life – PIECESBYRUTH

I am

This is me Because I am I was the one exiled from the classroom My knees pressed to the concrete My head bowed Ashamed that I am Because I am I was the one handed shame disguised as discipline Handed fear Told it was help Shrank me into pain Carved insults into my growing mindContinue reading “I am”

Alignment

I thought finding alignment especially in work It had to be difficult A prize buried in thorn and stone It had to come with struggle It had to come with endless looking So I tried Every desperate reach to feel at home I tried I’ve tried it all But nothing fits Maybe this is justContinue reading “Alignment”

I Got Tired

I don’t know why we keep placing our faith in human beings. Human beings are not good people. I don’t know when we’ll learn. Look around. Look at Benue State (Nigeria). Look at your own country. Look at history. Look at the world. From the beginning, we’ve proven, again and again, that cruelty comes moreContinue reading “I Got Tired”

To confess your darkness is to believe someone out there might understand it.

“The warrior who knows his weakness is stronger than the one who considers himself invincible.” I’ve always known my mind to be both the curse and the gift. I’ve always understood my mind to be my greatest weakness. Reading Emil Cioran’s work… I knew I was not alone. Time may separate us but the madness,Continue reading “To confess your darkness is to believe someone out there might understand it.”

Day by day

I’m slowly learning to accept whatever life places in my hands little or a lot broken or whole it’s still something And there’s always space to learn Always space to improve Day by day step by step Whatever you have keep building And over time you’ll find your way to what you love

Her grief had colour. Mine? A blank page.

It was the last Sunday of the month. It had been four years but still grief did not knock. It burst in uninvited. We had just finished a long walk at the Nairobi Arboretum. We sat down to catch our breath and talk a little more. And then it happened. The tears came, reluctant andContinue reading “Her grief had colour. Mine? A blank page.”

You fall for what feels almost real, almost enough

She pointed out the way I see the world… My views My reasoning She said I live in a dream Like wanting depth is naive Like the word love is a curse Like dreaming is dangerous Wanting more than the ordinary makes my mind wrong She was right My mind lives far from reality MyContinue reading “You fall for what feels almost real, almost enough”

I think I’m becoming less afraid of death

Not because I understand it I don’t I probably never will But I take pride In my imagination How far it can stretch How wide it can wander How long it stays Where no one else is willing to stay And yet… I treated death like a wall As if my imagination Wild as itContinue reading “I think I’m becoming less afraid of death”

There is no reason in love

You don’t choose Not the moment Not the man You don’t choose Not in his goodness Not in his flaws You don’t choose You simply fall We are often told everything in life is fate But love Love is the only thing that escapes the script The only thing that defies fate It begins inContinue reading “There is no reason in love”

Only artists allowed in my house

Yes Writers Dancers Producers Storytellers Truth tellers I want them all When I become a parent? Best believe I am raising a tribe of loud, expressive, artistic little humans Only artists allowed in my house We are not prepping for board meetings We are not dreaming rockets to Mars We are writing monologues We are throwingContinue reading “Only artists allowed in my house”