POET FROM KENYA by Henry Thiong'o

We live in a world we know nothing about. I say this with utmost humility for I have tried to figure out my own. I believe in simplicity perhaps it’s the only way for me to reach out to all those people trapped in between what is true and what is not. Perhaps I should take you through the day to day life of an African. So you can have a feel of the real world. I say real because sometimes reality is obscured by way of life or the societies we come from. I look at my people and can’t help but grieve for them. I walk the streets and I see a child fending for herself. Barely, ten probably seven years old scraping dustbins. Hoping to find something, anything to eat. I look into their eyes and see the determination slowly fade and in its place replaced by despair, once again reality dawns there is no food. It was that way yesterday, today and probably tomorrow. The expression scary at this point there is nothing she won’t do. She wonders why life has to be so hard and people ...

At a distance I see Across valleys, rivers and beyond the sea Faraway beyond the horizon The only place I have known My eyes are closed Staring into a world I created A place of peace, tranquility and humility I have made it my reality The silence is profound Save for the chorus of a thousand birds They sing for me, they, sing to me. They dance to welcome the sunrise A mother beckons her child Together they dance away into the wild It is yet another day But unlike yesterday today; I feel sad I am alone in this land My heart aches for warmth Today for what it’s worth I set out on a journey To find that which bears honey To find that flower it suckles So I can suckle from the same I will pluck it and make it my prize To touch and cuddle at night I will no longer be lone

Voices of the wise Aficionados’ of the past Delivering with impeccable aptitude Co rousing a sense of belonging In the depth of the night Deep in the African forest Not giving a care to the preamble They have done this before Speaking their lore’s lucidly Words well delineated, impeccable! Under the burning embers Vapor rising to grace the sky Ardent listeners fervent The night is indolent Passing on lethargically Without a care in the world It is here that wisdom is contrived Under the watch of the moon’s patina face The young are fed They have been taught to conform Even the silence is profound

Trapped in his head Suffocated by rage He wishes he was dead Death he seeks homage He is crippled by fear But warned to never show The person within, an incognito thee without He lives a double life Unsure, which is his own? The one he’s come to be Or that which he used to Both do not differ much But the latter is lethal

Days Months Even Years Still you’re Not Here I've hoped On My Knees Even Prayed To See You Once Again To Heal Me of This Pain Of A Love Starved You Are All I Had I Died When You Left God Knows How Much I Wept At Night I Dream Of You In Day Wishing it’s true You Re Lodged In Mind Your Necklace to Forever Remind Love Will Make Me Wait Or Else I Will Die Celibate Today I Celebrate the Day That Bright And Sunny Day When Love and I Met Tomorrow Was Our First Date We Kissed and Giggled Beneath the Star But Now You Went Afar Behind Leaving a Scar A Wound of Love Invisible from Far I Don It with Pride At Least I Took the Ride May Be the Ne Next Time Even If It’s In a Lifetime My Love Will Never Depart I Swore To Keep You in My Heart I Am a Man Of Honor Your Love I Will Never Dishonor

Like An Angel Straight from Heaven With Eyes Radiant like the Sun Beauty beyond Words A Smile Brighter than a Starry Night Breathe Like a Fresh Marigold Hair Black as Coal Gleaming Underneath the Moon A Gait So Confident Warm With Fresh Blood A Voice like A Thousand Angels Echoing In the Deep Valley A Goddess in Every Sense Charming but Commanding Royalty Thighs like A Magic Wand A Highway Leading to Heaven A Destination I So Long For Where it’s Warm with Comfort A Posture of a Lion Unshaken By None Tits Like Two Lonely Hills Erect In the Evening Breeze Seated Comfortably Apart Looking So Tender but Firm Arms, tell of A Magic Tale Lost To a Place of No Pain

Death Oh! Sweet Death He Was Young A Teenager in His Youth He Lived His Life Or Did He? He Was Reckless Now He, Lies Lifeless Abandoned Alone Death His Only Comfort They Have Become Friends They Enjoy Each Other Perhaps that’s All He Needed A Friend Indeed True Till the End Though Worlds Apart They Understand One Another All He Wants Is Die Quick So They Can Be Together In That Place of Peace Serenity and Bliss Sorrow Amiss Joy Infinite Pain And Hurt No More.

Death Oh! Sweet Death He Was Young A Teenager in His Youth He Lived His Life Or Did He? He Was Reckless Now He, Lies Lifeless Abandoned Alone Death His Only Comfort They Have Become Friends They Enjoy Each Other Perhaps that’s All He Needed A Friend Indeed True Till the End Though Worlds Apart They Understand One Another All He Wants Is Die Quick So They Can Be Together In That Place of Peace Serenity and Bliss Sorrow Amiss Joy Infinite Pain And Hurt No More.