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.