I Sing For You “Yoo”

(I dedicate this poem to my lovely mum, Mrs. Paulina Maya Choram, and all mothers on Mother’s Day 08/05/2011)

Yoo, away from the village

Everyone is calling this day

“Mother’s Day”

I have seen it everywhere—

On TVs, in papers, on Facebook

Which will surprise you

And everyone here, Yoo,

Is decorating her mother

With a status update

Or making that occasional call

Or buying a rose

Or getting a gift

Yoo, as for me

I will serenade you with a song

To sing of your gentleness

To sing of your smile

To sing of your hope

What gift so lasting

Can outlast words written?

Yoo, what gesture so vivid

Can surpass my imagination and love?

Yoo, how do I celebrate you

Along other mothers if not by a song?

Yoo, the mention of your name

Is as sweet as bone marrow

Your love is as steady as the stones of

A fireplace

And your smile, yoo,

Is as warm as a cow’s stomach

“Riziki haivutwi na kamba”, you told me

“Mama ni mama hata awe kiwete”, you reminded me

“Usiibe wala usinyang’anye”, you warned me

“Enda usome usichekecheke na watoto wa watu”, you advised me

If only this world was contented like you

If only people talked much less like you

If only they lived at Shabaha

To learn humility and simple things of life

If only we had more mothers like you

Not so much because you are a saint

But because you live with hope

And your mistakes make you human

Yet you still inspire, minting virtues

You don’t parade these before mortals

You don’t brag, you don’t complain

Three things I ask of

Tororot, God of the Rising Sun:

One, that He keeps you long

That you may eat in the shade

Two, that He keeps me

That I water that tree

Three, that that tree

Feeds many others

Notes:

Yoo- Pokot name for a mother.

Riziki haivutwi na kamba- A Kiswahili saying meaning that you should not depend on the fortune of others and that you should work to earn your living.

Mama ni mama hata awe kiwete- Kiswahili for ‘ your mother is your mother even if she is lame, or rather in politically correct term, physically challenged.

Usiibe wala usinyang’anye- Kiswahili for ‘neither steal nor forcibly take’.

Enda usome usichekecheke na watoto wa watu- Kiswahili for ‘go and read, don’t laugh with people’s children’.

C) Lorot Salem 2011