My Queen

I have named you queen.
There are taller ones than you, taller.
There are richer than you, richer.
There are more famous than you, more famous.

But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
no one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
at the carpet of red gold
that you tread as you pass,

And when you appear
all the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky,
and a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
only you and I, my love,
listen to it.

Your Laughter

Take breath away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.

Do not take away the rose,
the lanceflower that you pluck,
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in your joy,
the sudden wave
of silver born in you.

My struggle is harsh and I come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth,
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky seeking me
and it opens for me all
the doors of life.

Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
boy who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for I would die.

SONG

YOUR heart is a music-box, dearest!
With exquisite tunes at command,
Of melody sweetest and clearest,
If tried by a delicate hand;
But its workmanship, love, is so fine,
At a single rude touch it would break;
Then, oh! be the magic key mine,
Its fairy-like whispers to wake.
And there's one little tune it can play,
That I fancy all others above,-
You learned it of Cupid one day,-
It begins with and ends with "I love!" "I love!"
My heart echoes to it "I love!"

REMEMBER

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

In Memory of my uncle..... John Richard Watkins..... May his legacy live on.

PRELUDE

HOW could I love you more?
I would give up
Even that beauty I have loved too well
That I might love you better.
Alas, how poor the gifts that lovers give—
I can but give you of my flesh and strength,
I can but give you these few passing days
And passionate words that, since our speech began,
All lovers whisper in all ladies' ears.

I try to think of some one lovely gift
No lover yet in all the world has found;
I think: If the cold sombre gods
Were hot with love as I am
Could they not endow you with a star
And fix bright youth for ever in your limbs?
Could they not give you all things that I lack?

You should have loved a god; I am but dust.
Yet no god loves as loves this poor frail dust.

Of Love

They said to him "Speak to us of Love."

He looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his feathers may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth so he is for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height
and caresses your tenderest branches,
So shall he descend to your roots
and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

All these things shall love do unto you
that you may know the secrets of your heart,
and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only
love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you to cover yourself
and pass out of love's door,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,
but not all of your laughter,
and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives nothing but itself
and takes nothing but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say,
"God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love,
for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.

TO ALL MEN

To all beings that are called men

I say to you today, Love your woman.

Cherish her with all your heart and be slow to anger.

I have paid the piper,

I am still paying the piper

I did not keep to the road

I angered, I forgot to cherish but I still loved.

It did not help.

So again I say to all beings that are called men,

Love your woman,

Cherish her with all your heart

And be slow to anger.

It’s the only way

MY APOLOGY

19^th June. 2012

Dear Waithera,

Well, I really messed up this time. I'm sure you're getting used to that by now. But this time, I know you're really mad and hurt. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. It was stupid, and I didn't mean to do it. Most of what I said and did I can’t even remember, but it was stupid any way. 

Although I love you from the bottom of my heart I made you feel that things are more important for me than you. Through this letter I want to say sorry for hurting you and for all the mistakes that I made in the past. You know how I am in expressing my feelings. When I am furious, I don’t know what I am saying, how I am verbalizing. But you know how much I love you and care about you.

I did not realize how much my presence meant to you. When you wanted me to be with you, I was busy with my problems. I never thought about your situations and ignored your emotions. I am sorry for taking you for granted and not considering you as a part of me, though I really meant that.

Baby, I am really sorry, and I hope you understand that I feel terrible for putting you through so much pain. I can’t stand to see the tears in your eyes, and I feel horrible for being the reason foe it. Please forgive me my love. I promise to improve and will give and provide you all that you deserve.

I understand that this hurt your feelings because it was insensitive and uncalled for. I feel like hearing your interpretation of this situation has made us stronger as a couple. If I could take back what I did, I would. I can't, so I'm hoping we can move forward together.

If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd like to grovel in person. You know I love you more than anything in the world, so feel free to unleash your wrath. I'll take it. I absolutely deserve it.

I love you, Waithera Kinyanjui, and I am so sorry. Just know that I'm looking forward to the many mistakes we'll make together in the future.

Your idiot better half,

Glenn Kotengo

couldn't think of a title

In the pure ecstasy of the moment
All is forgotten
As my hands explore her body
Moans escape the lips
Words of lust
She begs for release
My lips leave hers and follow the paths left by my fingers moments ago
across her caramel skin
From her neck to her beautiful breasts I leave marks of my love
And down her stomach too her valley
And I partake of her nectar
Her moans turning into screams
Her mouth open in a silent o
Glasses askew her hair a mess
I come up and kiss her
Letting her taste herself
As I enter
Her pleading answered
She asks for more I give it to her
Deep inside
Her smell is sweet her body warm her pink wet and tight
I love it it drives me crazy
As I push harder and faster
The climax comes
And the night is still far from over

THE DAM

You looked into my eyes
and kissed me
with your soft lips
embraced me tightly
until I felt the force
from your hips

Caressed my entire being
and we looked up at the stars
you breathed me in
as we became one
that place is now ours

The beauty of nature
surrounded us
our bodies
kissed by the crisp air from the trees
my skin was bare
and fully exposed... and yet
in your arms,
I felt completely at ease

The view
from our rock bed
has to have been the best yet...

