SIXTY-ONE FOR KENYA

Read Time:1 Minute, 28 Second

So another aurora emerges
The sun has risen
The birds chirp and warble
While all sapiens stretch
A whiff of mint on the crispy air

But it can’t be over
Only yesterday, sixty-one souls left
Breath slashed by violence

All we have is;
One Kenyatta speech
A few hashtags on twitter
A poem for one not sixty-one

Is that all?
Shall we now dry our tears?
Cover over the graves
And go to our schools, offices, malls
With grief, a hot ball in our hearts?

No!
I want heads to roll!
I want blood to flow!
I want fires to burn!
I don’t want the sun to rise!
And if its too late for that may it not set!
I want no stars tonight!
No moon, just a black, dark sky!
I want sixty one poems!
I want sixty one speeches!
I want sixty one hashtags!
I want sixty one days of mourning!
For three days can’t contain these tears!

How long shall we treat life cheaply?
Lose loved ones to faceless demons
Political intrigues and strange wars?

I want
Dust, ashes and fire to rain down!
I want sixty-one teardrops
Sixty-one songs
Sixty-one gunshots
Sixty-one bonfires
Anything to ease this pain

Oh I wish for it to go back
Sixty-one days
My wrists hurt
And I am just as guilty
I wish I could make this poem
Sixty-one lines
But, I want you to read it.

Written by: Chikatito Jones
Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson