The Sidewalk Poet

2009-02-01T12:03:00.003-08:00

flower of light
by Michael AK 2009

A towering intellectual figure
With a passion to discover the unknown
Who strives to design hypothesis
To construct postulates and Empirical rules
That may lead to solutions to known problems
And to problems that are yet to be discovered
You walk in hallways of knowledge
Treating at every one as your equal,
A student, a professor or just a passerby
Your voice of decent and care for
Those in distress, in Rwanda and Zimbabwe
You are crowned with great titles
Distinguished University Professor
Elected to the hall of fame of the academies
You diligently push the envelop of human knowledge
You are the Leading edge human endeavor
You are the flower of light
Of a nation and a people
You wrote their history
That guides them in times of
Their triumphs and their struggles
Your fame attracts many to your classes
Your students look up to you
As their friend and mentor
You lit the fire in them
The desire to learn the history
Of your nation and your people
You created the disciples of knowledge and reason
The guiding lights for generations to come

Lucy Mythology: The meaning of you (Michael-AK2008)

2008-12-23T15:17:00.001-08:00

I am the woman who walked the Earth first. I am the mother of all. My people call me Dinkinsh. It means you are amazing. Amazing is I am as, my home mother earth. The roof are my skies. Amazing is you my children, the way you turn out to be. I will tell you stories about how I came about and how everything came about. At first before I became, and before everything became everything existed in word. Everything existed in the primordial space and time singularity, the abyss. There was neither day nor night. The power of the creator dwelt in the abyss. The word was spoken, day and night separated

God called my name three times: Eve ! Eve! Eve!
Then I became. I touched the face of my creator. He spoke to me. I replied by the language of the creator. I called him my God. I asked God, why he called me three times and he replied. The first time was for the four elements. The second time was for the seven heavens, stars, the constellations and their leaders. The third time was for the animals and plants according to their sizes and dwellings. God instructed me to give name to everything I see, touch, hear, smell or taste. I named the four elements, air, fire earth and water. From these God created man. I called the man Adam. Adam spoke my language, he called me Dinkinesh

God said to me: “Let my power and the power of all the gods dwell in you”
He instructed me to name everything according to my wants and wishes. I named the stars, the constellations and their leaders. I named every animal, plant and every living creature. I named the four rivers, the mountains and the oceans. I named my children Ethiopians

My prayer for christmas and new year

2008-12-18T16:10:00.001-08:00

This is Christmas to me Part I: Michael-AK 2008

2008-12-14T07:42:00.001-08:00

This is Christmas to me: Part I Michael AK2008

Time to live again
A life recent, past and distant
Immortalized in my memories
My beloved uncle
Who taught me life lessons
That anchored me on a strong foundation
The realization of myself and
The meaning of me
Dear nephew he says:
You are a small sheaf of this universe
But an important piece that
You are the reflections
Of the people who love you

Time to live again
A life recent, past and distant
Immortalized in my memories
A great compound of picket fences
Filled with flowers and evergreens and
Silent prayers of a tender Grand mother
Counting her shiny rosemary
Elohe Elohe
Thank you Lord the merciful
For the good fortune and
For the birth of the child and
The promise to save your servant
Elohe Elohe

Time to live again
A life recent, past and distant
Immortalized in my memories
A mother’s love
Uninhibited and selfless love
Undiminished by time
The first to wake up, last to sleep
Her soft melody of praises of saint Marry
Her Prayers to bless her family and
To ease the fever of her ill baby

2008-12-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

This is Christmas to me: Part II by Michael AK 2008

Time to live again
A life recent, past and distant
Immortalized in my memories
A father’s love
Unyielding to hardship
Or to scorn of a neighbor
An eagle by night and
A bee by the day
Watched and guarded and led the family
Always began his day with a great prayer
Dear Lord: What can you not do?
As you can suspend the Earth in heavens
Without visible pillars
Help it move freely through the stars
As you can put the stars in their places
Shine according to your orders
As you can separate day and night
As you have given us two lights
The sun to warm us, and
The moon to guide us by the night
You my Lord
You can bless my children
Make them kind, as you are kind to them
Pained and scarred by life
His face filled with swollen veins and wrinkles
It is a joy to see him, on Christmas day
When his smiles and happiness
Surface on his beautiful face
Time to live again
A life recent, past and distant
Immortalized in my memories
Christmas eve
From horizon to horizon
The hills and the valleys
Filled with the sound of the time
Church bells and
The songs of the season
The faithful patiently waiting
For the arrival of the baby
Young boys singing
Around a huge bonfire
Genna Game the next day
This is Christmas to me
To live and to tell these stories
Resting on time chair
Built from the confluence of
The past and the present
This is my narrative of the future that
You and I are just
A small sheaf of this universe
The meaning of you and I that
We are just reflections,
Of the people who love us

