YVONNE’S TAKE: Protests and Proverbs

Folks, my ears are ringing. The noise is at its peak yet again in this country. The noise is everywhere. People are out on the streets protesting. People are protesting online. Politicians are talking. They are talking, not to each other, not with each other, but at each other. They are blaming each other. They are still fighting each other, even though.

I thought, the “war” ended. In the midst of all the noise, are Kenyans reeling under the weight of the high cost of living. In the midst of all that noise, are Kenyans struggling to push that shilling just a little further each day. Everyone is talking. But who is listening?

In all the din, and all the confusion, I find solace in poetry, it helps me articulate what can sometimes be difficult to do in the midst of all the noise. So on My Take tonight, a poem that I love, it is about listening. It is by Gajanan Mishra. Here goes;

For what we are fighting with each other,
Let us first be clear and then only we,
Should start our journey towards the river.

Without keeping any doubt within us,
We should talk to each other with open hearts,
And then only we should go for any war.

We should forget who will win and what
He will do after victory for another and,
Then only we should see what is a loss.

We should see with our blind eyes and,
We should hear each word with our deaf ears,
That are there with us and then test ourselves.

Let us have some dreams in fighting,
Let us have some definition of fight in us.

And that is my Take tonight!