human dogs! (Poem number 62 by Ojijo)

(extracted from Fireplace Stories: Ojijo's Performance Poems. Poem .2012. ISBN.978-9966-123-17-6)

62.      human dogs!

 

i swore as i wore my clothes today,

to tell the best story ever,

 

to this great audience of sorts

but i cannot perform my piece,

 

because i want to invite a friend of mine,

to tell us what happened;

 

please come up and talk to us,

tell us what happened my friend,

 

please tell us what happened,

remind us  of how they approached,

 

we know the  signboard made you to expect a beast,

and it made you to watch out for a human dog,

 

you saw neither of those,

not any of the two did you see?

 

tell us how they approached you,

the two men, smartly dressed,

 

did they make you anxious or fidgety?

did they make you loose guard and feel gay?

 

tell us the story,

say it again and again and again,

 

we want to know how they asked for the direction,

to a place in your direction,

 

did they smile so innocent?

did they behave so gently?

 

tell us of the beautiful stories,

of the small talk,

 

tell us of their hurry to get to their destination,

the hurry that disarmed your guard,

 

retell us again of their gay laughter,

as you shared how your day was,

 

oh how natural they were,

tell us how normal, how natural they looked,

 

tell us of their flattery and generous comments,

the looks and lusts, the sighs and clicks

 

tell us of your “oh really, thank you so much”

tell us of your, “oh, you are full of nice words”

 

tell us of the darkness that brought you together,

unity in the face of the enemy,

 

tell us of the immediate change in tone,

say it again, the husky voices,

 

tell us of the rough hands tearing your clothes,

of the cold hands on your warm body,

 

tell us of the fright and fear you felt,

as they pushed you tot eh corridors,

 

tell us of your distress, your misery

what betrayal you felt, oh how you groaned,

 

tell us of the threats as you repulsed their attempts,

tell us of the nausea as they pressed against your person,

 

tell us of their repeated slaps

say again how violently they shook your limp body,

 

tell us my daughter,

tell us how they forcefully penetrated your youth, your pride,

 

tel us how you lost your self-esteem

your poise and your pride

 

say it again and again without shame,

how they penetrated you with vigor

tell us how they sweated and grunted like pigs,

how they were at it again and again and again,

 

tell us of their foul smell on your mouth

say how they suffocated your dignity,

 

tell us how you broke to run but your feet could not move,

how they caught up with you,

kicked you to the ground,

pinned you to the ground,

and had turns at you, shifting and changing,

tell us how you tried to cry,

but all your strength was drained,

tell us of the abuses they threw at you,

the insults they poured on you

tell us if the saliva spat on you, as you lay helpless,

tell us of the final kick that made you lifeless,

 

then tell us of the long wait by the wayside,

of the passersby glancing with suspicion,

tell us of the biting cold and dusty ground,

tell us of the mosquitoes and the hard ground,

 

now tell us of the policemen, who found you,

tell us of how they came strolling,

tell us of their mischievous glances,

their embarrassing questions,

tell us of your tears at their lack of understanding

tell us of your hurting at their lack of feelings

then tell me of the slow and endless ride to the hospital,

as they told you to thank your god and stars,

that you did not die

tell us of how you struggled to block their careless talk,

how you struggled to block the pain in the inside of you,

tell us of your friends and relatives,

tell us how they were choked and shocked

tell us of their dismay and unbelief

their ridicule and gossips

that cut deeper into the wound not yet healed,

their talk that was like salt into the injury

tell us of how you felt like committing suicide,

how you planned and schemed,

tell us how difficult it was for you,

tell us how difficult it has been for you

then tell us of the happiness that you have today,

that we have come to condemn this disgraceful act

 

 

 (Ojijo is an ICT lawyer, author of 31 books, performance poet, armature pianist, luo culture expert, business feasibility study and financial projections consultant, public speaker and coach:+256776100059: ojijo@allpublicspakers.com)

i belong to another!. Poem by Ojijo Ogillo

(extracted from Fireplace Stories: Ojijo's Performance Poems. Poem .2012. ISBN.978-9966-123-17-6)

   i belong to another!

you and your constant company,
you and your endless interest,
always in my vicinity,
never far from my person,
don’t you know i belong to another?

