Still I Rise With Broken Wings Poem by Linus Kithinji Njeru

The path was rugged, the nights were cold,
The dreams I carried felt too bold.
Each step was heavy, each door was closed,
Yet I pressed on, though no one knows.

No fortune's cushion, no easy start,
Just a burning will and a stubborn heart.
Competition fierce, the doors were tight,
But I kept knocking, night after night.

Still, I stayed. Still, I prayed.
Still, I hoped. Still, I obeyed.
Still, I waited for a shift,
For the burdened clouds to lift.

I waited eagerly for fortune to turn,
To reap from midnight sweat I burn.
To silence the sighs behind my smile,
To make the pain all feel worthwhile.

I waited. I waited. I waited again.
I waited through joy. I waited through pain.
For a harvest from the seeds I sowed,
For a sunrise down a darkened road.

I dreamed of the day I'd retire my mother,
Wrap her in peace like no other.
A package of comfort for years she cried,
A medal of joy for the times she sighed.

I dreamed. I dreamed. I dreamed in tears.
I dreamed to heal our aching years.
To hear her laughter break the gloom,
To watch her dancing in her room.

But I had to leave — I had to go,
From the only love and land I know.
I walked away from the place called "home, "
For it no longer saw my worth alone.

I left. I left. I left in pain.
I left with hope. I left with strain.
I left the known for places strange,
Because the treasured things had changed.

Where gold is louder than your grace,
Where silence mocks you to your face.
Where love turns bitter, slow and cold,
If you've no fortune, if you've no gold.

I stayed too long where I was mocked,
Even for scones, I was laughed and blocked.
The company smiled but sneered within,
Laughed at the dreamer, thin and thin.

Still, I rise. Still, I rise.
With weary bones and tearful eyes.
Still, I rise. Still, I rise.
With broken wings, I touch the skies.

For every loss that stripped me bare,
A deeper truth was planted there.
For every face that turned away,
A stronger flame in me would stay