Whispers of Dawn

It was a short walk I intended to take To while away time that I did not have For I had lots on my mind and hands So off I went anyway and I was glad of it But not before I had denuded me Of a cardigan, for it was a hot day And I hoped my perennial cap Would ably shield my balding top I crossed the road after a duel With the tyrants behind wheels Who for all practical purposes Owned the roads, lanes, paths And the outlying verges as well And who yelled or hooted at me Or even cursed in various tongues But I was determined to act deaf At least until I got to a spot safe enough For a rest and a review of my sojourn Using Kaguru Bus Service or Route 101 As this mode of conveyance is known After wrestling again at the junction With those crazy speeding monsters And negotiating with the ditches left By impatient construction workers I reached a bend that I had noted In my Google instruction manual As the turning point in my search And a wide smile invaded my face As I had been briefed thoroughly That I would be coming face to face With a Moran of the Burning Spear I slowed down to get my breath back Actually to rehearse a short speech By way of a humble introduction As befits such awesome encounters Whereat momentous issues repose They made me sign the book as I suspected they would And I walked past the gate feeling rather overwhelmed For I was indeed one of their own though long-forgotten I would have been completely forgotten had I not gone I have come to see the Moran, I proudly announced When I got to the semi-circular oak reception desk Where two beautiful young women offered smiles As though we were all well-known to each other Was it official, this visit to the Moran or was it private Official most certainly, I can reveal to you jovial ladies I have penned poems in the not too distant past ladies And you have dutifully published them for the people This way, sir, if you don’t mind climbing stairs Good exercise, said I, as I followed her ladyship Through not so well-lit corridors and up the stairs And then more corridors until suddenly she stopped We had arrived, you see, at a very important door My escort straightened a little and opened the door And without preamble invited me to follow her in Alas! It was the outer office of the elusive Moran And as a pleasant voice was greeting and welcoming us My curiosity was literally shooting out of my very eyes You may go right in, she said, after a buzz was answered It was my turn to straighten a little and touch my cap Just to make doubly sure that all was as it ought to be In we went and to my great and humbling delight There stood the Moran, a full five foot four maybe The first female Moran of the Burning Spear That I had encountered, even in my dreams Thank you madam, for dispelling the myth That dwelt in my heart as in those of others That a Moran could only be a male affair! And as I walked out of that great edifice Holding a copy of ‘Christmas in Lodwar’ By my good friend Taban, I could not but feel That these were the whispers of a new dawn! ©Gerald Kithinji 2013