Jerusha Kananu Marete, Poetry
SALAAM MY MOTHERLAND AFRICA
Last night I dreamed of arm stretched Africa
Last night I dreamed of borderless Africa
Last night I dreamed of brothers and sisters living in harmony
I dreamed of thriving vitenge industries in Africa
Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam
Last night in Kenya I saw spears and arrows turned into farming hoes
Last night cotton, coffee and tea industries steamed
I saw genuine smiles with sparkling white teeth in Sudan
I saw brothers in Nigeria disarming and disowning Boko Haram
I saw a serene Somalia soldiering on building Al-Shabaab ruins
Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam
Last night, Africa in unison echoed political stability
Last night, Africa in unison echoed social cohesion
Last night, South Africa was umbrella for all blacks in the rain
Ethiopia in black mourned Hachalu Hundessa raising a white dove
Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam
Last night black trader bought jewellery from Djibouti
Last night black trader bought oils and perfumes from Tunisia
Last night black trader sold exquisite African style fabric from Dakar
Last night black trader sold beautiful baskets from Zimbabwe
Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam
Last night African leaders kissed Africa, we loaned west
Last night Africa imported and exported within
Last night African industries revived, African sweat streamed
Last night corruption was hanged we sang freedom songs
Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam
Last night P.L.O Lumumba reminding us of modern slavery
We condemned vestiges of slavery in Sudan and Libya
He paved path for Pan-Africanism and asked pertinent questions
Last night we asked why African conflicts are manufactured outside Africa
Last night I saw one Africa, one heritage loving our language and culture
Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam
Today rise Africa, from the grave W.E.B Dubois chant RISE
Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah, George Padmore chant RISE
Haile Selassie, Mwalimu Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda chant RISE
Aime Cesaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Nelson Mandela chant RISE
Bob Marley and Miriam Makeba melodies echo Africa unite
Salaam, Salaam my mother land Africa, Salaam
I CRAVED PEACE
I whispered, hoping it will crawl to the bush
Auch! An arrow fell on its side, my heart bled!
Getting from the bush was courting death
The innocent child played with the arrow
I still whispered, but clothed in God’s suit ,it played on
Lying next to it were bodies chopped
Nearby bodies wrapped in cloth were tied to long poles
Screams of women being raped echoed in the desert_
My heart was lame!
Why fight for soil they soaked with blood?
Another arrow missed the child’s head by a whisker
I threw my camera, crawled towards the baby
Three years gone by, I watch him draw
He draws dead bodies, guns and arrows
He doesn’t talk or smile.
I lost my arms but I am teaching this poor soul
Teaching him to draw a dove
How would peace look in his silent troubled world?
Return to WordCity Monthly’s October 2020 issue…
Jerusha Kananu Marete, a Kenyan writer, is the author of power-packed-package anthology of poems titled Echoes of Military Souls.
She has her heart in narrative poems
https://www.the–star.co.ke/sasa/books/2020–06–07–poetry–book–puts–war–philosophy–in–focus/
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49779503–echoes–of–military–souls
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085DTG4X3/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_rSS8EbJ5J7H55
Jerusha is a graduate from University Of Nairobi (English & Literature) and currently a MA student at Kenyatta University. She’s a teacher, a performing artist & a film and theatre enthusiast. She is also a loving mother to Emmanuel. Her poems have been published in anthologies and journals, including Libero America Journal, Reconnoitre: Official Magazine of the Kenya Military Academy 2019, Best “NEW “African Poets 2019 Anthology, African Writers Caravan Journal and Millennial Voices; East African Poetry.
Congratulations jerusha kananu marete
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Aluta Continua!!! Thank you greatly,
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Thanks dear bro
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Together We Rise,
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