We are still here

It was on a day like this

A bright December day

When I took out my card

Went out to do my patriotic duty

And came back home, to my family

And sat, watching the news, waiting

For results of the democratic process

But results took long to come

Media tried doing the math

But someone withheld some figures

And before they said “math is hard”

Someone was being sworn in

In a secret ceremony

By his appointees

While the man who knew the entire math

And the law of these things

Stupidly said

“I don’t know who the winner is”

We didn’t pray that night

These things were not of faith

And then,

The noises, the screams, the cries, the shots,

Tore the peacefully disturbed night

It was on a night like this.

We packed and started heading home

Back to the land of our ancestors

But we were intercepted

The police fired, afraid

The thugs hacked, intoxicated

Then on a day like this

When the children lay dead in forests

When mothers, beaten, raped, humiliated,

Could cry no more

When the ash of our property

Flew about confused

They decided to shake hands

They had had enough of the drama

Even from the comfort of their guarded homes

The live horror movie was disturbing

Years after that handshake

They casually talk about us

Like we brought this on ourselves

They feed us on rotten promises

Like the diseased maize they bring

They put a noose on only four

Leaving the butchers and arsonists

To greet us every morning

With cynical smiles that say:

“We are still here, remember that!”

 Karani Kelvin. - sirkarani@gmail.com. I also blog at Business Tips Kenya. Share your thoughts, comments, compliments and criticisms below.