Letting Go: A Knight's Farewell Poem by Linus Kithinji Njeru

When the Mirror Showed a Stranger
I tried again to rise, to play my part.
To win her pride, to steal again her heart.
A second degree, new ventures bright,
But still I failed to set our future right.

Jobs fled like sparrows in a sudden storm,
And side hustles left us worse than the norm.
She bore the load while I played jester's role—
The juggler with no balls to hold.

I grew ashamed to walk beside her kin,
For even clothes could not erase my sin.
A potbelly mocked the man I used to be,
While mirrors whispered what she saw in me.

Letting Go: A Man's Final Gift
She has said, in word and tone and stare,
That this is not the life she thought we'd share.
Her mind seeks wealth, her heart seeks calm retreat,
And love, when overburdened, knows defeat.

So let me go, not as a coward shamed,
But like a knight who dies with sword unclaimed.

I'll not receive her help—though kind it be,
It burns my pride like salt upon the sea.
I'll split what's ours and give her every share,
Let her find joy, for joy is just and fair.

'Two cannot walk unless they be agreed.' — Amos 3: 3

The Kenya house shall bear her name alone.
As for me, I'll find another stone.
Another place where I can start afresh,
And carve from ashes something strong and flesh.

To My Children
To my dear children, born of love and light,
Know this: your father fought the longest fight.
Though worn and weak, I did not leave in vain—
I only left to shield you from my pain.

You are my dawn, my legacy, my pride.
In you, I live though time may now divide.
I hope you dream where I have only slept,
And reap the tears your mother and I wept.

'The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.' — Proverbs 20: 7