A Tough War
It is a tough war;
a tough war
And a global thing;
'Tis now we can fight
Fight right now or never!
If Aids was a thing
that time could wash
The old would die
and the young would live
If Aids was a thing
that blood could wash
The sinners would die
and the saved would live
But
It is a tough war.
Now my brother 'tis time to act
Crush the plague once for all
So my sister stick to your man
Oh my brother don't mess around
Because
it is a tough war!
All around us
the people are dying
The men are dying
and the women are dying
The old are dying
and the young are dying
The Japanese are dying
And the Arabs too
The Indians are dying
And the Africans too
It is a tough war
Every Sunday I go to church
The preacher he prays
for the Lord to come
To save this world from this malady
I get my chance
I say to the preacher
Be a good teacher and tell no lie,
The Lord is angry with all mankind
And all mankind must turn to the Lord.
It is a tough War!
Every Monday I go to school
The teachers they say
No sex talk
This is Africa
The parents say No
The Minister says Yes
But the teachers don't know
All around us
it's confusion,
Now we are lost, we are lost, we are lost!
And
it is a tough war!
Aids is spread by late night dates
Dirty blades and careless sex
Disrespect for old time laws
The men go booze
and the world go boo
The children are lost
and the elders too
Who is bright to tell what's right
When shall mankind learn to trust
To trust and love?
It is a tough war.
Go to the church and praise your God
Go to the bar and drink your wine
Love your neighbour and hug your friend.
Love your neighbor and sing your song
but save your strength for mama watoto
Because
it is a tough war!
It is a tough war
A tough war
And a global thing
'Tis now we can' fight
Fight right now or never!
This poem was first presented by students of Homa Bay High School at the 1995 Kenya Schools and Colleges Music Festival and later at World Aids Day celebrations in in Gusii Stadium, Ist December, 1995.
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List of Poets
Francis GichuruPam AmadiOkello KoronjiOtieno Amisi...
Posted by Kenya Association of Poets at 2:37 AM 0 comments
Labels: There was the word
In the beginning...
In the beginning...Welcome to the official blog of the Kenya Association of Poets.In a few weeks from today, I promise, you will find here poems submitted to the Kenya Association of Poets since circa 1980, by men, women and children from diverse religious, political or professional leanings, but all of whom take pride in the humble title of 'poet.'Many expressionists, thinkers, students, teachers, journalists, creative writers, scholars, painters, musicians, and even noisemakers have, and continue to contribute to this ever growing colletion of poetry. The older poems have been preserved by the secretariat for many years, in the hope of one day finding a publisher. But since publishing comes in many forms these days, the poems have been performed, recited, aired and now, finally, blogged.But first, a brief history of the Association.I do not know if the charming lady Pam Amadi still breathes the air of this earth, but I ask her poetic spirit to respond to this blog. I think Francis Gichuru is now a senior professor of education at Kenyatta University, but his poems, short, subtle yet deep, still tickle my heart and bring back those fond memories of my poetic childhood. I have put together some of their poems here not because they were the founders of the association (which is a historical fact, anyway) but because they wrote some fine poetry in their own right.I am thinking of Shokat Habib, Raju Umamaheswar, Sam Mbure, Marjorie Oludhe, Stoa Pokile, and many others whose poems, though not easily available in book form many years later, kept the literary embers aglow in the Kenya Times newspaper in the 1970s and 1980s. In this electronic age, can this blog be a reunion for us, an electronic stage, where we can make a comeback, like we did at Kenyatta University's Cinema Hall in the late 1980s and at the Goethe Institute in the early 1990s?
Posted by Kenya Association of Poets.
the poem is mightier than the sword
A blog of the Kenya Association of Poets
Welcome
List of Poets
Francis GichuruPam AmadiOkello KoronjiOtieno Amisi...
Posted by Kenya Association of Poets at 2:37 AM 0 comments
Labels: There was the word
In the beginning...
In the beginning...Welcome to the official blog of the Kenya Association of Poets.In a few weeks from today, I promise, you will find here poems submitted to the Kenya Association of Poets since circa 1980, by men, women and children from diverse religious, political or professional leanings, but all of whom take pride in the humble title of 'poet.'Many expressionists, thinkers, students, teachers, journalists, creative writers, scholars, painters, musicians, and even noisemakers have, and continue to contribute to this ever growing colletion of poetry. The older poems have been preserved by the secretariat for many years, in the hope of one day finding a publisher. But since publishing comes in many forms these days, the poems have been performed, recited, aired and now, finally, blogged.But first, a brief history of the Association.I do not know if the charming lady Pam Amadi still breathes the air of this earth, but I ask her poetic spirit to respond to this blog. I think Francis Gichuru is now a senior professor of education at Kenyatta University, but his poems, short, subtle yet deep, still tickle my heart and bring back those fond memories of my poetic childhood. I have put together some of their poems here not because they were the founders of the association (which is a historical fact, anyway) but because they wrote some fine poetry in their own right.I am thinking of Shokat Habib, Raju Umamaheswar, Sam Mbure, Marjorie Oludhe, Stoa Pokile, and many others whose poems, though not easily available in book form many years later, kept the literary embers aglow in the Kenya Times newspaper in the 1970s and 1980s. In this electronic age, can this blog be a reunion for us, an electronic stage, where we can make a comeback, like we did at Kenyatta University's Cinema Hall in the late 1980s and at the Goethe Institute in the early 1990s?
Posted by Kenya Association of Poets.
the pen
the poem is mightier than the sword
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- PoemsKenya
- NAIROBI, KENYA, East Africa
- This blog is managed by Otieno Amisi, secretary of the Kenya Association of poets, a non profit making group of writers who have been strugling to get their work in print for years. If you would like to donate to the society or to make any comments, suggestions or reviews, please call 0720 913 981, or email the secretary at kenyanpoetry@yahoo.com
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