LOST IN THE JUNGLE
In our pursuit for endless adventures, we decided to go for, a tour in a game park. We set off from school at 6 o’clock at the crack of dawn to Kidepo National Game Park. As we cruised along the way we could see a trickle of smoke that sketched a chalky line up the ebony sky. As we perused through the busy high way, we came to a point that was near to the sea. From a distance, I could see that the glittering sea rose up, moved a part in planes of blatant impossibilities; the coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the more elevated parts would float up into the sky. The sea would quiver, be plucked apart, run like rain drops on a wire or be repeated as in an odd succession of mirrors. Brenda, my close pal discounted all this learnedly as a mirage. Furthermore, cascades of retreating waterfalls would sink past the rocks and plaster down the seaward shining grass. Then I remembered that our school instructor had promised that we would see all the animals we longed to see. His encouraging words seemed to fill the emptiness of our hollow dreams we had nursed for donkey’s years.
At a distance we could hear the booming of a million bees in search of nectar, fronds tossed and fluttered. The slow swing from dawn to quick dusk seemed not to have caught us by surprise, since the journey was the longest we ever travelled once in a blue moon. A sunbath under a blue dome appeared sending unknown indigo of infinite possibility over the horizon like a bolt from the blue. Our school rumbled and screeched it’s brakes and in a blink of a second, we had already arrived at the game park, we finally disembarked and boarded a game park van. No sooner had we set foot into the jungle than silence loomed over the vast woods except for the sudden haste of a gaudy bird from a primitive nest of sticks, was the silence shattered and echoes set ringing by a harsh cry that seemed to come out of the abyss of ages. There was the inscrutable masses of creepers that lay across the trail – to the far distant vicinity, crowns of feathery palm, white water lilies and needle-like reeds flourished. The trodden ground was littered with coconut shells.
As we walked in the jungle, we could see giraffes and elephants from afar; dark aromatic bushes and canopies covered the pathway. Over the trees we could see bright fantastic birds singing sweetly on the trees. As we traversed the busy jungle, we made a lot of furtive calculated movements in order not to be heard by dangerous wild cats. The slopes of the bars of honey coloured sunlight decreased in a flash light. Nezza Patience checked a branch of leaves and a pair of butterflies rose up. Suddenly the sun sank, darkness dropped on the jungle like an extinguisher and the horizon was full of restlessness under the remote stars. This darkness misguided the tour guide, and we all suddenly bumped into the lion country, the lions started chasing us, we run towards the dark castle rocks that looked unfamiliar to us, but the lions still kept on chasing us while roaring. We all resorted to survival tricks of rumbling and rattling like heavy vehicles in order to scare away the lions. We were completely at sea since the lions the lions were undetterant. No sooner had I thought of a solution than all my friends were eaten by the lions that so them stride from the cradle to the grave unwillingly.
Left as the lone survivor, I started crawling slowly out of the jungle. A sudden lightning scattered light over the horizon that enabled me to see with china blue eyes, a thicket having a piglet caught up in a curtain of creepers. The piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth while squeaking, the screeching noise caused the lions to roar harder and louder. This sent extreme fear and terror into my already troubled heart, I held my grip and continued crawling under the impenetrable tangle of creepers. When I looked at my watch at the eleventh hour, it was already 8:00pm. So into God’s hands I lay my life. As it is always said that necessity is the mother of invention, I folded my garments and took off at the speed of light. In fact, I ducked quickly into the safe grounds. While running, I miraculously felt as fit as a fiddle since I was able to make long strides across the jungle. It was as though some supernatural powers strengthened my body, and made me feel as light as a feather, so that I could escape to freedom. When I arrived safely into the highway that connected us to Kidepo National Game Park, I was relieved and I boarded a minibus in a twinkle of an eye that took me to school as the only lone survivor of a tour that turned disastrous.
By Bishop Love
THE KINGDOM OF THE LIVING SKELETONS
One day as I walked majestically in a heavily gross dark night in the dead of the night, I realized that the glow worms kept on peering through the dark misty night occasionally, in a manner that left me plodding and creeping through the pitch darkness of the misty night timorously. I kept on stumbling, and kicking stones horrendously as though I was being pursued by a beast, as the faint light rays from the glow worms kept on flashing on and off across the entire horizon, I kept on walking but the night was as cold as ice and the cold breeze oozed through the ebony trees sending my entire body into great shivers. The darkness flooded my heart with extreme fear since the moon’s light had already disappeared which left me in a complete daze. The night was as dark as coal and as silent as a grave that left me fearful. Through the light rays of the glow worms that kept on popping in dribs and drabs, I could see beautifully decorated plant cells flourishing in a completely remote and desolate castle rocks. As wind blew, I could suddenly hear the rattling and flapping of leaves as well as the humming and croaking of frogs. The frogs croaked the more and sent a witch-like-heavy-cry as echoes across the entire horizon.