That night
at the Dam...
is a night I will never forget

Harvest Noon

you glow like the light of the harvest moon
soft golden rays to fill my starry heart

your sweet breath teases my naked skin
so warm and moist like a southern breeze

your scent the perfume of night blooming flowers
your taste salty and tangy like the warm sea air

your body trembles at my slightest touch
 a  willow tree, shook by the lusty wind

your mossy rise is so dewy and inviting, 
softly, and seductively, it calls out me...

 to kneel and taste your secret delights
lost in a vortex of your endless desire

as the harvest moon looms overhead
and bathes our flesh in it's  soothing light

ON A TIRED HOUSEWIFE

ERE lies a poor woman who was always tired,

She lived in a house where help wasn't hired:

Her last words on earth were: 'Dear friends, I am going

To where there's no cooking, or washing, or sewing,

For everything there is exact to my wishes,

For where they don't eat there's no washing of dishes.

I'll be where loud anthems will always be ringing,

But having no voice I'll be quit of the singing.

Don't mourn for me now, don't mourn for me never,

I am going to do nothing for ever and ever.'

LITTLE LESSONS

HE love I bear you, dearest,

Would make the sweetest tale,

We'd sail upon a sea of bliss,

And I would lift the sail.

Our happiness would be sublime,

Surpassing tongue or pen.

You may as well learn things from me,

As to learn from other men.

 

"Oh! you have touched me--deeply--"

The young thing whispered low.

He pleaded: "Come! oh! come with me."

She could not answer: "No."

She said: "I'll be your pupil."

And softly added then:

"I may as well learn things from you

As to learn from other men."

 

They dined alone that evening,

And the young man got his wish.

They even broke the unwritten law

At half-past three, next morning,

He staggered home again.

She had taught him tricks he never knew,

That she'd learned from other men.

WE WILL ENJOY

The raptures of that night!

What fierce convulsions of delight!

How in each other's arms involv'd

We lay confounded, and dissolved!

Bodies mingling, sexes blending,

Which should most be lost contending,

Darting fierce and flaming kisses,

Plunging into boundless blisses;

Our bodies, and our souls on fire.

Tost by a tempest of Desire;

Till with utmost fury driven,

Down, at once, we sunk to heaven.

A BRAND NEW DAY

Rest your head and close your eyes
Everything will be okay
For when you wake with the sweet sunrise
It will be a brand new day
Turn down the lights and pull me close
Feel only the beating of our hearts as we lay
For when you wake with the soft morning breeze
It will be a brand new day
Relax your body and caress my soft hair
Let all of life's worries melt away
For when you wake with the warm summer scent
It will be a brand new day
Fall fast asleep and dream with me
Whisper "I love you, I'm here to stay"
For when we wake in each other's arms
It will be a brand new day

AFTERMATH

AST night, we fled, close locked, in sweet embrace,

Across the empty kingdom women call "Space."

So deep the solitude, I could but feel

Your fear within. It made my senses reel.

I clasped you closer, with encircling arm,

As though to shield you from impending harm

And like a zephyr, from the sun-kissed South,

I felt the pressure of your trembling mouth.

 

A flame shot through my soul, in that first kiss.

I was on fire. I knew no thought but this;

I loved you--mind, heart, body, brain and soul.

And had--since centuries first began to roll.

And when your melting mouth had answered mine,

Within your eyes, a new-born light divine

Proclaimed the wondrous miracle was done,

And our two souls had melted into one.

Oh! idiot Earth, to waste the dew of youth,

Along the borderlands of perfect truth!

Oh! dolts and dullards, with your feet of clay!

To shun the glorious light of perfect day!

In that first kiss, the past was all laid bare.

The future years, transparent as the air

In swift procession, swept across our path

And left me drunk, with love's sweet aftermath.

A Riddle

Legs I have got, yet seldom do I walk;
I backbite many, yet I never talk:
In secret places most I seek to hide me,
For he who feeds me never can abide me.

Upon a fuzzy vista – vision blurred –
I tried to focus; nothing ever solid
Came to view, but undeterred, I blinked
An eye to try again. Through the mist
A coloured hue; polychromatic flames
Had flickered at a whim; a rhythm bore
A thrumming too: a naturalistic hymn.
Behold! Were I to find a synonym to
Reproduce or recreate
The apparition of a butterfly,
Evolving through the waning vapour,
Drawing on a sigh from this romantic.
Glory be! The raging sun above
Had fired his furnace, flaming off
The hangers on. Now I saw the flare:
His time has come. He spread a tortoiseshell –
A scene of Mother Nature at her best.
I lay in peace in knowing I was blessed.

Mother's Love

Her love is like

an island in life's ocean,

vast and wide

A peaceful, quiet shelter

From the wind, the rain, the tide.

'Tis bound on the north by Hope,

By Patience on the West,

By tender Counsel on the South

And on the East by Rest.

Above it like a beacon light

Shine Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;

And thro' the changing scenes of life

I find a haven there.

For my Butterfly: Waithera Kinyanjui