Fahamu
Matendo ya wengi yamefanya naning’inia kwa iman
Taarifa humu zaninyima hamu maishani
Ila ujasiri wako wanipa tabasamu
Jitihada zako za utu zanipa matumaini na binadamu
Fahamu
Udhabiti wako ndio nguzo ya msukumo wangu
Na uaminifu wako ni chanzo cha raha kwangu
FAHAMU!
© Dorphanage 2021.
English translation (by the author)
——————————————————————————————–
RECOGNISE
Recognise
The acts of most have resulted in the waning of my faith
Daily news are a source of distress in my life
But your courage gives me cause to smile
Your efforts towards mankind reassure my hope for
humanity.
Recognise
Your resilience anchors my resolve
And your belief reawakens my joy.
RECOGNISE!
——————
SUBVERSIVE DESIRES
Give me Muthoni Nyanjiru’s heart
and Kimathi Waciuri’s conviction
Bantu Steve Biko’s clarity
and Thomas Sankara’s righteousness
Mekatilili Wa Menza’s resolve
and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s vision
Vuyisile Mini’s songs
and Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s beats
Give me Ken Saro-Wiwa’s kind
and Wangari Maathai’s mind
And I promise
liberation in Africa will not be so hard to find.
© Dorphanage 2021.
———————————————————————————–
The Killer Cops of Kenya
Here they come
The Killer Cops of Kenya
Here a bang
There a broken limb
Ever ready with the gun
The Killer Cops of Kenya
See them everywhere
Where young people are
But never in Muthaiga
The Clever Cops of Kenya
A quick trip to the mortuary
For the missing dead
They know how to hide their crime
The Clever Cops of Kenya
Nigeria up in arms
Mathere knows who maims
There is no way out
For the Killer Cops of Kenya
Not today, Not tomorrow
People’s tsunami of anger
Will the day after drown
The Killer Cops of Kenya.
See the sign, read the wind
When we lose fear, they lose hope
What future then
For the Killer Cops of Kenya?
Shiraz Durrani
October 20, 2020
