A POEM FOR ALL OF YOU

THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

Rain comes down
in flash floods
and in torrents
and we look in fear
as what was meant
to be a kiss of life
that makes dead grass grow again
becomes a touch of death
as our lives
are swept away by the water

diseases
spread their ugly frog-like tentacles
stealing away
our lives and our joys

laughter fades away
in Turkana
and only the sound of weeping is heard
as worn-out bellies
groan and ache for food

in Nairobi
our lives collide
minds frustrated by the corporate world
collide with lives
frustrated by selling mitumba on Tom Mboya street

women enter into matatus
and men grab their breasts
as if they are picking mangoes in a basket

oh the same matatus
how they rush and run
quickly, more quickly than the wind
squashing Moi Avenue beggars
into permanent blood-stains
on the pot-holed tarmac

and in all this desperation
we sit back and ask in anguish
God, where are you?
are you really there?
do you really exist?
why have you stopped caring?

then,
Christmas comes along
like the sound of a distant bell
and lifts up our hearts
to make us smile
it rides softly on the shoulders of the old
till they too walk faster
on this day when the saviour was born

Christmas trees and lights
decorate our homes
in Kakamega
kilos and kilos of chicken
roasted and fried
in Kibera
a father buys chocolate
for his children
in Lower Kabete Campus
a girl gets a card
from her boyfriend
oh for the first time
since Valentine's day

yes,
miracles do happen on Christmas
for the almighty does comes down
to sit with us and to give us peace
not peace that comes
from a lot of gomba-drinking and boza-smoking
but the true kind of peace
the one that blossoms in our hearts
like a thousand roses
making the angels so envious
that they look upon us
and start gossipping

the wind stands still
on that day
as peace works its way
into our homes
peace for the believer
and the one who does not believe
peace for the Hindu, the Muslim
and the Sikh
peace for the Straight, the Gay,
the Lesbian and the Masturbators
peace for the saved
and peace for the yet to be saved
peace to all of you
as i wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year 2007

yours lovingly,
mdkims