by Philo Ikonya
In the horizon,
an old church spire
pierces the quiet morning.
Industrial smoke rises too.
I am watching actual reflections early.
The open sky has come to meet us,
here dawn is at 9.30am.
Your nights are long,
darkness fell at 3 in the afternoon yesterday,
A Friday.
Something has stilled the
blackened twigs of trees
this windless Saturday morning,
they do not swing like church bells,
the snow lies quietly melting.
The temperature is one above zero,
I hope it will rise higher tomorrow.
But the sky is open and,
seeing light clouds shot with orange
I feel warm in my heart,
this silence renews me,
gives me strength.
To mock the lack of movement
a white crow, has cut a cross,
and passed to meet sparrows in a V formation,
Their message in a morning
after firecracker outburst,
is difficult to footnote below.
They have come thrice as if to say,
soon you will see,
the victory rising on an your dawn.
I raise my cup and take a gulp,
The church spire now bathes in solace
in noon light high, it is three degrees.
I know we are near, one year has ended,
another has begun, with so much color.
someone had captured, white doves in their hands;
and now their beaks break free in speech.
A long journey, begins with a desire,
when the first step is taken, there is no turning back.
We all must be free to see change, unfolding slowly in a pod.
This moment is my gift, I will move it, so it wont wilt,
Until I put it to you in golden silt, and without a doubt you will see,
It was worth every risk. The sunsrises with a promise to rise again.
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ABOUT THE POET ~
Philo Ikonya is a prolific poet and novelist. She has been described as poet who claims history and creates futures passionately. Philo was first a school teacher and later taught Semiotics in Tangaza College and Spanish at the United States International University, (USIU) in Nairobi Kenya., Between 2007 and 2009, Philo Ikonya, PEN Kenya president, was arrested brutally several times for speaking out against corruption and the foiling of freedom of expression in her country. Born in Kenya, Philo lives in Oslo in exile from 2009. She is respected by the people for being vocal and loved, but resisted by those for whom the bitterness of truth is too personal. Within the context of power, human rights and freedom of expression, Philo is in her element. She has been described by poet Shailja Patel as “Rejecting silence and refusing simplification as she battles corruption”. “This author describes what she is heavily involved in, and she manages to portray it so that it concerns us all.” Per Ole Kallestad, Norwegian poet., Philo Ikonya is the author of two novels: Kenya, will you marry me? Langaa, Cameroon, 2011, and Leading the Night, Twaweza Publications, Kenya, 2010. She authored poems translated into German and published in a bilingual edition titled Out of Prison: Love Songs (Aus dem Gefangnis Liebesgesange) published by Loecker Austria, 2010 and This Bread of Peace (Lapwing, Belfast) 2010. She has written three young readers books: We met a Grasshopper and Other Poems, The Lost Gazelle (By East African Educational Publishers) and The Kenyan boy who became President of America translated into Norwegian, Med røtter fra Kenya I det hvite hus published by Libretto, Oslo.
Last updated July 14, 2015