For our mother’s sake

Live not beneath the illusion of the sun,

Behold the fullness of the moon, the uniformity of the night

Really?

I love the glare the sun sets upon my eyes,

For that glare is reproduced to illuminate my path in the night

What glare?

Do you mean the blindness set upon your eyes by your naked stare upon the sun

Do you mean the squinted look developed by looking too closely in the dark

Close, but not close enough…

For your identity, you do not know…mumbling…..

State/nationality…escapism!

Steer clear of that hard-burnt river,

Soaking the power of your eyes in a hot flame of deception

Flee that clear edged ridge,

Vast with no valleys within the reach of the strength of your eyes.

Did you say Oaria…did you say Karia…. did you say Makhia….

Do you mean these be your names

Which valley? which land? which food?

Maize?, fish? Sugarcane?

Give me the dark…give me a clue..for the blade of my metal..

That which soaks in the hard burnt river needs to glow

Stare, stare at the identity of your name,

At its valley of origin, the food of your ancestors, the trade of your people

No..that cannot be..it cannot be.

Undefined? Boundless?

You cannot be without root..

It cannot be that you say Kenya.

It cannot be

Where? Call your mother..no..she cannot know…

she should not know

Call your father..missing?

Call your grandfather…., freedom?

Anyone..ask your mother….. then

For we have no option but to ask..her…in order to know

Blind, but she stares at the sun and I see the boundless circle around her eyes

Dumb, but I see the smile on her lips

Paralysed, but with her shaky fingers she rounds a circle

Fullness, whole, complete, de-fragmented

I know,

The identity is Kenya.

One Nation, One People.

She sees me, she speaks to me, she feels me

I think her blind, I think her dumb, I think her paralysed

I am her blindness

I am her lost speech

I am her paralysis

But I stare, harder

I listen, harder

I feel, with my heart

I hear her voice, I see through her vision, I feel, through her touch

I know, I want nothing to do with that metal, soaked in the hard-burnt river

For my mother’s voice speaks, for her nerves feel, her ears hear

And I know, you are my brother, I can do you no harm

For our mother’s sake