The Grapevine Art & Soul Salon

ASIIMWE SIMON

Asiimwe Simon is a Ugandan poet, fiction writer and playwright devoted to bringing Uganda's literature onto the global literary scene. Born in 1990 to Daudi Barugahare and Kyomugisha Elizabeth (both illiterate farmers of Rwetango Masha in the western part of Uganda), he went to local schools with a determination to break the chains of illiteracy within his family. He became an avid reader of global classic and contemporary literature that inspired him to become a contributor and finally a columnist with Child Link magazine, published ANPPCAN, during the last years of his high school term. His love for books, history, and culture continues to play a part in Asiimwe's life. His many inspiring stories and poems are written with the aim of establishing himself as a young African writer. Currently, he is working on stories that portray social and cultural traditions in Africa.

POEMS

My Soul

I like to sit and stare at the nearby woods
and listen to the melodies of the forest birds.
Their charming songs, their soothing tunes
awaken my soul to beautiful dreams.

African Trumpet

East, West, South and North
left, right, down and up
valleys and mountains all the way across:
nation to nation on African map
feel the echo that shakes the world
and lifts stone upon stone
to build the spirit, tender and solid
within the soul of an African man.

To Mother Nature

I'm but a child in your loving hands.
The reflection of your love, I can see in your eyes.
Your kiss is natural, for I can't compare it
to anything so sweet, not even to nectar.
The wings you gave me, I flap them and fly
so high, and like a kite, get lost in the sky.
My pride, my greed, my ignorance.
Shall my apology wipe the tears on your face?
You have called me to stop, but farther I go
trailing my thoughts as they wander and blow
and as I stray, I've measured my worth
away from you, I've sniffed my wrath
but like a bird after wandering, to the nest it returns.
Shall my return drain the tears in your eyes?

My Dream

I feel it in my heart
flowing like a stream.
It lifts me up
rising like steam.
Sometimes it frightens me
with its forceful drive.
Sometimes it amazes me
after a harmless dive.
It gives me a reason to risk.
It gives me a reason to fail.
It assigns me a task
worth hunting for, a Grail.
It takes me all the way
into the wilderness looking.
Sometimes I go astray
but I keep searching
because I have a dream in my heart
that drives me like a slave
then sends me high like a kite
and whispers to me, "be brave."

For your reading pleasure, Asiimwe recommends an anthology of African love poetry edited by Frank M. Chipasula: Bending the Bow (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2009). Copyright@Asiimwe Simon