Our Neighborhood

2008-11-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

Our Neighborhood
by Michael-AK 2008

This is where we live
This is our neighborhood
Look at our pastures
Our hills and our valleys
Our wild yellow daisies
Our freshwater flowing down hill
Our small mud houses and gardens
Surrounded by tall green trees
If you must know
The Air we breathe is
Enriched by the smell
Of animals , flowers and trees
Add to that the smell
Of bread baked by the hands of our mothers
Of coffee brewed by our neighbors
Blended with all these
The delight of our ears!
The whisper of the leaves,
The songs
Of birds and honey bees,
Accompanied by
The tinkling bells of our church.
The saintly songs and prayers
Of the church fathers
Of the high priests.
Of the young deacons
Hale Luya.. Hale Luya
In the name of the Lord
The Son and the Holy Ghost
Our father bless our Children!
You see,
Our air is always prayed on
We are grateful for what we have
We are thankful for the deeds of our elders
For helping us grow happy
We are thankful for the help
Of Gashe Tadde and his friends
For being our role models
We are praying
For what we wish to have
We are joyful
For what we are given

Look at our huge space
To run to and from School
See that place
Where the sky meets the Earth
That is our border and
This is our neighborhood

My thanksgiving

2008-11-23T16:23:00.001-08:00

My Thanksgiving
by Michael-AK 2008

At this time, at this place
I give thanks to the lord
For providing me the strength
To reflect on his great gift
I am thankful for this dirt
Lord, and for the few grains
To sustain me for the day
I am thankful for your generosity

I am thankful for being poor and hungry
I am thankful to see my mother cry
I am thankful for her tearless cry
That she is not denied her humanity
To despair the loss of her children
Like all mothers would

I am thankful for the stabbing pain
Of hunger in my spine
Of the burning tears in my eyes
Of the weak breathe that
God planted in me, with instruction
Live! Live! Live

I am thankful to live
To serve my lord
As an example of despair
So that you, his blessed
Appreciate what you have

I am thankful to live
For the chance given to me
To appreciate the well off
To help me envision
The promise of his kingdom

I am thankful that I will die
Soon to see my lord
I am thankful that
God will release me from bondage
To be born again to live
But this time in heavens

Temptations and the Romantic: Michael-AK

2008-11-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

Temptations and the Romantic
By Michael-AK 2006

I was not born to discover
Instead I live to discover myself
In a mirror right in front of me
In a restaurant
Right in your magnificent eyes,
Sometimes shy of words,
Just looking.
Contemplating and bitter about
The time-space coordinate
That put me in the wrong trajectory
That forced me into you.
Why here and why now?
Floods of questions but no answers.
I wanted your tender hug, and
Hoped for a kiss or two.
But my urge inhibited
By time and space
Pained by heartbreak
What an irony
Right after our good bye
Drove home into the sunset
With a big smile in my face
Lost in a daydream
Thinking about your poems and mine
Just discovered myself
That never in my life
Uttered such expression
Of friendship and love
With such intensity, rigor and fluency
Oh thank god, I am in love
What a feeling,
Filled with happiness
And grace
Eternally grateful to you
For being that mirror
To see myself in your eyes
To discover myself
And to experience this unforgiving love

Quantum Mechanics

2008-11-17T15:34:00.001-08:00

Quantum Mechanics
By Michael-AK 2008

Your major concepts,
Impressive and Illusive
Your descriptions of this vast Universe
Expression of the knots that tie it together,
You are an excellent storyteller

What will you say next?
The chance of existence ?
Answer me!
Quantum mechanics
Do I exist because I am?
Or Am I because I exist?
Which comes first?
Have I called myself into existence?

