Asiyesikia La Mkuu Huvunjika Guu*

For Poets United, The Thursday Think Tank #68 Red

The task was to write a poem inspired by the colour red

Link

Kinsman, there you lie

Split into two

By ilat, the god of thunder

Not a drop of blood

Not a struggle for life

Whatever lies of you, kinsman,

Is bad sight for my eyes

Choking our breaths

Confusing our minds

As you lie there

Your akala shoes strewn

Your snuff bottle by your neck

Your lukup by your side

Your ng’achar a step away

Beside your lifeless body

I find it hard to be a man

But, Kinsman, you had been warned

Of stirring the wrath of ilat

Who defied the gods and lived?

Who poked the eyes of ilat and lived?

As I was told

You were seen in a red shuka by the mukuyu

Who wore red, Kinsman?

But there you were

By the riverside, in a red shuka

Like a child throwing sand on a beehive

Ilat rumbled but you defied

Had you pictured what would be of you

You would have thrown that shuka

Ran and made peace with the gods

Second time there was no rumble

All people heard was a subdued scream

And then this—

Flesh severed into two

Head to toe

Jutting eyes

Lifeless.

You had been warned, Kinsman.

Notes:

Asiyesikia La Mkuu Huvunjika Guu*- This is a Kiswahili saying or 'methali' which warns people to listen to their elders failure to which they will 'break their legs'.

Ilat- The god of thunder among the Pokots.

Shuka- Swahili for bedsheet, night wrap. The Pokots wrap them around their bodies as their clothing.

Akala- Traditional shoes made of Michelin tyres worn by the Pokot nomads.

Ng'achar- Traditional stools worn by the Pokots.

Lukup- Traditional walking sticks used by the Pokots.

Mukuyu- A type of tree.