Robert Mukiibi, "2 Poems"

Robert Mukiibi

I KNOW….

 
I don’t know every thing because I can’t
And the little I know doesn’t make me
Less clever because it is only fools
Who claim to know every thing.
I know that a man who beats a woman
And can’t control his anger is a coward.
I know that thinking is the safest
Route to life’s treasures.
I know that there’s not enough money
To buy love neither bribe death.
I know that no one can stop a river
From flowing by merely stepping in it.
I know that the only poor are the
Dead because breath is what makes rich.
I know that fear is a wicked king whose
Word’s a grave eyes see after agreement.
I know that tomorrow lives very
Far from reality.

THE PLANET WONDERS

On mars and Jupiter, lights
Shine when the moon is
Recharged by the sun.
On terrestrial, the sun is a sign
Showing victory and relief
But still veiled souls are
Slow to receive revelation.
The brain is steady and ready,
The mind is willing, the heart
Believes—“I can’t fail” yet
The gleam keep returning to
The source—
The planet wonders.
Ideas, talents and dreams prowl
In tears like a hungry lion.
Angels whisper—none is attentive.
All are excellent at the same
Practice—cursing and complaining.
The planet shouts—are you fools?
Why don’t you dig your minds
By thinking?
A few awake—the active progress
The planet wonders why not all.

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Robert Mukiibi lives in Uganda.  These are his first poems published in the US.

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RECONFIGURATIONS: A Journal for Poetics & Poetry / Literature & Culture, http://reconfigurations.blogspot.com/, ISSN: 1938-3592, Volume 4 (2010): Emergence