Henry Akuete: My Poems and some

Rising sun

2023-01-12T22:58:00.001-08:00

The sun rises

from the far ends of the east

from tired slumber

reaching out outstretched

with golden blades of a zillion photons

it blinds fell beasts of nocturnal habit

chasing the darkness

into the far corners of the cold west

the mist rises, the dew falls from the blades of grass

the lark is giddy as she sings of time and earth

it is a new day

for life, love, and hope

-- Henry Akuete

(the Undying Poet)

The iron laws of time and tide

2023-01-10T23:35:00.001-08:00

The iron laws of time and tide

Fools learn and kings die

birds go south, the seas rise

leaves fall and shafts sprout

a womb, a heart beat, quiet

beside a grave, a black coffin

First love's kiss, smiles shared

to tears, torn sheets, jagged lips

what goes comes back around

up is down as the moon rides

as the clock turns, metal chimes

trust not what you see today

all falls to change, being and unbeing

here and there, yin and yang

so goes the way of mortal man

living and dying, day and night

by the iron laws of time and tide

--Henry Akuete

(The Undying Poet)

Shooting star

2023-01-10T23:32:00.001-08:00

I saw a shooting star

white, sparkly and fiery

burning its way across the night sky

I made a silent wish

a whisper, a silent prayer

I wished I would fly

to the ends of what is known

to kiss the moon and touch the stars

alas it was just a wish

nothing more than a silent prayer

Ashen on the cold stone altar

of quiet gods, buried temples

it was nothing but a silent prayer

for that same shooting star

bright and glorious above

came crashing, splintered, broken

to the cold cold earth.

--Henry Akuete

(The Undying Poet)

Blackholes

2023-01-10T23:30:00.001-08:00

THE TRUTH IN THE LIE

2021-02-21T07:18:00.001-08:00

THE TRUTH IN THE LIE

What begot the demon of change?
that dost cause man to molt?
and shed skin as time does pass
Why do we say today "i love"
and on tomorrow's day say "i hate"
how does it go to become in time
that two fall into each other
with love so fiery, gods fall to envy
to share the passing wisp of a kiss
as it does spark between full lips
share the warm embrace between
two whose souls will not see parting
to know the meaning of a clock's tick
For in that instance does love share
and send words from blinks of the eye
Alas, the sun sets and yet does rise
with a new day and new hearts
what was becomes no more
lovers cry, and yell fire and bile
those who loved now turn to hate
with torn hair and shattered pottery
oiling scars of a victim of loyalty
drinking tears, confessed by long songs
None is fair in love and so is war
All that was, was none but lies
Lies of hope and lies of love
but in the lies reside an aged truth
We are not men; we are beasts
beasts called men......or women
--Henry Akuete

Then and now

2021-01-14T05:27:00.001-08:00

In past now cloudy to mind's recall
ere the swarm of pale faces unbeknownst
ere the vile deflowering of alkebulan's rivers
ere the rape and pillage of sacred forests
children of afruika split four winds
with songs storied of a thousand ages
maidens of aithiopia undelifed with faces
shades akin to tanned ivory would sway
to the distant rumblings of ancient drums
deep within the stone walls of zimbabwe
from the wide shores of the sea of sand
to the narrowing of shaka's resting place
the sons of nubia would sing from within
tales of the hunt; the conjuring of Niger hands
of kindred flames, the straight circle of our fathers
We were full with veined crimson, in the eyes, soul
slept in same womb, same black milk
at the pinnacle of the moon's pride
did we dance with the cub of the grey lion
hayenas laughed, so laughed the children
to comic fables from retired breasts
In our stomachs, peace; in our hair, pride;
the sun crept below to die yet again
Lo did they come riding the sea's waves
Lo did come some across the beige sands of fire
each with scrolls, mirrors, magic and new songs
We fell to sleep, Lo did dreams become we
the sun awoke, tired, old, cold, low
in the morning we forgot our name
and still the names of our fathers.
- - Henry Akuete

Symphony of violence

2021-01-14T05:21:00.000-08:00

From this silent Symphony of violence
to wit the beauty of becoming did sprout
this chaos did birth the best of man
For life did steady play a two-toned tune

In dying do we be born yet again
And in bleeding do we let life become
We may cry and hate all the hatred
But man never was a peaceful critter

what else do the drunken gods crave
If not the crimson music from war's fields
the hail and grinding of chariot wheels
breaking of bones and knitting of guts

In this symphony of grit and strife
Dost man make name and eat bread
So cry havoc and open the pits of hell
For long live death, long live war.
- - Henry Akuete

