And so my kind shamelessly pronounced me to be
The artisan of their occasional Chimera
One who overcomes the bridles that is the debris of bigotry
And finds the will to write the tale of his people,
Declaring a brevity that firmly remains
Finding the mettle to become vocal
On that which we deem to be our truth
And our true fear which is the tautologies they employ in
Their “woke” phrases proclaiming their unwanted espousal…
They fail to know of the ashes of my doppelganger
– Churned in the midst of a disarray of intolerance and wrath
Whom I unfortunately knew not before
A “false” eruption of anger filled my timeline.
And I am still shamelessly implored
to continue making ballyhoo out of our stories
To use that adept angry man in me to good use;
they say.
The history of our grapples shall
only survive through the hands of those who can
Those judged as imprecise on the “scale” shall only
be talked of by those who can.
So I find the strength within to sit and weave this tale
I sit down and record the struggles of my kind…
For Nairobi—-
I
In what they presume as the bubble of resilience
The green city under the sun sings a song of promise
Loudly declaring its prowess at welcoming dreamers and achievers
Calmly laying ground for all to make it or sulk in it
II
In this Maasai land of crisp waters
A girl in a corner hums a tune of hope
A boy down the road confuses that for a mating call
A man and a woman walking past detect a cordial conflict between
the two street dwellers
III
In this hub in the East of the motherland
At times the devil opens his bowels
And his ‘spleen’ lay calmly awaiting the half-formed sun to dip into the shrubs
After which like dogs, cowards at heart but courageous in packs,
His demons attack in an attempt to make you ‘sulk in it’
IV
In this city beside a park lies the manacles of hope
Where everyone knows life Is just a long days journey into tomorrow
– you just have to survive the long dark nights
Where you are told,
Yesterday was yesterday
But tomorrow is now here and tomorrow is now today.
V
In this town that is the cradle of dreams by African men,
The future only belongs to those
who are audacious enough to dream.