Looking for a single unifying equation
With lots of parameters of life in it
May I initiate your soul?
To tell me more stories,
To fill my bare soul with wisdom
To care for fellow human being
To appreciate what I am given,
To realize my power
To make a better world for others

Believe me,
As far as I am concerned
You are like
The sound of a trembling drum calling to gather,
The sound of honey bees working hard,
A singing bird floating free in the air
Tell me more stories
You neat expression of nature !

From me to you

2008-11-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

From me to you
by Michael-AK 2008

When I look into your face
Glowing with smile
When I look in your eyes
Full of Dreams,
Full of Life
Shy but determined
Careful but courageous
That is when I say
I have a Cool friend
More beautiful than this picture
More vibrant than sunflower
More mysterious than the evening sky

Our Red Little Umbrella

2008-11-17T11:58:00.001-08:00

Our Red Little Umbrella

by Michael-AK 2008

The air filled with the aroma
Of coffee and of burning essence
The soft song on a new mother
Her sweet lullaby
The sound of a recorder
Of a shepherd
Signaling the arrival of the herd
The screams of Children
Fearful of the dark
The sound of a heavy storm
Ferocious and merciless
Coming from the east
From the majestic mountain
Two siblings
Returning from evening choir
Two dark shadows
Formed by the flash of lightning
Their prayer muted by the roaring thunder
Holding each other tight
And taking refuge
Under a little red umbrella
Comforted by the smell
Of their mother
Anxious, scared and wet
Praying
Oh God the Merciful,
May your light from the heavens
Guide us
Show us the way home

I wish you were there with me

2008-11-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

I wish you wre there with me
by Michael-AK 2008

Contemplating my universe
I came across a tree
Standing up tall and proud
Carrying fruit and green leaves
Shimmering and swaying in the wind
I just wish you were with me
To shimmer and sway in the wind
To bathe in the sweet morning sun rays

Contemplating my universe
I came across a river
Making its way from the highest of mountains
Spreading the seed of life on its way
Polishing and shaping every rock
Grazing everything on its shore
Quenching the thirst of men and beasts
I just wish you were with me
To admire this beauty with me

Contemplating my universe
I came across the night sky
Filled with twinkling stars and wandering planets
Filled with beautiful darkness
Filled with light from shooting stars
Filled with the gentle light of the moon
I just wish to see its reflections
From your wild beautiful face

Fom me to You

2008-11-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

From me to you
by Michael-AK 2005

Standing on a hill top
Overlooking this land of Arabs
A desert Oasis where stories are told
For millennium
The air filled with
The snores of the Arabian Steeds
The yell of the Arabian Nights
The Heroic songs of Ethiopian Warriors
The commanding voice of the Negus
Protector of Muslims
The far away Allah Wakbar
Coming from the land of Habash
The voice of Moses
The teacher of the Ten Commandments
Reading Loud from the Great Books
Pasted on the Arc of the Covenant
Liberating his people from Bondage
Let my people Go!

This is where I am
Standing in front of
The Great City of Al-Ain
Contemplating history
Of mine and yours
Looking west
Towards you
The Land of Habash

Thank you

2008-11-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

Thank you
by Michael AK-2007
Your Smiles
Bright and Genuine
Wilde and Unforgiving
Radiant and full of glares
Beautiful Blue skies
Dotted with bright clouds
Beautiful day
Filled with your smiles
Highlight of your inner beauty
Expression of your soul
Captured in time and space
Blessed be the day
When your eyes met mine
I can only say
Thank you
For your warm smiles

My Fall Tree by Michael AK

2008-11-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

My Fall Tree
by Michael-AK

Standing by the sidewalk
Frequented by the young
Who came from all directions
To enjoy your bright decorations
To express their young love
Some Lonely and broken
But found peace and happiness
From your fragrance
Of Roses and Of Sunflowers
Evaporating from your leaves
Highlighted by the sweet sun rays
In motion by the gentle breeze
Filled with whispers of lovers
Inanimate object for the fool
A clear mirror of time for me
A Pillar of happiness and hope
For what it is to come
For what is to be
Giggling children
Admiring your falling leaves
Clueless of your mystery
Looking up to your face
Asking why you let them go
Spreading their hands
Just like your branches
Pretending to be you
In their dreams
Running, Jumping and rolling
In piles of your leaves
Awakened by the new day
Just to find you gone away
Etched in their memories for ever