When I had the chance to be god
MK Kuol
after kened ngiise iii
on my way
to the church one sunday,
i crossed paths with a beggar.
she was a bare-footed girl of eleven
with nothing
but a beggar’s bowl
& a face creased into a plea.
she stretched her beggar’s bowl
toward me & said weakly:
a penny please!
days now. no food. no water
please! pleaase! pleaaaaaase!
having nothing to offer,
for all i had was the offertory,
i turned my eyes off her &
bypassed her hastily.
in the church,
after offering my offertory
i raised my cupped hands
heavenwards & pleaded to god
to bless me with everything
my heart desires
when my prayers went unanswered,
i cursed god―cursed him bitterly.
little did i realize when god
gave me the chance to be the beggar’s god,
i heeded not the beggar’s plea, too….
Published in Issue No. 6, Scriba Vita, March 1st, 2025.
MK Kuol was recently shortlisted for The Wanjohi Prize for African Poetry and A Proper Poetry Pamphlet Competition. His works have appeared on Beach Chair Press, Spillwords, Double Speak, Ultramarine Literary Review and elsewhere. MK Kuol loves dark rooms, coffee, moon-gazing, folk music (Arizona JJ's to be exact) and conspiracies.
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