I JUST WANT YOU T KNOW WHO I AM

In the early dawn, the sun rose, the rooster crowed

My people woke up, and greeted me with blood

They wiped their eyes of sleep, and followed the river

Of mankind, that swarmed the cities

To quench their thirst, and their appetite

They took their pangas, and mshales

To rid my people of their life’s blood

They burned houses, killed, maimed,

And then they called it ethnic cleansing.

I ask of them, Am I of one tribe?

Am I Kikuyu, or Luo? Kalenjin, or Kamba?

Do I not harbour all of you?

Then they know the answer, and they think I am a fool

Is not my earth red enough, from the previous bloodshed?

Did the loved ones buried in me die in vain?

Those fighters, those lovers; did they not spill

the red in their veins, so you could have a better life?

What makes them think that violence is the answer?

Have they not learnt, from the past?

Have they forgotten what the red stands for, in my flag?

Who will remind them? Who will make that effort?

I pick the leader, the one who will take my children

Through paths not trodden upon; to hope, to salvation

I am the mother, I know best

Then who usurps my authority? Who begs differently?

I once boasted, to other lands, of my children.

Amani, I said, Is in the muscle of their hearts,

Pumped with every beat into their minds, their bodies

Then why this streak of killing and maiming?

Am I now to bow to all those lands?

Lower my neck in shame?

What is a mother to do, when her child goes astray?

Shall she weep? Shall she pray?

Then listen, my little ones. Stay silent, and listen.

Listen to my breath, whispering in your hearts.

Listen to the sound of my tears coursing down

Listen to the breeze, carrying the scents of violence

Listen to your motherland crying

And then you decide.

Decide Peace. Decide Love. Decide Freedom.

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