From The Wells Of Knowing

 " Timbuktu Chronicles "

Some folk exalt the hand unseen

And often thank the stars above

For who or what their lot may be;

Life they claim is divine ordained-

That nothing that is, or ever could be

Is to chance, or happenstance.

Birds seek southern climes

In accord with changing times;

And sea turtles in time do seek

Sands of birth to spurn their brood

Just like the sun’s recurrent arc.

I’m neither turtle, bird nor sun,

Schooled in routine manifestation.

Within my chest, there beats a heart

That fuels my thoughts, my agile mind.

Anchored though to earth beneath

Yet consigned to budge or idly put...

 Fortunes beck , the will impels.

 While seconds  each day from drudge unfurl

And cross roads here and there may loom

confounding thus - my wits about -

From the wells of knowing I must imbibe;
For such lore that once hailed my sable tribe
With stalwart zeal, pray my soles would guide

From shifting sands, onto the finish line.

By

Hope Kalé Ewusi©

Embedded  images are from Mali.....featuring the Timbuktu Scrolls and an ancient learning center

CUPFUL OF LONGING

I’ve seen the walls of cathedrals...

Marveled at their towering spires.

I’ve stood before ornate alters

My ears thrilled with homilies

And utterances of impassioned clerics:

I’ve sung hymns and canticles

That glorify the heavenly chieftains-

Pressed flesh onto flesh on padded pews.

I’ve seen faces, faces and more faces

In the holiest of holy places; yet

Absent most conspicuously was that of God.

And thus my heart remains a cupful of longing

My tangled arms – a wish for ultimate embrace:

My soul is stirred – my quest unfolds.

There’s a need in me that compounds my zeal

To seek and probe the depths within -

For the divine I sought and never found…..

In iconic enclaves that exalt ecclesiastical vanity.

Author: Hope Kalé Ewusi ©

Today

  "Mid Summer's Bluff"

I love you "today"

For your transient bliss

That my heart has set at ease;

and as I face all that will unfold

Each tick  I hope is speckled gold.

Thank you "today""

For your promise of tomorrow

Unsealed though it may be;

I’d take it all by the throw

For the blessings of  yesterday I hope

My soles would stir all thru’ the maze.

 

I’m hopeful "Today" yet  perturbed

by stagnant hours caught in frames-

with bungee seconds stretched wide…..

pliant-defiant – like wayward sons,

unhinged- untamed by scornful eyes.

Charged though my crest this day

With shards of reverie -

 I wear my crown without regret.

But should you "Today" your grace

enshroud with cloaks of penury

I’d loathe and shun you so – and wish….

upon a cloud that it would rain on you.

Author: Hope Kalé Ewusi

REFLECTIONS

  “In The Shade Of A Pecan Tree”

Curious souls in trivial quest seek to know

By what design the rushing wind blows,

But in the throes of deeper contemplation

Would ponder the meaning and nature of things.

Thus from reflection to illumination - triumph ensues

For to know is to seek and decode the sage’s brow.

Yet triumph, though sweet a serpentine bliss

Onto fallenness  and shades of blue must bow.

For loss, change-decay to life is bound,

Like an importunate foe courting our door.

Still not to the wise alone  such keenness is due.

If onto fatal instincts the laggard concedes,

Doomed are his sails when life’s gale tidings blow

Yet in life, hope abides to all who would accede.

By

Hope Kalė Ewusi ©

FACES

Finding identity

In crowded places…

Each countenance flush

On frontal display;

Bearing contours of similitude

Yet never the same-

The one from another.

See the look of love…

Of anxiety – mighty dread

Caught in frames of fleeting spells;

Radiant smiles mocking

Gloom’s ugly scowls and eyes

Flush with stirring, reflecting humanity.

 

Scaling the spectrum

Of generational fervor,

The once cheery cherubic

Infant glow duly savored,

Yields to ascending years

Of youth’s chiseled flair.

And soon the sun setting

Fletches of mortality

Would each primal façade imbue

 Life defining impressions-

Fleshy folds – wise scrolls…..