 

 you wink and blink at me,

 talking to me with your evil eyes,

 calling me with your battling eyelids,

 but i belong to another,

 you call me and wave at me,
 attracting my attention,
 drawing my seek,
 but i belong to another,

 

 you wear fashion and class,

 swinging and swaggering,

 working to impress me,

 laboring to make an impression,

 but i am taken,

 

you seek to dumbfound with academia,

you talk oxford and harvard,

chanting theories and ranting philosophies,

reciting shakespeare and narrating aristotle,
but i belong to another,

 

stop nagging and look elsewhere,

my heart is not for you,

nor my future for your schemes,

we can only be friends this way,

and strangers that way,

because i belong to him,

 

do not confuse me with sweet nothing

your deep voice and manly cologne

your quick hands and strong arms,

they touch me but they will not hold me,

they feel me but will not grab me,

because i am his!

 

you turn and twist,

as you lay in your bed,

dreaming in your thoughts,

 imagining in your mind,

but i will never be yours,

 

do not lust in your looks,

or scare with your stare,

your eyes will only see, but never behold,

they will forever look and forever imagine,

because my body is his!

 

i belong to him.

to him i belong,

he has chosen me,

i am his,

he is mine,

i am taken,

 (Ojijo is a lawyer, author, poet, pianist, luo culture expert, business systems consultant, career mentor, public speaker and coach:+256776100059: ojijo@allpublicspakers.com)

my women have ganged against me! poem by Ojijo Ogillo

(extracted from Fireplace Stories: Ojijo's Performance Poems. Poem .2012. ISBN.978-9966-123-17-6)

1.     my women have ganged against me!

 

(this poem, when in plural, e.g. ‘our women’, can be performed as a choral verse piece)

 

my women,

these females I once seduced,

they have ganged against me,

one says the yam was immature, and so, there is no food,

another says there was too much salt, and so, I will not eat,

a third says the child kicked the bowl, and so, I will starve,

and the first one says the firewood was wet with too much smoke, and so, I sleep hungry tonite,

my women, they have ganged against me,

 

my women have ganged against me,

these damsels I paid dowry for,

they are standing on the door, I cannot enter,

they are standing by the table, I cannot eat,

they are standing all over me, I cannot think,

they are standing by the bed, I cannot sleep,

my women, they have ganged against me

 

my women have ganged against me,

these people are scheming against me,

they see me and group together,

they look at me and shake their heads, sorrowfully,

they point at my house and nod their heads, pitifully,

they stare at me and roll their eyes, twitching their lips,

my women have ganged up against me,

 

my women have ganged against me,

these girls I brought into my home,

they laugh to make me cry,

they they speak to shut me up,

they cook to starve me,

they sleep to keep me awake,

my women have ganged against me,

 

my women have ganged against me,

these people are nolonger my friends,

when my competitors scheme against me,

they serve them chamomile tea,

when my enemies ridicule me,

they tell the jokes,

when my detractors backstab me,

they hand them the knives,

and when I win,

they sympathise with the losers,

my women have ganged against me,

 

my women have ganged against me,

these people I know not anymore,

they stand arms akimbo, in the waist, radicalized,

they put their legs apart, astride, ready for war,

they lift their chins, raised, defiant,

they bite their lower lips, hard, intimidating me,

they stare at my eyes, not blinking, scaring me,

my women, they have ganged against me.

 

 (Ojijo is an ICT lawyer, author of 31 books, performance poet, armature pianist, luo culture expert, business feasibility study and financial projections consultant, public speaker and coach:+256776100059)

i am a man because my mother says so! by Ojijo Ogillo

(extracted from Fireplace Stories: Ojijo's Performance Poems. Poem .2012. ISBN.978-9966-123-17-6)

 

 

do not look at me,

do not analyse me,
do not measure me,
do not compare me,
as if i am not a man,
because i am a man,

 

i am not a man because i show you respect,

talking to you while standing up,
shaking your hand with my two hands,
saying ‘yes please’ and ‘yes thank you’
i am a man because my mother says so!

 

i am not a man because i have two cars,
two homes,
two wives,
and two children,
I am a man because i take care of my mother,

 

i am not a man because i am mature,
adult,
experienced,
and old,
i am a man because my mother say so,

 

do not measure my manhood with stripes and stars,
do not measure my manhood with drivers and secretaries,
do not emasure my manhood with guards and guns,
do not measure my manhood with degrees and doctorates,
i am a man because i protect my mother

 

i am not a man because you bow and kneel for me,

i am not a man because you salute and parade for me,
i am not a man because you clap and applaud me,
i am a man because my mother say so,

 

i am a man whether you like me, or spite me,
i am a man whether you hate me, or love me,
i am a man whether you curse me or bless me,
i am a man whether you hire me, or fire me,
i am a man whether you marry me, or reject me,
i am a man because my mother say so!

