AFRICAN CHILD, THE REALITY
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 so mean to even leave scraps and leftovers.
She is tired and frustrated that she just lies there no dreams no hope no future.
She can’t figure out why she was even born.
She cries looking to the skies her face free of expression maybe she is cursing God or maybe holding on to the last strand of faith hoping that this time he will heed her call.
She’s probably asking for evidence even if it’s just a little to continue believing in him.
The tears in her eyes soon dry up reality dawning that a miracle is far from her path. With bated breath she tries to gathers some of the energy she has left but slumps in a heap.
She lies there staring into oblivion.
Convinced that God does not exist and death is the only thing real.
Death would be a consolation; it is here that she finally hopes to find eternal bliss. May be death will give her that peace she has never known.
In that instance sleep comes to her rescue, in my mind I imagine sleep to be her savior even if it wouldn’t be for long.
I wish I could tell what she really thought in that moment.
Reeled away from the harsh realities of life.
That simple moment she’s was on her own.
Tears cloud my eyes was her age I could even tie my own shoe laces and there she was alone with no one but herself in a society that gave birth to her.
In a world that did not care about her now the very one orchestrating her death.
I saw her give up I saw her sleep slip away to a place we will never know.
I , we saw her and yet did nothing.
Henry Thiong’o
KENYA
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 so mean to even leave scraps and leftovers.
She is tired and frustrated that she just lies there no dreams no hope no future.
She can’t figure out why she was even born.
She cries looking to the skies her face free of expression maybe she is cursing God or maybe holding on to the last strand of faith hoping that this time he will heed her call.
She’s probably asking for evidence even if it’s just a little to continue believing in him.
The tears in her eyes soon dry up reality dawning that a miracle is far from her path. With bated breath she tries to gathers some of the energy she has left but slumps in a heap.
She lies there staring into oblivion.
Convinced that God does not exist and death is the only thing real.
Death would be a consolation; it is here that she finally hopes to find eternal bliss. May be death will give her that peace she has never known.
In that instance sleep comes to her rescue, in my mind I imagine sleep to be her savior even if it wouldn’t be for long.
I wish I could tell what she really thought in that moment.
Reeled away from the harsh realities of life.
That simple moment she’s was on her own.
Tears cloud my eyes was her age I could even tie my own shoe laces and there she was alone with no one but herself in a society that gave birth to her.
In a world that did not care about her now the very one orchestrating her death.
I saw her give up I saw her sleep slip away to a place we will never know.
I , we saw her and yet did nothing.
Henry Thiong’o
KENYA
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