Those who love you
often don’t let you know;
you may discover their love
in their whispers, looks or gestures.
that shout hostility at you loud and clear.
When you feel like the entire world
is against you
and life is cruel,
hard, and so unbearable,
it is not true
that nobody loves you:
Those who love you
usually never use more than whispers
but those who hate you
hate themselves even more.
Title: ANIMAL FARM IN BELGIAN KONGO
acrylic on canvas, 2020
I’ve been working on this painting for one month.
The journey has been long
on a bumpy road
The simplest thing, as ordinary as just inhaling and exhaling, is an amazing feat of enjoyment.
When you can inhale and exhale, just enjoy it because it’s priceless.
Photo: still in solitary confinement at home.
I’m not taking the vaccine.
Not yet.
Waiting to see what happens.
The lack of sunlight is depleting the melanin shield of my skin.
But I take Vitamin D supplements to compensate for a lack of access to sunlight.
Last night I was looking for my pet elephant and discovered it was hiding inside my beard.
That’s fake news.
Good fake news.
The Proposal
(To the colonial master)
Oga, will you marry me,
and take me home?
I can be your second
even third or fourth wife
You look so handsome
and I giggle
Jetlagged.
From Heathrow Airpot to Austin Airport.
After I painted her,
she looks down at me
and asks me
what is the meaning