The Poem That Made Me Laugh

Smile.  Have you ever noticed how easily puppies make human friends?  Yet all they do is wag their tails and fall over. 

~Walter Anderson, The Confidence Course, 1997

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.

 ~William Shakespeare, Othello

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So, you ask me:

Lorot Son of the Hills, what makes you smile

And although you expect an immediate answer

My little sojourn on this earth

Would not give a quick answer

It is as if you ask why a serial killer kills

Or why Malcolm X smiled before his assassination

Or about the Black Hole

Such things my mind grapples with

But they don’t weigh upon my heart

For like the eternal path of wisdom

They stretch to no limit

These things I don’t know

These things I continue to learn

But I remain happy.

So, you asked what makes me smile

Even when I am in a carjacked matatu

I really don’t know

Perhaps it is that appreciative smile

Even when our finances are in disarray;

It could be the curiosity of a child in exploring

The mysteries of this life;

It could be sometimes sleeping hungry

Wake up on the next day looking up to the sun

With a bright hope of a new day;

My spirit refuses to perch on the tree of misery

It dwells on the windward side of life.

I pray to Tororot, the God of the Rising Sun,

To retain Satisfaction within me

Whether I have or lack money

Because in Satisfaction I feel grateful

To eat, sleep, wear and sleep under a roof.

I pray that I would not apologize to anyone

For painting the solar system in my heart;

Or have the milky way painted on my face

These mysteries I want to experience myself,

To perceive them;

In them I find delight

And not even a mountain-load of money can replace it

So, fellow pilgrim, let us stroll upon these sacred hills

To see what will be manifested

We are here for a reason

Never let these fleeting shadows of life

Blind you to the beauty it possesses

For I have seen beautiful faces bow

To the cowardly challenges this life throws

Give me a smile, give me a laugh

Let us light up our problems in a pyre

And see their smoke rise up

Let us be ready to fail and learn

I slip so many times, some times hard,

Some times light;

Every time I dust up myself and say

“Lorot Son of the Hills, your knee-caps feel

Good when they touch the ground

Pain feels so good sometimes”

And I walk and smile

I could kiss the soil

For I get intrigued by the rough edges of a stone

They are my learning stones

They keep me at the edge

They keep my mind sharp and alert.