The sky appeared ebony as it was littered with numerous stars. The faint reflections from the glow worms had strake the beach with unmistakable sharp precision. Looking with bleary my eyes on my left in a twinkling of an eye, I could see the pictorial lagoons and ponds appearing as beautiful as a rainbow that stretched to the furthest ends of the horizon like a bolt from the blue. Glancing surreptitiously on my right hand side in a flash of light, I could see resurrected skeletons of once dead people coming out of their graves, and approaching towards me that left me terrorized since I had never seen such a horrific sight for donkey’s years, it was like walking from the cradle to the grave. I saw skeletons of children, tall people in all shapes and sizes. In a flash of light I felt like already a dead person, my temperature rose quickly to abnormal level. I knew they were going to kill me since they were bony and looking devilish. Most of them kept on smiling even while carrying fire arms. The smiles from their open jaws and naked faces with sockets that had no flesh; made them appear as eager as a bridegroom but very horrific and scary simultaneously.
The dark night was a great tyrannical terror and a very dreadful day that left me completely taken aback; for I was as afraid as a grasshopper. The resurrected skeletons kept on advancing towards me while chanting, ” kill him, kill him, crucify him, that he may have his share among the dead, who is he to visit the dead and continue living in the human form; tonight he must become bones without flesh. Commander James Brown, arrest him, take him captive and kill him. ” No sooner had they reached closer to me than they took hold of my neck and strangled me while smiling from ear to ear. In a blink of an eye I had already become a living skeleton who kept on smiling with the other skeletons. It was at this point that I felt as fit as a fiddle and in fact it was the last straw in a series of catastrophic events in my life in this strange night. As it is always said that necessity is the mother of invention, I found myself already adapting to my new world. I later got to learn at the eleventh hour that the kingdom of the dead people is known as The Kingdom of The Living Skeletons of which I had become a bonafide member. Meanwhile I kept on meditating on these new unbearable developments, and my next role to play in this kingdom, I suddenly woke up and realized that I had been dreaming. This sent me praying against such a reality or possiblity of it happening when I remembered the saying, ” as generous as a dream. ” Meaning that there’s a possibility of our dreams being fulfilled in reality, that’s why I prayed against it to God to help me out.
By Bishop Love
ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS
Summer is the best time on the island of the blue dolphins. It is warm then, and gentle winds blow from the west or the south. Everyday I looked from my rock towards the east. That was where my people had gone. And from there the ship would come. But during all those summer days I saw only one big thing on the sea. It was a grey whale. The weather changed and the first storm of winter came. I felt very lonely. I knew that the ship would not come in the winter. I felt so lonely that I did not want to eat. And terrible dreams woke me up at night. Strong winds blew from the north, and I had to move my bed to the ground. I gathered a lot of wood so that there was always a good fire at night. On the first night the dogs came and stood outside the circle of light. I killed three of them with my bow and arrows. And another ran off with a wound on the leg. If my arrow heads had had better points, perhaps I should have killed more. I thought that the feathers on some arrows were not straight enough. I did not kill the leader of the pack, but the dogs did not come again.
After the storm, I had decided to leave the island. ‘ I will take a canoe and go to the country in the east,’ I thought. I knew that Kinki had crossed that wide sea by canoe. And the lonely island and the wild dogs seemed to be worse danger than the waves. I did not feel afraid. I made a path of stones and kelp. And along this path I pushed the smallest canoe into the sea. It was afternoon when I paddled away from Ghalas-at. And I did not look back for half an hour. The island was then like a small cloud on the water. I continued to paddle until the evening. I looked back again and could not see the island of the blue dolphins. I was alone among hills and valleys of water. The canoe rose and fell on the empty sea. And then I felt afraid. Night came and the sea looked black. It was the same colour as the sky. But a bright star appeared and gave me great comfort. I knew this star in the east, and it guided me well. Later, the North star helped to guide me because it does not move in the sky.
During the night water began to flow into the canoe. I emptied it out and then felt along the wet boards. Between two boards I found a crack where the water was coming in. I tore some of the fibre off my skirt and pushed it into the crack. But in the morning my troubles grew worse. A new and bigger crack appeared between the boards. And I had to use a lot of fibre in order to stop the water. I knew then that the wood was weak. The canoe was in a dangerous condition. I thought of the distance that I had travelled. The water was still flowing into the canoe. I thought of the lonely island and the dogs. I did not want to see either of them again. But the cracks were a little wider. ‘The boards of the canoe might break apart!’ I thought. Suddenly I knew that I could not go on. I turned back very sadly and paddled towards the island. A family of dolphins appeared and swam around the canoe. I knew that dolphins are always a good sign at sea. They were my friends too, and I did not feel lonely. They stayed with me until the evening. And then they swam away towards the west. For a long time I could see the sun’s light on their backs. Night came and I continued to see the dolphins in my thoughts. I think that these friendly animals saved my life. The night was very long, and I felt very tired. Twice I almost slept. The cracks between the boards grew wider, and I had to work hard in order to empty out the water. My fears were greater than ever. But the sun rise at last, and the morning was clear. Far in front of me I could see the shape of the island. I reached it at noon and the tide carried the canoe on to the shore. I fell where I climbed out. I was so happy that I just lay on the dry sand. I was too tired to think of the wild dogs. Soon I slept. (Kelp: a large sea-weed)
Love and Romantic Poems 
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