Queen of the night

2020-03-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

Through windows glass stained
light beams crawl, fighting through
to call us back from dreamy shores
reminding us it's not yet over
Hell be upon and night long still
the dark queen lords over day and night
with fell crown of a thousand spikes
one for each nation, color and tribe

We heard she came from farthest east

riding the cold grey winter winds

born from sin when man played god

maybe rumour, maybe true, but here she is

conquering tribes on the silken road

not color, nor coin, nor creed she cared

calling the eldest of man by name

making widows and orphans in cold dark night

and carrion of many in the daylight time

Fear, tears, whispers of death

are all we have in sleepy hollow towns

earth is dark and soil yet still

as earth is sown by her green jade kiss

alchemists unlearn all books yet hold

the harp is broken, and string is torn

songs forgotten of love and light

poems and rhyme ashen and lost

We look to the stars for sign, for hope

lo we are small when all is quiet

for gods retreat behind those pearly gates

they are silent, they are none, they are gone, they are dead?

all is undone and so is order

walls come falling, the gates throw open

for she is become death, destroyer of worlds

Sing me to Sleep

2020-03-24T12:25:00.003-07:00

Sing me to sleep
Oh still gentle serenade
A subtle breezy lullaby will do
To pull down heavy black drapes
over these beleaguered eyeballs
these liquid lenses long seen all
All the sorry earth let grow

Sing me a song to take me away
Far from this unreal reality
to a land where we walk on clouds
and trees grow old in the skies
where the wind is happy
where the moon is proud at noonday

Where be grey Morpheus?
To sing me a silver lullaby
and ferry me to where angels sleep
for mine eyes tire of salt
and the clock ticks in vain
if this here be wakefulness
then I yearn to sleep and dream

© Henry Akuete 2019

The stars are falling

2020-03-24T12:22:00.002-07:00

Wake up my friend
This be no day to slumber
this be a day to keep wake and watch
for the world we knew has come undone
Alas the stars once we knew in innocence
And knew still when the tide was high
Aye, the stars of yore and then
which once sent silver blades of light
shining into a world of dark silence
to fill the lungs of the nightingale
with songs of love and hope
and point our way to a place where dreams come alive
the stars which once told our stories
and kept the demons in gehena's bay
the stars that whispered into the night
across time's circling silky road
to remind the bleeding soldier in war's fields
we are not alone even in pain's iron hold
the stars we once knew and gazed aloft
these stars are falling can't you see?
These stars are falling, falling my friend
One by one do they fade and fall
going out on the beaches of a dying earth. (C) Henry Akuete 2019

All she wanted

2015-07-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

All she wanted was to taste love
looking into the wide grey heavens
she made rain with her warm tears
wetting the sour earth from within
but nothing grew from it all
only for a lonely seed of sorrow
sprouting from the barren earth
it bore a bitter fruit poison to taste
this she got when love she sought
she cried thunder loud and long
she spat out hail and whirlwinds
it quaked when she fell to the ground
but she was still alone, all alone
nobody heard her song, nobody came
all she had was the bitter black fruit
cold and lifeless in her pale hands
hungry and starving for nought but love
she closed her eyes and took a long bite
in that moment her heart was frozen
and broken to a thousand red pieces
this was not suicide, no it wasn't
make no mistake, it was murder

Don't leave me

2015-07-15T10:10:00.001-07:00

Call me, draw me, hold me
Make me kneel and bend
In the wind and rain whip me
Tear my skin away in pain
As you forge me with the cane
Drain me of joy and light
In my own sorrow drown me
Call my name in the dark
And let the fright chain me
I'm a slave to your long will
Take my name away from me
Let me know only your cold whistle
Nail me to an inverted cross
For agony is all you give me
Drag me through the rough streets
Let me know the beauty of shame
As they spit on me and mock me
While dogs lick my open wounds
feed me my own nauseous waste
Give me my piss for wine i drink
I am no man before your sight
Burn me when I'm still alive
When to a stake you tie me
Let me know no sleep in the night
Leave me to the mercy of wolves
And the howling hoots of grey owls
As i lie on your cold threshold
Give me pain and tears all day
But all i ask of you till death
Dont leave me all alone

