the african way

i want to live

the african way

though clouds obscure

and rain is sure

unshaken

i want to wait

the african way

though questions loom

and come what may

unfrazzled

i want to pray 

the african way

though answers tarry

and words be few

undoubting

i want to dance 

the african way

though others watch

and music's off

uncensored

i want to hope 

the african way

though plans unravel

disaster threatens

undaunted

i want to die 

the african way

though years be short

with troubles fraught

unfearful

© labujamra

pain

soul blemishes marring faces
eyes cast down avoiding gazes

fading scars reminding

of imperfections lurking

hidden handicaps in children

threaten revealing more

that's not quite whole

and others stare unashamed

hideous defects uninvited

surrounding me unsummoned

head pounding whispers rise

yelling out you're incomplete

blessed fate now convinces

no pain endured is wasted

the little boy peeks eyes smiling

and i see his arm - missing

© labujamra

i'm heading out of town for 2 weeks. i'm sure i'll have plenty to say when i come back...

don't miss me while i'm gone, and stay grounded - in the word, in good relationships, in acts of kindness...

i know my last poem is pretty cynical, but that's the ER for you. everyone thinks their problems are unique, but at the end of the day, it's the same old same old. it's true they say there's nothing new under the sun. i see it every day at work. and doctors get tired, and grumpy like the rest of the world. 

i know you know.

i guess i was just explaining a little what's behind my observations - up close and personal - of an ER...

the ER

another day, a gun shot wound

fever, headaches and parachutes

one by one they trickle through

febrile seizures and turning blue

another line they stand up straight

heads bent down while they wait

others sicker pass them by

silently they wonder why

another doctor one more question

he mumbles quickly without much passion

he barely sees their retching faces

overwhelmed by too many cases

another word they don't get

minds cluttered they start to fret

suddenly the doctor's gone

it seems as if they're all done

another day a fainting spell

wheezing cough no way to tell

back pain, leg pain, any pain, belly pain

after a while, it's all the same.

© labujamra

my life

i want my life to be more than this

more than money and mistaken bliss

more than mere service of these lips

i want my life to measure up

not with acts for men to see

not with the heart of a pharisee

i want my life to count for you

no more sadness and feeling blue

no more wandering without a clue

i want my life to be more than this

more than treasures here on earth

more than houses made with dirt

i want my life to simply say

in childlike faith she loved to pray

rain or shine or come what may

© labujamra

pride

i'm too restless to surrender

too satisfied with lesser things

too sated to feel hunger

too shallow to cry out

i'm too busy to notice

all the lost souls around me

i'm too narrow minded focused

on nothing else but me

i'm too strong to understand

too sufficient to see my need

too dependent on myself

too stubborn to confess

i'm too noisy to listen

to more than just my words

too dumb to figure out

there's more to life than this

i'm too rushed to smell the roses

too harried to slow down

too proud to bend the knee

Lord i beg you - deliver me from me

© labujamra