lay at my feet, begging for me to forgive,
- but I will never forgive nor will I forget, for as long as I live,
- you should have thought of that when it was mercy you didn’t give,
- I disown you, You don’t deserve to be my brother.

- Dear misunderstood, delusional rose,
- just what are you trying to accomplish with that pose?
- another night with your pillow swimming in tears?
- did you think he’d be around for years?
- Just Who do you think you’re trying to attract?
- another fly by night guy with a cold act?
- another tailor made suitor, who cares too much of himself,
- and reduces you to a used toy on a shelf?
- Have you not realized that it doesn’t work that way?
- haven’t you pondered on why they leave the next day?
- do you think it’s coincidence? That they’re all jerks,
- it may be true, but that’s who you attract with the flashy perks.
- All you end up with is a long list of exes,
- they form a tree with hierarchical complexes,
- too much for you to remember them, but they’re all you’ve got,
- all he’s going to do is fill up the next name slot.
- If you want a quality dude, don’t cover in make up,
- so dense that he can’t see your skin from the neck up,
- beauty lies within, so make that clear,
- whoever doesn’t see doesn’t have to, so don’t fear.
- Impress without acting, don’t act to impress,
- when you’re tired of acting he’ll only go looking for a mistress,
- respect yourself if you wish to be respected,
- and protect yourself if you wish to be protected.

- One of these days they ground below you will split in two,
- with one leg on each side the pain of the split will brew,
- and burn you shall the disrespect you carelessly blew,
- one of these days.
- One of these days they sky above you will shatter,
- and as it becomes one with the ground nothing more will matter,
- than the apologetic words you replaced with insulting chatter,
- one of these days.
- One of these days they air around you will suffocate you,
- the lies you told will bind your tongue and the air will drown you,
- when the tables turn over you’ll ponder impatiently over what to do,
- one of these days.
- One of these days your world will turn upside down,
- when the ground becomes your sky and the sky becomes your ground,
- you wont know where to fall as your smile turns into a frown.
- one of these days.
- One of these days your cookies will crumble,
- your paragraphs will turn to lines and broken sentences you’ll mumble,
- your self centered-ness will disappear and you’ll try to be humble,
- one of these days.
- One of these days, karma will do it’s thing,
- the bees you sent to harm others will fly back and sting,
- karma can get you in a number of ways,
- one of these days.
- And on that day, I’ll be there,
- I’ll travel the distances, no matter where,
- because on that day, i’ll be overjoyed to see clear,
- that all that frenemy bullshit has turned into fear.
- And on that day, I shall pop my corn,
- and rejoice the fact that you can’t toot your own horn,
- so you’ll have your birthday, and the day you wish you were never born,
- one of these days.

- What will you do to aid yourself in time of need,
- when a time comes for you to recall your creed,
- when it’s either you act, or laze and bleed,
- then someone comes to save you,
- and you shamelessly utter Hallelujah.
- would you rather sit around and hide,
- or would you rather face it with dignity and pride,
- would you hook yourself to a set of wings and glide,
- on the bird that came to save your hide.
- as you shamelessly utter Hallelujah.
- Your pride is at stake, cooking on a griller,
- keep pretending to smile while your life turns into a thriller,
- dodging from every direction, evading responsibility,
- maybe someone will come to save you from your killer.
- and once again you’ll get a chance to say Hallelujah.
- Will you depend on others your whole life? Have you no shame?
- and when others fail you, who shall you blame?
- when will you learn that life isn’t a game,
- yet still, you rely on others to scoop you from the flame.
- and as your sweat dries up you whisper Hallelujah.
- Since you hide by those closest, do you hide behind your mother?
- and when she passes on will you hide behind your brother?
- what happens when your son watches his hero become a coward, and cries,
- will you hope that someone will come to cover his teary eyes?
- though this one, is a heartbroken Hallelujah.
- what happens When your favourite things in life are at stake,
- and your most prized possessions they threaten to take,
- the things without which your life is hollow,
- are you hoping someone will come to ease your sorrow?
- you wish you could say Hallelujah.

- Standing on a stump, before him is an empty space,
- where only his voice is present in this gloomy place,
- his words head for the end of the empty void as if it were a race,
- only to find their way back to his face.
- The void listens well, but it never understands,
- it wont remember a thing after the echo disbands,
- and he’s left there talking to himself, staring at his cursed hand,
- as time passes by unnoticed with every grain of sand.
- He hears the voice of a man, who’s pride has been compromised,
- who’s smiles have been shrunk and frowns have been super-sized,
- He hears the voice of a being who thinks he has no purpose,
- and everything he’d hoped wouldn’t happen has reached the surface.
- The sounds he hears, are nothing more than his own,
- his empty, petty sign that he hasn’t grown,
- He still makes the mistakes he said he wouldn’t,
- and he said the things he knew he shouldn’t.
- He hears his own words, and gets annoyed,
- stupidly shouting to an empty void,
- he shouts to the empty space, seeking retribution,
- hoping that he’ll hear something to heal his confusion.
- But he confused himself, he tripped over his own wire,
- he lit the first match and started his own fire,
- knowing what he did, he looks to place the blame,
- on anyone nearby who will still look at him the same.
- Thinking of his actions, wondering if he’s cursed,
- wondering whether karma or his conscience will hit him first
- he wants to apologize for his hard headed-ness,
- he asks to be forgiven but what he seeks is his own forgiveness.
- His reality just set in, and took it’s time to unpack,
- it wasn’t going to leave, not even for a snack,
- it would stay and stare at him awkwardly as he stares back,
- shivering on his little stump as if it were going to attack.
- But the more he looks at it, the more familiar it seems,
- like something he remembered seeing in one of his dreams,
- he welcomes it like an old friend, with a smile,
- ‘you haven’t seen anything, unless in my shoes you’ve walked a mile’.
- He leaves his stump, bids the void goodbye,
- as he turned away the clouds left the sky,
- the sun made a spotlight, for he finally realized,
- the face of his problems was his own, only disguised.