Monday 8 August 2011

Cry, Beloved Kenya, Cry




Cry, Beloved Kenya, Cry
Cry for your country, Cry
What do you have to show
For ashen faces and babies dying on sands?
But it is good headlines
To read of deaths from hunger
Good news to see how far
We have come from
And are in the same league with Singapore
Neck by neck from Independence days
You see, hunger is the mainstay of our economy
Isn’t it entertaining to watch babies suckling from dead mothers?
Must be classic comedy
To see first hand somebody die clasping at a beggar’s bowl
Of course those are side-shows
Not as big as 2012 or Hague or Constitution
And I agree, totally
After all, these deaths happen every year
And we could be sure about them next year
For these people love dying!
They enjoy it! See it in their faces, I bet
They could do it again and again ( I mean dying)

May be you should not cry, Beloved Kenya
You could export hunger to other regions
You see, change of tact
Recall the athletes, forget the road rehabilitation
Run ads in the telly
“Kenya is your hunger destination”
Play the clips of malnourished babies
Play videos of starving characters on the throes of death
Do it big time
Then boast of the tourists

Make Turkana your capital
Create a Metropolitan City in Northern Kenya
Create Hunger Ministry
To make sure that many die of hunger

And at the end of the year
To clapping citizens, tell them:
“Our hunger turn-over grew in double digits
As you are well aware
In this year alone
3,000 died
We plan to make it
5,000 by next year”


May be you should not cry
Beloved Kenya
Everything is in control
Hunger should be your pillars of development
Combined with forward planning
We are well on track
Let us do this again
Next year at a time like this
Hunger is here to stay!




3 comments:

Fred said...

This is truly a mind opener. Good job brother, it's a deserved pat on the back for you. Thank you for speaking on behalf of the hunger-striken,they got no other voice.This is truly a mind opener. Good job brother, it's a deserved pat on the back for you. Thank you for speaking on behalf of the hunger-striken,they got no other voice.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Yes, Salem, I can feel the frustration and despair at the unchanging face of hunger in this completely inequitable world. You give voise to this pain in a way that expands the consciousness of one who reads it. Keep writing! Shine your light on the despair of the dying until someone in the crazy world of power Wakes Up!!!!!!!

p.s. my word verification for this was "kings" - whoa!

Salem Lorot said...

@ Fred, you are most welcome to Lorot's Poetry. Feel comfortable here feasting on your eyes. On good days we provide goggles for our readers but times are hard. Now, on a serious note, I also share the pain. As an artist, all I can do is to vent those feelings.

@ Sherry Blue Sky, it is always my humbled role to be such. I try to communicate these messages and I will not lose hope. We are the children of hope, remember?

To look at the verification word symbolically, ultimately we are headed for a palace..Well, may be the picture conjured here is that it is grand but may be it is to service to people, to servant role and finally the crown!! Or may be we are here to tell the king that he is naked!!

Post a Comment

Echoes of the Hills is all about you. I would love to hear your echo...

You Might Also Like

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Disqus for Echoes of the Hills