Not all poetry is sweet

2015-07-15T10:09:00.003-07:00

Not all poetry is sweet, Not every line is beautiful
Life is not a comedy,This poem is not beautiful
It is dark and otherworldly, Drawn from dark energy
With lines written in black ink
Ink made from dark matter and grey ether
Im not a living poet, im a dead poet
For my poetry is not for the living
The living are deaf and blind
Call me a dead poet because i die when i write
I bleed my very soul onto this papyrus
So by the time im done my hand falls
Call me accursed because all true poets are cursed
Cursed to die and rise again to write
To die when we write and write when we die
Our souls eternally trapped in limbo
Only to be freed by the very truth that haunts us
So we write to be free, to tell truth that makes us hated
My skin is covered with ancient rune tattoos
Every poem i write burned unto my own flesh
By seven arch angels with my own blood and tears
With my pen i stab my chest everyday
Tearing my heart out for immolation on the alter of truth
This is not the poem you know
This is a demon from the last circle of Gehenna
Lashing out at your very soul after the crimson dawn
This poem will reverse the hand of time
To an age of wolves and broken bones
To an age of lions, war and dark plagues
To an age of harps, strings and living poetry
Hey, dont call me a poet, call me a priest
For I'm a custodian of a broken temple of letters
A high priest of the mystical order of words
I dont love you, I loathe you
You who hate me for what I say
For calling you a name you wish to hide
I stand naked and defile your norms
I defecate in your temples of profanity and hypocrisy
But i told you this poem is not pretty
Not every poet is loved

The ether

2015-07-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

Its in the flow of the ether
in the noise and the crowd
where flows truths unknown
and lies become upended still

in the ether the past is present
the present comes to the past
what was in the ebbs and waves
the tide will bring it to bear

in the ether all is still possible
so do not say it cannot be
make no mistake about reality
the unreal is what you once knew

in the ether life is a river
the river is the ether you see
flowing through the senses
yet without notice to most

tap ye into the silent ether
fetch from the ancient fountain
fill your cup with this here truth
knowledge to quench your thirst

The shadow

2015-06-28T05:40:00.001-07:00

the shadow, the perpetual shadow
standing tall above my dome
silently creeping behind me
walking on my dark foot prints
in the dark it only remains darker
in the rain it still towers over me
it must not be my own shadow
my shadow wouldn't be over me
but still it persists in the brightest day
in my dreams its casts a dark figure
tall when all bows to the howling wind
i am scared to turn about me now
for what i see will tear my soul out
so i walk on with my chin to my chest
eyes closed to all around me now
chastised by the silent sound behind
behind and above it is absent ahead
anchor to my forward movement
if i fail where i now must go
then it is for my fright for the shadow
the shadow, the shadow, the shadow

Why wont she love me

2015-06-26T11:41:00.001-07:00

I see no meaning in this
even harder when i ask
i was born and i will die
a flame bright to smoulder
where is the scale's center
the balance we call truth
men are not equal in the sun
dwarves run among giants
the coin chooses who to love
what she sees i do not know
falling in the arms of ogres
better men die alone and cold
i wish she will smile at me
when we cross paths at the market
but i am invisible to her i think
she stays faithful to death
while i covert another man's wife
why won't she love me
women can love more than one

Our women are gone

2015-06-26T11:34:00.001-07:00

Our women are gone
we are married to ghosts
we stay all night weeping for them
weeping for glory days past
when our women were dark and proud
walking tall in the noonday sun
we would beat our chest loudly
that is my woman in the marketplace
until they sent us a vile disease
to wipe out our women and leave us
this disease that first made them mad
mad so much as to hate their skin
this skin which made them envied
by white women in the western halls
in madness they peeled their skin
in pain we watched them turn white
poisoned by their own hands we saw
now they walk among us pale shadows
grey ghosts in our own cold beds
our children know them no more
for the mothers of black Africa are no longer black.

2015-05-13T10:50:00.001-07:00

Lone soldier

2015-05-06T03:42:00.001-07:00

I'm a little man on a little road
Against the four elements i battle
Earth, wind, water and fire fighting
I bleed my own soul from within
When i fall from the hatred of gravity
Face has seen the farthest reaches
And blown about by the four winds
In reverse do i see time spinning
When the crow went before the hour
Truly I'm but an old beast of burden
As my sins weigh heavily on me
I carry myself like accursed Cronus
Through the dunes of the hourglass
My eyes spill silver rivers of tears
When i cry to curse the lofty gods
against supreme and higher forces
Alone to lick wounds and count losses
Pray me to ride the wings of pegasus
Away from these shadow demons
Spit from the deepest pits hades
To haunt my mind and drive me mad
Lookin Into the grey and dim future
I see me in me on the highest peak
Surrounded my a thousand crows
My foes slain around with Excalibur
Lo still do i see my father's fathers
All those who fell before my birth
Then i know the fates mark my road
They cut my thread even at this hour

