baffled by mercy

when i trust you

and put my hope hoping you

for me will make things work

with my field giving a plentiful harvest

and my cattle, numerously, multiply

you let me down badly

with your refusal

to open windows of heaven

for showers to fall on ground

instead

you open doors of pestilence

to strike my cattle

then i trusted you not

from you

nothing i expected

but you then

flood me with blessings, baffling

me with your unlimited mercy

henry victor     17.04.2003

racism: a reverse evolution

i put on the skin of a prairie buffalo

to keep my chin up cheerfully

at a time when i am unemployed

in this land of plentitude of prejudice

my wearing of this skin for too long

makes my heart pound like a buffalo’s

even as i now feel like this hardy creature

becoming extinct in its chosen territory

the stink emanating from this skin

permeates into to my blood stream

feeding my brain to think like a buffalo

as i roam in this green land

i have in the past heard of reincarnation

and have explored the natural selection

as i studied in school theories of evolution

but reverse i see: an immigrant to a buffalo

henry victor      25.04.2007

please! don’t fill my cup

my cup is empty

and i have desire

for no more

in this land of plenty

food here taste no more

for my taste buds are depleted

as if x-rays have destroyed

my heart, my desire

in the land of scarcity

there was joy at that time

every instant i returned home

to share potted curd so tasty

© henry victor     11.02.2004

too much

 

Lord it is cold and my load

is very heavy too and my pride

that overloaded un-substance

slows me in my stride forward

and i with no more will to soul-stretch

desire, therefore, the death, a longer-stretch

ahead of my future that i have no control

over, like my emotion i seldom patrol

© henry victor     17.10.2003

buying and selling

unlike those days in my motherland, today
in my adopted-land despite its abundance
rarely i find one to give, or to receive
but in plenty are those that sell, or for buying

what cannot be sold is dumped

for elimination with those incapable
to buy, and those who lobby giving
too, will be pushed to the margin

to be marginalized, to be maligned

and silenced like a sheep ready for shearing
in a world taking from, and taking ruthlessly,
acceptable, than sharing with the needy

henry victor     28.08.2013