Heartbreak Kid
Poetry, if I be the death of you, forgive me,
for I courted you for all the wrong reasons,
needed acceptance and you gave me that,
needed prestige and you gave me that,
even needed money and like an ATM, you dispensed
but now we must face the facts,
we dont feel the same about each other anymore,
I've gotten cocky, and you have other loves,
I've lost interest, and you get more and more complicated,
so poetry, If I be the death of you, 
please forgive me.

Hi poets and enthusiasts alike,

I would like send a big shout out to the first two winners of the Fern Poetry Prize,
Jennifer Noxolo Musangi and Redscar McOdindo K?Oyuga. I would also like to thank and
appreciate every poet who has ever sent in their poem for consideration. We are
celebrating a different type of love this Valentines. They say that birds of a feather
flock together, but what if birds of a delicate feather desire to flock together? That?s
what this month?s poem is about. We live in a fast changing society and can?t afford to
bury our heads in the sand. It?s a love poem with a difference, don?t let the title fool
you. It is my voluminous pleasure to announce the winner of the Third Edition, which is
also the Love Edition of the Fern Poetry Prize worth Kshs. 3,000. And the winner is? Lee
La Poeta ?with her poem titled ?Forgive me mother?. The poem speaks of a new type of
love, and no it?s not about mothers, but something perhaps new to our culture but
nonetheless existent.

I?m also happy to announce that we are extending the coverage of the Fern Poetry Prize to
include schools through a project funded by Koinonia Advisory Research and Development
Service (KARDS). This will be a new segment of the poetry prize targeting students in
high school with a theme on anti-human trafficking. The project is slated to start in
March with the pilot phase targeting five schools. It will involve poetry recitals on
human trafficking and a poetry competition where the students have a chance to win Kshs
1,000, Kshs 500 and Kshs 300 for the winner and runners up respectively. I sincerely
thank KARDS and Consolation East Africa for sponsoring this project and for appreciating
the role played by poetry as an impetus for change in society.

Here is the winning poem by Lee La Poeta titled ?Forgive me mother?
http://www.bernardmuhia.com

The deadline for the submission of poems to the Second Edition of the Fern Poetry prize worth 2,000 Kshs. was on 15th January 2011. I would like to appreciate every poet who submitted poems for consideration and it’s my pleasure to announce the winner of the second Fern Poetry Prize. And the winner is... Redscar McOdindo K’Oyuga...with his poem titled ‘Please come home daddy’. This poem not only appeals to all audiences but also speaks to a cause. You can feel the immense desire for proximity attachment expressed by the observer who is also deeply emotionally invested. Read the winning poem here http://www.bernardmuhia.com

P.S. The Third Edition of the Fern Poetry Prize will be in February and is themed the ‘Love Edition’. The prize for the third edition will be increased to 3,000 Kshs. Submission of poems starts on 27th January 2011 and closes on 11th February 2011. The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day, 14th February 2011. Submit only love poems to poetry@bernardmuhia.com. To read this edition's winning poem by Redscar McOdindo K’Oyuga titled ‘Please come home daddy’ click here http://www.bernardmuhia.com

To celebrate the launch of my website www.bernardmuhia.com, Poets have another chance to win a thousand Kenya shillings.

After a successful first round, here comes the sequel in what will be a long series of the Fern Poetry Prize. I would like to big up our first winner Jennifer Noxolo Musangi and her poem titled ‘This poem I refuse to write’.

To enter the competition follow the guidelines on http://www.bernardmuhia.com/

By Benson Kabugi Wamwea

He called you fat
After he met a skinny girl
And forgot about your curves
The very curves that drew him to you
So you hide
You hide under baggy jumpers
Hoping to conceal the imaginary folds
Yet you hide your figure
The frame of your beauty

He called you black
After he had seen a bleached face
And forgotten about the suppleness of your skin
The very skin he so loved to touch
So you hide
You hide behind layers of make up
Hoping to conceal the imaginary pimples
Yet you mask the nature of your visage
The pride of your glamour

He called you controlling
After he met a reckless broad
And forgot about your nurturing care
The care that reminded him so much of his precious mother
So you hide
You hide behind a stern face
Hoping to hide the imaginary naivety
Yet you conceal your loving nature
The warmth of your persona

He called you weird
He called you old fashioned
He called you outdated
He called you an idealist
He called you a hopeless romantic
And you ran.
And you wept.
And you hid.

Now another has appeared
But he looks like him
So you hide
He reminds you of him
So you hide
He voice is just like his
So you hide

You hide behind the plastic smile
While you cower inside
You hide behind the busy day
While you are lonely inside
You hide behind the brave words
While you are scared inside
You are afraid he will lie like the last did
So you hide
You are afraid you will cry like you last did
So you hide
You are afraid to run like you last did
So you hide

The closer he moves, the farther you run
The nearer he draws, the deeper you hide
The more he calls, the tighter you curl
He must wait longer
Because you hide
He must call louder
because you hide
He must smile broader
Because you hide
He must try harder
because you hide
He must pay for the other's sins
So you hide.

By Kiarii Wainaina

My beloved you are mine and I, yours,
Hold my gaze with your mysterious blackness
Enchant me with the mystery of your darkness
For the shine of your face is like polished ebony
Like an African night in a moonless sky.

