An absoluteness shorn by wind.
Yellow sea, isles of yellow rocks;
Free of contradictions.
No walls, portals nor windows,
...
Flag blowing freely within your arms,
As free as a sloop upon the sea.
Naked within your sheets,
With only your love to clothe me.
...
Their musher lost
On a frozen terrain
Five dogs crossed
Their reins on his pain
...
Sister Dharma blessed
On paths that ever wind
Not every hill is Everest
A scene from Durga’s shrine.
...
For the rust dusted stones
And burnished steel track
That takes me home
And takes me back
...
Waiting, quietly, for myself to come in:
A stormy fool dancing inside a bin,
Neglected hope, a broken urn,
I whisper in my ear
...
When I was hungry, you gave me your bread.
When I was lonely, your bed.
Your breasts were my coronet
And kisses crowned my head
...
O Madiba! Madiba your ship has finally come to rest
Rest now, now rest, for peace was your bequest.
Humiliated, disgraced, yet in captivity you chose
By embracing your enemy, you learnt and rose.
...
A breath caught as a drop.
Caught as bejewelling dew
on frozen twigs, cold and dead:
what's breath was water was ice.
...
Faithful come, succumb and crumble
A shadow on a mirror on a puddle
A pungent remnant of this perfumed tune
As I sing a song to me
...
Nails on ankles scratch for cures,
For woes and vex that foes cause
And dystopic eyes focus on distant shores
While wisdom waits.
...
What good shoe resists a polish
And collects the dirt of yesterday.
Lo! below their uppers, soles grey.
...
Show me a crystal that is clear or a clear way worth walking
Or a forgiveness appreciated that was just given away
...
Paradigm unlocks truths made in paradox,
As softest water wears down the hardest rocks,
Dark-nest wombs child-guide the brightest light,
Made in silence they scream with wild delight
...
Both you and I, great and small
Are born to die or rise and fall.
The laws immutable
Are not disputable
...
C Cleverly - writer, barrister, businessman, philanthropist. Head of barristers' chambers at the age of 28, had his own television show on UK Channel 4 by 30. He has written in numerous UK and international publications. He founded Made In Africa Foundation to ensure the sustainable and permanent development of Africa. His mother was born in Sierra Leone and his father was English. He received an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Reading.)
Peace
The peace of a mind
No longer maligned
By ire or fire.
The peace of a mind
No longer defined
By time or chime.
The peace of a mind
No longer entwined
By delusion or illusion.
The peace of a mind
No longer confined
By need or greed.
The Peace of a mind
No longer blind.