All the World - Langa Sarakikya

Several times a day
the same play
features in the recesses
of a collective mind

If my heart - Eunice Mtavangu

If my heart could grow

You could have seen its seed

Augmenting

Pushing through the light

Ready to produce fruits.

Hummingbird - Neema Komba

Every spring I open my petals

And let you sip my nectar

Maji Maji - Yusuf O. Kassam

Sitting on a stool outside his mud hut,

The mzee scratched his head in a slow motion,

Trying to recall.

His dim grey eyes quiveringly stared into the distance

Fast Phrases - Caroline Anande Uliwa

Sun bleached white door curtain invites rest,

To the hours spent on my butt now numb.

Ducks waddling defecating the backyard

Us on a mat them centimeters apart

Eight hands are expertly pinching extensions to my scalp

Peace be still - Delphina Robert

Keyword: Ignite

There are times when I could start a riot when I actually want peace

Peace be still

Delinquent Flower - Neema Komba

Sometime ago,

Someone somewhere saw you

Soar above the grass

Sway in a light breeze 

Graceful and elegant

Like a giraffe. 

jumbo-jet vs jackdaw - S. Zaynub Kamoonpuri

I wish to fly like a bird that chirps or hoots

without any jet or parachutes.

I Keep Forgetting - Sima

Don’t know why I keep forgetting,

The time that you played me

The times you would pay me no attention

I keep forgetting all the pain that you cause

That its because of you that I am covered in scars.

Pay attention when it comes - Caroline Anande Uliwa

In the ring of romantic love
There’s a new language
Symbolism with great vantage

The Banana Plant - Euphrase Kezilahabi

The banana plant lies on the ground, no longer of use,
having been cut down, reluctantly, by the workers in the garden.
Children, anxiously, wait till time's up.
There's nothing in the garden,
other than a sorrowful wind
that makes the grass shiver and moan.

Welcome Inside - Euphrase Kezilahabi

I

The traditional poets are playing now at sleeping
in the weak radiance of a setting sun
as their rhythms twist and turn on a sea of story,
having failed to plumb the depths of rationality.

The hurricane - Haji Gora Haji

A hurricane once arrived         in the town of Siyu
Not only for this person nor for that        it was chaos
It uprooted the baobabs         but left the palm trees
The hearts were troubled.

Evening Tea - Euphrase Kezilahabi

While we're drinking tea on the verandah
watching our children
as they swing joyfully
we ought to know our rope
has frayed and worn thin:
a few more strands and we will fall.
Once, you used to push me
up higher than half a circle;
once, I used to catch you
as you almost fell.

When you think of technology - Neema Komba

There you go with your technology,
Enthusiasts,
Preachers of how the world is not how it seems,
Once round and big, now within my reach.