Agony of love and hatred

By Atok Dan Baguoot

 In loneliness, you seek love
 For it perfectly mends broken arteries in the heart
 For it lessens pressured veins in the heart
For love is an unseen jeweler of a loving eye
 It is the ornament beauty
 It is a dissuading mediator in hatred

 Love and hatred all dwell in the agonies of despair
 Love mends, hatred tears it down
 Love stitches in a disheartened mood
 Love is an orator that leaves its audiences in stitches
Love cajoles parallel parties to compromise indifference

In the agony of love is in the broken love
 In an agony of love and hatred, a fierce and pair hearten
The duo need no cagey, for it slays love
 For love flairs and germinates even on rocky heart
Love is a tenet, likewise, hatred titters it

In the dale, love still towers, whereas hatred withers
 Even in a discourse of hate, the grimy face of anger
 Love still glitters with flourishing blossoms
We love and hate and still sail without a compass but never get lost
Love stirs greasy wheels

Barrels of conflict

By Atok Dan Baguoot

In between barrels, there is death and live
It is the barrel of life and death
In the barren lands of Sudd, barrel kills
In the contest of two barrels, human life extinct
In the barrel of a gun, armies of people kill
In the barrel of crude oil, armies of people contest bitterly

A barrel of oil and a gun tend to serve the interest of masters
It is the battle of two barrels
Bitter arguments between masters end through the use of barrel
It is the barrel of problem and solution
Even automobiles move through one barrel
It is the barrel of crude that moves the barrel of force,
the barrel of a gun

A barrel of a gun intimidates the barrel of crude oil
Crude masters go for a barrel of a gun
A barrel of crude oil buys crude use of force
Crude leaders go for both barrels
Poor kill themselves with crude weapons,
rich kill the poor with a crude force of barrel of crude oil

Crude masters buy a barrel of a gun with a barrel of crude oil
They enrich themselves with barrels of crude oil
They protect their riches with barrels of a gun
In the interest of barrels,
even the Heglig oil field is fortified by barrels
Armies protect barrels of crude oil with barrels of a gun
They protect with barrels and die with barrel
It is the barrel of life and death

With a barrel of crude, life and happiness reign
With a barrel of a gun, death and despair prevail
With barrels of crude, tanks and armored vehicles move
With a barrel of crude, military fatigues are procured
Tanks, armored vehicles, and military fatigues prevail to protect barrels of crude oil
Both barrels safeguard the interest of the rulers
Both barrels safeguard the interest of democracy and dictatorship
Both barrels are instruments of governance

Even in the execution of justice, both barrels still prevail
Life without barrels ends in barrenness
Fossils and ore make two barrels,
they are barrels of curse

Open letter to public of the Republic of South Sudan for second massive contribution

By Atok Dan Baguoot

Dear fellow citizens;

At the onset, I would like to thank the leadership, citizens in attires of defense, and the entire public for having stood bold in defense of our territorial integrity, properties, and the pride bestowed upon us by nature as people of this nation. We have seen and tolerated enough aggressions, looting of our resources, abuses, and humiliations against the people of Southern Sudan by a few confused human elements in Khartoum in the name of Jihad as it wasn’t enough; the same behaviors are transcended into an independent sovereign state.

Much is still being tolerated as Abyei and other resourceful areas of South Sudan are still in satellite control of Khartoum by the use of threats using warplanes bought with money from oil looted in South Sudan. Our populations at the delicate edges of this country are subject to daily bombardments from the same Khartoum yet we are paying minimal attention. Parts of us are bleeding but we still procrastinate on the pretext that International Community will pinch Khartoum to reverse its intransigent attitudes.

In this high-octane atmosphere, I am appealing to us individually whether from opposition or ruling party, male or female, young, old and rich or poor that our relatives in defense clothes have shown our pride in defending all our territories from our true and ancient enemy and they are continually doing so. Parties come and go, likewise, generations but this nation will always be this very nation.
My sole simple message is to stand in defense of this country. I know you might not be in military cloth to go to Heglig or any other threatening targets but your contribution is valued. To the abled bodies you either stand in queues to face the baptism of fire and that is going physically in the frontline but much needed from us is to deepen our hands into our coffers whether you raise a piaster, all combined will cater for daily up keeping of our brothers in the battlefields. I know not all of us are paid highly but any form of little contribution you make is what is needed.

Fellow citizens, remember that our brothers on the frontlines have made huge sacrifices. Though they are on the winning side as stories trickle in day by day, we still owe them a lot. A little that you give them would boost their morale and they can fight a successful war that will let us sleep without worries in our huts, houses, and cattle camps. We know very well that the enemy is competent but we will emerge victorious at the end of the day.

Remember that our wounded relatives need nutritious food to regain their blood to go back to the battle, likewise, there are those who need blood to boost their immune systems, cigarettes, clothes, cars for mobility, and even supplements for their meager monthly incentives to give hope to their families.

Remember that our drug stores do not have enough antibiotics, pain killers, and intravenous that can be used to administer first aid and treatment. Our combined position can substitute such areas of deficiencies. Keeping in mind that there is no more oil flowing into the world market, knowing that our rural populations were left destitute by the long war, our taxes are insufficient to bridge all these gaps.

The working population is a drop of oil in the ocean in terms of taxes, given the sustenance of government daily activities, soliciting military ware for modern warfare, our government would be left in no effort to render service to people.
Your bag of grains, piaster, gloves, a bottle of antibiotics, a liter of kerosene, goat any form of contribution are all that our soldiers need from us, besides spiritual, psychological, and professional like nursing. Out doctors, lawyers, teachers of contemporary history, geography, and media specialists are highly needed to exercise your professionalism while the fighting forces are doing their fronts. This second call for massive contribution is no longer for liberation but to defend what we all liberated.

Of course, anybody might still fear corruption that what we shall contribute will again fall into wider mouths of corrupt elements before it reaches the designated destination. Yes you are right those elements still exist but I’m also appealing to them that in all that they have looted their sins are pardonable on the condition that they give us back a quarter of it in terms of contributions.
I’m urging us to get out to public rallies to contribute to Kenya’s Harambe style in order to finish the unfinished business.

Atok Dan is a media specialist based in Juba. He is reached at atokbaguot@gmail.com

Tears of horror

By Atok Dan

As tears trickle down my cheeks,
my face horrifies in aloofness
My face fickle with tears of death
I dare not to say it,
but dare to sympathize with the horrors of others
We called each other generation of horrible experiences
Generation of starved skeletons
A generation that survives on the legumes in camps

With unfathomable expressions on our faces,
We still live in abundance love
We still share a half-empty glass of murky waters
Even on the edge of death bed
Our faces are still seen as unflappable
We still laugh though surviving on alms
Even on the roots of wild elms

They called us a generation of legumes
They called us children of beans
We emerged strong but a generation that exploited the generosity
We were not just blues, yellows, or even green
But our collective identity remains red
We fought battles but not battles of cattle
We fought hunger with anger
We hooded the horn for battle but in childhood
We did it more than our parents but perennially

For those in danger, we extend our hands of gratitude
For those in risked, we risked to rescue them
For those that underestimated us, we overjoyed them with enthusiasm
Without tires on our feet, our tiny feet traveled deserts, valleys, mountains, and swamps
Without clothes on our backs, we sacrificed our hard black skins to cold and heat
Our melanin was baked more blackish
Our teeth and hands were molded into hammers for breaking hard objects
We sleepwalk slipping off rough roads like a patient in agony in a sick bed