Religion

2015-05-01T10:54:00.003-07:00

The thing that dares to be
when the world is same to me
insane it is when i choose to kneel
praying to a god i cannot see
my faith is weak my hope is deep
deepened by pain my eyes they bleed
religion.
an ideal i share
a refuge for me when life is pain
a place i hide when i cant explain
religion.
my mark my name
my curse my bane
my gift my jazz my drug my game
religion
the thing it is that takes me there
when i believe that all is well
when i am healed and freed from hell
life is new and sin is fell
religion
you bring me God and call me blood
creed on creed the sword is law
god on god the earth is gore
stone a dame she is a whore
religion
oh damned be thou i wish begone
so we could sing a happier song
no more deceived when veil is none
the bird would sing when shines the sun
religion
your name is lost, your pride is poor
your way unfound when chaos is law
God betrayed by what you cause
vile, violated, soiled on the floor
religion, why religion?

Begone

2015-05-01T10:54:00.001-07:00

begone, begone oh demon of chaos
like smoke in the wind, away your writers block
conjure for me my cherished muse
to sit on my shoulder and bleed my hand

My eyes have seen

2015-04-27T09:11:00.003-07:00

My eyes have seen and my mouth is mum
I cant summon words for what i've seen
It scares the very life of me and i quiver
I sweat salt water and blood as i stand
Is it but a bad dream in which reality is cruel?
My wish to wake never bears ripe fruit
As i eat the raw and bitter seed of existence
My skin is plagued and thick as i look
Chastised by the long whip of what i behold
I cried on the day of my birth as i realised truth
I tried desperate retreat into whence i came
But my umbilical was severed by a midwife
Conspiring to trap me in this dark cycle
Now i hate two who summoned me without consent
This soul came and went a while before
Hoping never to come once again
In limbo all was still and all was calm
Now all i know is strife and all i see is fear
Hate envy spite war greed terror and pain
Give me a dagger to quench these here eyes
For what i see not hurts me no further
Give me wax to plug these here ears
What i hear not is for myth and sailors
My eyes have seen and i wish i saw not
In passing sleep my third eye keeps awake
To see the truth that steady haunts my soul
My body is young but my soul is old
My soul is pure but my mind is scarred
My eyes have seen and my ears heard
The more i behold the less the meaning
But the sting lingers to keep me awake
My eyes have seen and my ears have heard....

When will i die this death?

2015-04-27T09:11:00.001-07:00

When will i die this death
when will it be done away with
because the how is certain
death will come on the battlefield
shot or blown is how i go

They send me out into the night
to fight he with more metal
he knows I'm on my way now
he waits to pounce and devour me
this i know and sure to go

I am sent out naked and hungry
this order i know to be my last
i write a note to send back home
I stop to pray and wipe my brow
as i step into the waiting night

All i know is the man by me
brother to bleed and breathe our last
a soldier i am my fate is sealed
they sent me to die and die i will
no coin, no gun, no boot no food

Hush, listen

2015-04-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

Wait, listen. Hush, listen
Its in the wind. listen closely
When the birds sing listen
As the waves come crashing listen
The owl hoots in the dark, listen
Open your ears and listen a while
Mystery comes undone in them
The small and silent are books
Read the sounds and understand
Tap into the ether and learn
For the birds are wiser than Solomon
Listen to the songs they sing
The songs of joy and songs of fear
Watch for when they fly and whence
For in that lies the key to survival
Beg the little ant to give speech
Beg him for the secrets to all
The cockroach was at the beginning
At the creation of matter and time
The fish has been to the very depths
He has seen the most unseen
At the place where the sun cant shine
Listen when the water is still
The subtle ripples will take it to you
Look to the east when the sun rises
Follow its path across the sky west
Look keenly and learn to live
Listen, hush, listen my brother
Eavesdrop into the raindrop as it falls
Peek into the message for you sister
Fall back from the noise and fear
Run into the woods and seek sanctuary
Close your eyes and open your ears
Free your third eye to see what is not
Free your mind and fall deep within
Hush, listen. Wait, wait. Just listen

Bring me a dog

2015-04-25T10:05:00.001-07:00

Bring me a dog it is better than man
Bring me a dog whom i wish to be
Bring me a dog it sees the world
Bring me a dog it hears and learns
Bring me a dog its friend is a friend
Bring me a dog it upholds loyalty
Bring me a dog it walks by truth
Bring me a dog it will not pretend.
Bring me a dog its life is simple
Bring me a dog it knows no creed
Bring me dog for it sees no colour
Bring me a dog its either right or wrong
Bring me a dog for man is but a fool
Bring me a dog it wont lie to itself
Bring me a dog for man is a hypocrite
Bring me a dog I've lost faith in men
Bring me a dog it will not betray me
Bring me a dog when you see one
Bring me no man but bring me a dog