The metal rusts from the acid rain.
Slowly it erodes and corrupts the soul,
The surface stained,
The acids etch through the surface,
Still, we say no one is to blame.
You feel out of place, not part of this race, the mindless consumption and allusions to destruction.
They tell you that you are insane
because these are the rules of the game.
You are lame if you think you can make a difference, and so this is the mantra we all repeat to ourselves,
We are all hopeless actors in this life we live.
We are all helpless victims of a system that is beyond our…

Naked, I was first seduced.

I have long forgotten the taste of lobster and jus with caramelised shallots.

Bold: The deep rich tones and bittersweet taste of the dark that sticks to the roof of the palate.

Power to be tamed and trammelled upon.

I saw in you a world long lost to them: unchained by the dogma of the values they sought to impose on you.

The enlightenment never resided in the dark.

I was taught that I was a servant of servitude, with a master, of no purpose, but to serve and fulfil his desires. …

Ah, there is something so comforting and alluring about the smell of freshly baked bread: the scent of warm yeast rising. It brings back childhood memories of helping my uncle bake bread during the summer school holidays. At midnight, as a boy, eyes wide open, I was mesmerized by the whole process, the clay oven in the little shed under the leaves of the banana trees at the back of the house, placing wood inside the oven and watching them burn until it was time to put the dough inside.

I before this, watching the raw dough rise and then…

Flavors to entice the senses.
The food is rich and bold.
It is the food of the soul.
The tastes set the taste buds alight.
We are the roots of mankind,
from the dasheen, the yam to sweet potatoes.
Our legacy can erase the doctrine of hate.
We feed the hunger of the soul.

We stand at the table with pride and dignity,
Giving all and seeking reciprocity.
We have endured with courage and resilience.
No longer will our voices be silenced.
We shine with brilliance.
We are the brave in the Land of the Slave.
We are the rhythm divine.
Our hearts…

From the island of dreams, he came wearing a sharply cut suit.
His confidence…brimming over the tip of his hat.
He looked so sharp: blade — a cut of glass.
Smile beaming from his face.
He stepped off the aeroplane into the grey.
It was just another day.

He steps into the train, which to him appeared unsophisticated and mundane.
Not like the ones seen in those black and white Christmas movies.
The smell of grease and diesel permeating the air — promising something new.
He enters into the small room of gloom.
The premise: this world is so alien from the…

We wrestled, trying to capture each other’s breath.
Restless and free, we aspired to swallow and devour each other’s hunger.
A struggle ensued: each wanting to convey the intensity of the desires to consume each other, souls exposed we broke free of the chains of conventions and preconceptions, and like wild waters, we roared.
We bite and roll, teeth and limbs clashing against each other, skin rubbing against skin: the friction intensifying the hunger.
We devoured and erased time.
We licked and salivated, tasted, inhaled, and exhaled.
The waves came rushing over each other, rocks clashing against rock: to erode…

Sometimes it is better to wait. A good analogy would be eating foods in season. The anticipation makes the fruit/ food taste so much better. Being reacquainted, forgotten sensations reignited, back to a familiar yet foreign place and time, the sobriety of being humbled by the act of savoring and contemplating becomes a meter to the soul. So many emotions triggered and come alive to impress on your long-lost states of being. The winter, spring, summer, fall are thus defined seasons for a reason. We eat strawberries, mangoes, peaches, and plums all year round. …