 

i am a man because of my mother,
i am a man for my mother,
i am a man in my mothers eyes,
i am a man because my mother says so.

 (Ojijo is a lawyer, author, poet, pianist, luo culture expert, business systems consultant, career mentor, public speaker and coach:+256776100059: ojijo@allpublicspakers.com)

stand up and speak now! Poem by Ojijo Ogillo - Allpublicspeakers

stand up and speak now! Poem by Ojijo Ogillo - Allpublicspeakers

1.      stand
up and speak now! (poem by Ojijo ogillo)

 

they assailed you with the choice,

they dared you to talk, taxing your guts,

they told you, stand up and speak now,

 

oh how you were sweating and
panting,

how you stuttered and
stammered,

how you winked and blinked,

and they told you, stand up
and speak now,

 

you bit your lips and ground your teeth,

you trembled an almost fell ,

as the podium advanced to you,

and they told you, stand up and speak now,

 

you had not paced the path
of prose,

the forest of speech,

or the lane of language,

but they told you, stand up
and speak now,

 

you shivered with dread,
faltering with hesitation,

you treaded with
uncertainty,

 sneaking to the front,

you had to stand up and
speak now,

 

 

will they twist and turn
with boredom,

will they giggle and chuckle
with glee,

or will they nod and clap in
applause,

 

i am not afraid anymore,

i shall stand up and speak
now,

stand up and speak now! Poem by Ojijo Ogillo - Allpublicspeakers

stand up and speak now! Poem by Ojijo Ogillo - Allpublicspeakers

1.      stand
up and speak now! (poem by Ojijo ogillo)

 

they assailed you with the choice,

they dared you to talk, taxing your guts,

they told you, stand up and speak now,

 

oh how you were sweating and
panting,

how you stuttered and
stammered,

how you winked and blinked,

and they told you, stand up
and speak now,

 

you bit your lips and ground your teeth,

you trembled an almost fell ,

as the podium advanced to you,

and they told you, stand up and speak now,

 

you had not paced the path
of prose,

the forest of speech,

or the lane of language,

but they told you, stand up
and speak now,

 

you shivered with dread,
faltering with hesitation,

you treaded with
uncertainty,

 sneaking to the front,

you had to stand up and
speak now,

 

 

will they twist and turn
with boredom,

will they giggle and chuckle
with glee,

or will they nod and clap in
applause,

 

i am not afraid anymore,

i shall stand up and speak
now,

you boda man, are you married? (Poem by Ojijo Ogillo)

(extracted from Fireplace Stories: Ojijo's Performance Poems. Poem .2012. ISBN.978-9966-123-17-6)
 
(performed on a boda (motorbike), on stage)

you boda man, are you married?

you ride at breakneck speed,
you cruise wth reckless abandon,
you overtake and jump lanes,
are you married,
 

you boda man, are you married?

you scream mouthtfulls, in insults,
you croak a bagful of abuses,
kuma nyoko,
kuma nina,
musilu daladala,
are you married?

 

you boda man, are you married?

your mouth stinks,
making me close my nose, mouth, and eyes,
your collar is darked with sweat,
dirty beyond description,
you smell of stale sweat,
you are a he-goat,
are you married?

 you boda man, are you married?

you respect no rules,
you break all rules,
you have no rules,
you even break your own rules,
are you married?

 

you boda man, are you married?

you run like headless chicken,
helter skelter,
you move like a bull on heat,
on rampage,
you arun amok,
on a death wish,
are you married?

 

you boda man, are you married?
the day before the day before yesterday,
you knocked a car,
the day before yesterday,
you knocked an old woman,
yesterday,
you knocked a school little girl,
and today,
today you have knocked me,
are you married?

 

you boda man,

stop,
go no further,
simama hapa wewe,
masawo,
stupid,
you are not married!

 (Ojijo is a lawyer, author, poet, pianist, luo culture expert, business systems consultant, career mentor, public speaker and coach:+256776100059: ojijo@allpublicspakers.com)