The Edge of Night

The Edge of Night

By Jeffrey Kwesiga 

17/01/2012

Your mind is up and your thoughts are racing,

So much more you still have left to do,

You body lies tense, adamant, and bracing,

Breathe a desperate sigh for the reality you hold onto.

Letting your body sink to earth, you lose the sheets,

Your eyes glaze over as you venture worlds away.

The universe fills your mind with stunning ease.

The cotton fades to cloud and the roof melts away.

Your ears fill with the electric music of the night,

For a brief moment you are man and god,

Your garments of reality are defiantly shod.

Feeling the manic rhythm of the night,

Your liberated soul is set alight,

As restless fantasies grow wing and take flight.

In a place where no one can follow,

You have become the overlord,

Beginning and end of all you see.

The epitome of all you could ever wish to be.

You live a thousand lifetimes in the space of one,

You are traitor, and martyr in the flash of a day,

Bending will and world to your sacred way.

Your creation and destruction are rivalled by none.

Slowly you feel your power slip as humanity shackles its slave,

Waking you up to realize you are but froth on a wave.

Reminded in this world that once again,

The kingdom you saw was not your reign,

It was a world meant for the force that made the wave,

A force that whispered your birth and hummed your grave.

Dreams

Beauty Dreams-Daydreaming from Fanpop.com

Dreams have always been a mysterious part of human existence. Throughout human history they have been seen as signs of the future, gateways to the hidden meaning of life, entertainment for the resting mind, a way to make subconscious sense of daily events, among various other purposes.  Perhaps other forms of life dream as well. Maybe your dog really is chasing a rabbit when he starts running on the carpet with his eyes closed. Although the purpose of dreams is yet to be fully understood, their power to transport, inspire, and in some cases fundamentally change us makes them a fascinating and sometimes revered facet of human life. The Edge of Night aims to capture the incredible sense of freedom that dreams can lend to the dreamer. This poem also highlights the stark transition from the freedom of dreaming to the sharp contrast of earthbound reality governed by force outside of human control.

The Weight of Life

Flag Bearer's Daughter by Mitch Griffiths at Halcyon Gallery from http://www.artreview.com

Sometimes life can seem almost insurmountable, throwing us so many curve balls, disappointments, false starts, and doubts. How do we keep going? What is is that gets people to say that they will continue despite having no answers, and limited options? The human spirit is a surprising, trivial, and amazing thing. The ones who seem to have the least in life and the most difficulty seem to smile brighter than the ones who have it all. As we think of this paradox perhaps we can see how it plays out in our lives. Maybe we have much and we are grateful, perhaps we have nothing and we are in despair, maybe we are just doing alright, or we have all the riches of the world but no matter how much we wish we could, we just can't enjoy them or see the point in life. My first poem post Banners of Life attempts to capture the struggle of life against all of these strange curve balls. No matter what our social status, or circumstances, at some point we are almost all faced with a moment where it all just seems so heavy. Please feel free to comment and share what makes you stumble, and what keeps you going. Voila!

Banners of Life

Banners of Life

By Jeffrey Kwesiga

26/02/2012

Your tattered flag waves in the wind, slow but full of pride.

Every hole in your banner is proof of life,

Every scratch and dent on the staff,

A testament to your survival.

Your banner lifts you above the field.

It is your soul raw and bare for all to see.

On your knees you hang from this heavy sign of the soul,

Too proud to let it fall to the ground,

Too stubborn to let it stay rooted.

When it feels like you have nothing left,

You hold it like your last breath,

Grasping with all you have and laboring every moment.

You push on pulling your battered body up hand by hand.

Climbing higher you feel the full weight of your life against your soul.

With knees bent at the crook you barley stand.

You take that first tired step and move.

So it begins...

For now I will leave you with my first posts and leave my mind and work at the mercy of the internet (some people might say this is the worst place to leave your mind exposed). I think of poetry as one of the most intimate ways you can see and know a person. Ultimately this blog is meant to be an expression of humanity and the experience of living in the world. On my quest to understand my fellow man and the world we live in I hope to shed light on the experiences and themes that don't always have words or ways to describe them. Lofty goals, but the attempt is always worthwhile. Life is complicated, messy, ugly, beautiful and bewildering so this should be interesting. Hold on to your hats, braces, dentures, iPads, Kindles or other assorted items. Here we go!