Unique each, as the story it tells;

Faces bearing contours of similitude

Yet never the same, the one from another.

By

Hope Kalé Ewusi ©

TIME

Springing forth creation's bow.

Fleet its fletches like the orient beacon

As yet unseen in transient flow,

A moment's breathe in cosmic lore

Bears with wings the eternal flame.

Still in constant reckoning, we humans

Our wits confounded beyond the pale

Each loaded capsules a hapless ploy

Consigned to tame the current's flow

Alas the mystery defies the quest.

Yet time, the genial teacher 

Father of the genie's egg;

Bestows the suckling with saintly grace

And the aged, wiles of the nesting owl

By his accord, but not our claim.

And so the beat goes on and on and on.....

We scribble history in serial frames

And  thread these through celestial looms

Our daily strivings as yet banal-

In comparison to the hands of time.

By

Hope Kalé Ewusi ©

SEASONS OF BEING

Fleet the pageant – such is life

Of acts and scenes lived out in time

At once a farce, same roll for all-

Heirs to eternity, tromped by sin.

While as yet the wagon rolls….

Carting our wares from post to post

Far from the birthing pool, lapping on

Our reveling hearts swell with song.

But when the maestro drops his staff

And silence stills the chorus line…

Words forgotten upon our lips

Burn with penance late for the sky.

And so lies the mannequin in steady gaze

Scenes of winter, scenes of spring……

Of seed-time and harvest caught in frames

Not per chance or fabled law-

But in accord with mystic lore.

By

Hope Kalé Ewusi©

PLACES OF THE HEART

Placid beaches - stretched sandy lanes;

White breaking surf nibbling eager toes
Cozy vistas  afar so flung

Enraptured beings lost in  the haze.
Pleasures as such by guilty tabs despoiled-

Worth not the surety of a place called home.

Scaling slopes - cuddling airy climes

Where the air is crisp - a pristine song

Thrill seekers, their numbers enthralled

Embrace the wind on  ski - thrust breasts

While cabin fires with logs aglow

Dole out warmth not akin to a homely heath.

Where love’s pickets bounds the soul

Smiles and laughter tickle the lyre…

And there by the nurturing kitchen table

We gather for the breaking of bread

With time honored ghosts of the kindred fold-

There in their hallowed midst love abides.

Sure ginger bread moments oft' erupt

When each other’s neck we dare to snap

Yet the balm of kindred bliss, heals the pain-

For each heart bears a harvest of cheer.

Dream if you dare of bright spots under the sun

Where revelers go chasing water falls;

My circling wagon has wrapped its hitch:

I’m heading home - my sacred place of the heart.

Author: Hope Kale Ewusi ©

Jealousy

   “Masquerade”

Eyes like fire…

ripened with rage;

hissing sighs of lustful desires

the ugly face behind a page.

Arms stretched out in serpentine guile

lulls its foe with wry embrace-

caressing tenderly all the while

venom sips without a trace.

Born of inadequacies of self;

Beware of those too eager to please-

query their motives – their inklings too…

laugh with them – cajole and tease;

never hold your breath beyond a count of two.

For deflated egos do compensate…

For schemes and skits that go awry

With actions conceived to ingratiate.

Author: Hope Kale Ewusi 

Meditation.......

  “Of water & spirit”

Face to face with

The ocean I stand;

In reverence – in awe

Of grandeur extolled:

Deep and wide………..

From pole to pole;

Wavy curtains shimmering bright

Horizons unknown unite earth and sky.

Tireless in her ebb and flow…

Mystical journeys to countless shores;

Weaving enchanted tales of

Tranquil breezes and capricious hurricanes-

I listen with intent-waiting my turn.

Softly I speak to the wailing wind

In silent codes……..

Deep unrehearsed cogent thoughts

I’d rather  share with naught;

And the ocean in refrain my way she sends

Missives tucked in folds of roaring waves
Battering the ageless sentry crags
Where from mystic rain my gaze besiege...

Body and soul – drenched; anointed thus-

Salt crusted tears my spirit does purify.

Author: Hope Kale Ewusi ©