Substitutes for honesty

Are glaringly inadequate.Forced relationshipsBorn out of neediness;Enormous family riftsThat grow with every passing year of noisy conversations that reek of the unspoken conversations underneath;Entire careersBuilt on the back of proving a point.When we fail to be honestWe benefit our delusionsAt the expense of who we really are.Here we are no longer real peopleWith real hopes […]

On showing up to write

I am not here because I feel like it.I am here because it matters.I am not here for people to applauseI am here to make my thoughts coherent.I am not here to make up for the days I didn’t writeI am here because today’s words need to be writtenAnd there are people who need them.This […]

Ndakaneta

I’m tired.And maybe this time I should listen.Maybe this time my body won’t bail me outMaybe the work can wait.Rest is not a luxuryAnd the work is not a savior-If the job requires you to not be humanMaybe its not yours to do.

Why we ran

We were bornOn burning coalsSo standing stillWas unthinkable.We did not run for gloryBut for survival.There were no better alternativesThan our own legs to carry us to freedom.There was no need for a crowdTo cheer for us,Our own fears goaded us on.We needed no promise of a trophy,Just a way out.We were not running towards the […]

Working Weekends

Sucks.Time lapsesAnd the lines betweenWaking and sleeping blur-My bed is filled with thoughts of workMy desk is littered with yawns and power naps.Folding laundry is suddenly fascinatingMy eye drifts to my phone incessantlyThe weight of the week lies heavy on my shouldersThe dishes are harder to doEveryone else seems to be throwing a partyAnd the […]

The words I most want to write

Evade me.Like toddler too fast for their sizeThe words are within viewBut find ways of hiding beneath tablesAnd behind curtainsPlayfully frustrating meGently irritatingAs if they knowThat if I lose my coolI’d be forced to forfeit the gameAnd have no right to hold the baby-The paragraphThe stanzaThe story-The words I most want to write.Once in a […]

Too tired to write

The words fell onto the pageBegrudginglyPainfully.Slowly.Like a thick, heavy honeyThat reluctantly falls off the combPromising sweetnessBut releasing itEver so slowly.I was tired.But I knewThat once the ink began to flowInspiration would not be far behind.Writing deserves our best hoursBut if all we haveAre the dying moments of the day,Even then the pen will not disappoint-It […]

Pre-disqualification

Before I sit down to writeThere’s often a scuffle within my membersBetween my will to create And an urgent, persistent and seemingly authoritative voice That earnestly encourages me to disqualify myselfFor my own goodLong before the work has even started.It lists good reasons for not showing upIN ALL CAPS.Making much of previousFalse startsAnd missed opportunities,It […]

Thankless jobs

Far from being things that demean us Thankless jobs are portals to Our innermost motivations Often forcing us to ‘dig deep’. In the absence of an applause A pat on the back Indeed even an acknowledgment of your existence, How do you do your work? Is it somehow less significant If it goes unseen? Is […]

On believing in your work

How many pats on the backDoes it take for you to believe that you matter?That your contributions count?And once you know itHow much rejection does it takeTo knock you off your square?The battle to believe in your workOften looks like the struggle to believe in yourself.Our work is constantly used as a proxyFor our worth […]

heartinscriber

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. -Proverbs 23:7

Work