Looking for my Muse

George Gumikiriza, Uganda

Sometimes I stand by the roadside,
hoping to pick a feeling from the wind,
unsure of what to feel or think about.

In pursuit for perfect sunsets,
climb solitary hills brooding away
in mutterings
The loneliness of streetlights finds
me a stroller upon forgotten streets,
seeking conversation with a fellow outcast
Upon less travelled paths, my foot labors,
where the grass nods in pity at my
troubled face.

Some nights, I sit at the school
tankhill, closely watched by a
gigantic water reservoir
I hear the seasonal train hoot from
across the valley,
Its trumpet reminds me of the life
we breathed into words,
Of words that morphed into pastry,
metaphors into melody & thoughts
into poetry.

Sometimes I sit at rooftops,
hoping to pick my muse from
city lights glowing from afar
But even in the silence of the woods,
my heart is still an empty flute,
Searching for her jar of words to give
life to these strokes enfeebled by
the block

But however long the toil,
alas, I must let all go,
& patiently await this seasonal visitor
Who announces not her arrival,
yet quick demands her freedom.

George Gumikiriza is a 24-year-old Ugandan poet, writer, editor and mechanical engineer by training. Winner of the inaugural Uganda Uncovered Travel Writing Competition in 2021. A fellow of the inaugural 2021 International Writing Program's Writing and Reading Residency organized by African Writers Trust, to which he won a sponsorship from the University of Iowa. He was recently awarded the Akosua Zimba Scholarship for the 2022 Travel Writing masterclass taught by critically acclaimed writer Lerato Mogoathle on Lolwe Classes. Also a fellow of the 2022 May – June New Writing North / African Writers Trust Digital Poetry Residency moderated by Nick Makoha. He was also second runner-up for the 2018 Babishai Poetry Award.