Bewitch me with the mischief of your wink,
And the flutter of your lovely lashes,
While your eyes twinkle like stars of my black skies.
Bind me with the beauty of your look,
And the love so intent in the look of your eyes.

Undo me with magic of your tongue,
In a sweet love ballad, a lazy whisper,
And the curl of your lips as you pout,
In a mock sulk, like the baby you are-
A young heart in a woman’s dress.

Blind me with the shine of your smile,
And the glint of your teeth in a merry grin,
In mischievous sneer or unbridled happiness,
Bright as a milky way in a moonless night,
Lighting my night when the moon won’t shine.

Mesmerize me with the dance in your step,
And the sway of your hips in measured walk,
The heave of your bosom in unbridled laughter,
The angelic crane of your neck, like a painter’s model
And I’ll paint you on the tablet of my heart.

I am amazed by the humility in your heart.
And the genius of your sober mind.
Though fairer than most, even all,
Like a bridled horse you rein your pride,
In measured words and careful steps.

My beloved I am yours and you, mine
A willing captive of your endless charm,
I’ll ever explore the mystery you are.
My beloved I am yours and you, mine,
To ever love, to ever cherish and forever hold.

Poets, win Kshs. 1,000 when your poem is selected as the poem of the week!
As promised, the poetry competition is on and popping. Poets now have a chance to win a thousand Kenya shillings in appreciation of their creative works. To enter the competition, send your poem to poetry@bernardmuhia.com
Only poems sent to this email address will be considered. The winning poem will make its debut along with my new website on the 15th of November 2010 http://www.bernardmuhia.com/ -Grotesque!

Submission guidelines:

1. Include the title of the poem in the subject of the email as well as in the body of the email.
2.Include your names, as you want them to appear in the credits.
3.Only one poem per email.
4. All forms of poetry are acceptable.

May the freshest poem win.

After the November 15th launch, this poetry competition will be a weekly feature of the website, so keep participating to continue winning.

The last shreds of my restraints
slip away at the mere sight of you
They constantly warn me against you
But they don't know or understand
Its that darkness in you am attracted to
Its that dismal deviousness am drawn to

The halo on my head tips
every time I am close to you
Cos of the thoughts
that take refuge in me
The wings on my back withdraw
and in their place, two horns grow

I swear its the way you look at me
Awakening the redundant shame in me
Its like you've taken me
in every way and every form
Like my dark desires
are open bare to you

I try to stay away
but you always find me
And when you do,
you strip me off my guard
leaving me defenceless to your charm
Creating in me a thirst
only you know how to quench

We're two opposing forces
We're naturally made
to work against each other
Where you hurt, I heal
What you break, I make
And where you are, I am

Each time you leave my embrace
A little darkness is left in me
Slowly by slowly
you turn me against my course
And I can see myself
doing the same to you

We question our masters
We dare think of betrayal
Knowing treachery
is punishable only by death

Yet questions stare naked at us
How much longer
can the other side of a star stay blue?
How much longer
can the dark side of the moon stay concealed?
How much longer
must daylight follow night time?

More benign,
How intimately
does one need to know another
before the intimacy consumes them?

By Redscar McOdindo K'Oyuga

you focused on my strengths, always
accepting me for who I am, and
respecting the choices I've made.

you reached deep inside my heart
and replaced the rain and darkness
with the sunshine of a warm smile.

you inspired me, reminding me of the
beauty of the sunset and making me
see beyond my own narrow world.

you encouraged me to follow my dreams
and even when the road was rough,
you always cheered me along the way.

you never gave up on me - not for a
single second - even when I was more
than ready to give up on myself.

you devoted your time to me and
remained a constant in my life
even when the world was changing.

By Kiarii Wainaina

A sprout, frail and green,
Into a firm stem grows.
Such promise it shows,
When a bud is first seen.
Into a rose the bud grows,
And a beauty never seen.


A rose, red and preen
When the morning sun shows.
In the moonlight it glows,
Though daytime’s already been.
Ever prettier it grows,
A lovelier rose has never been.

A fragrance for a Queen,
Is thy scent when the wind blows.
Thy beauty as sunset glows,
Is the beauty of a teen.
Endless as a fountain flows,
Thy praise has always been.

My rose I’ll be ever keen,
Thy fountain ever flows from whence thy beauty grows.
Thy petals forever keen,
Never to dull their royal gloss.
Though a thorn on thee grows,
To hold thee I will be ever keen.

BernardMuhia: @OchuroAgadi @PayPal is now in Kenya https://www.paypal.com/ke

BernardMuhia: @PayPal is now in Kenya https://www.paypal.com/ke @bankelele your take?

BernardMuhia: If you are a writer like me with articles you want to sell, post them here for the editor http://www.constant-content.com/?aref=46659

BernardMuhia: Lunch time blues

BernardMuhia: @HomeboyzRadio why is your website http://homeboyzradio.co.ke/ showing @CapitalFM_kenya website? Ooooooh... this is bad! online jacking??

BernardMuhia: RT @zainverjeecnn: Today is 10.10.10. A lucky date. Will you do anything?

BernardMuhia: Kicking it with NFS-Most Wanted, got the pad in my hand right now!

BernardMuhia: @HomeboyzRadio why is your website http://homeboyzradio.co.ke/ showing @CapitalfmKenya's website?

BernardMuhia: Kiarii Wainaina amazes on his poetry debut at Bernard Muhia's Blog with his poem Remember me http://t.co/1Zi49zw