Joseph Cimanuka

The start will always come, mediocrely;
Voices in your back will whisper dismay,
Trying to make you feel black, to bring you down.
Every voice will rise, a word to say,
...

I am fond of you, Lord,
Yet I despise my neighbor.

I preach your word with delight,
...

There is a day for birth, a day for death,
A day for childhood, a day for age.
A day for marriage, a day for parting,
A day for failure, a day for success.
...

Your majesty, our Mwami,
Where is your Mwamihood?

As the greatest hero of our land,
...

I love poetry, it's true!
Poetry, my daddy; poetry, my mummy;
All my siblings, poetry.
...

My mind is heavy like the whole cosmos,
A wonder fills my thoughts about mankind.

From dawn to dusk—on Everest's peak I stand;
...

P.P.K stands firm with moral sight,
A leader shaping hearts, not punishing;
He guides his people gently toward the right,
From darkened ways to truth awakening.
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My son, my love, my dear,
Be aware of your father's words;
Uni is not the universe—do not confuse
A place where you can float without a fall,
...

There's a voice at the bottom of my mind,
Whispering that life is a book of pages;
That one day, my page will truly turn
Into a better chapter—it will become my turn,
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Keep your least—do not waste it on the great,
Lest you beg when all your strength has passed;
With your least, you can endure your fate,
Trust not in them, their promises won't last.
...

Half-dead people, hearts turned cold,
Conceived in shadows, in theft enrolled;
Born in crime, in darkness fed,
On stolen wealth their spirits bred.
...