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Best Poems Written by Lydia Jerotich

Below are the all-time best Lydia Jerotich poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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Mama Africa

Mama Africa

All they say is you are uncivilized, using policies to publicly undress you
From Lesotho to Libya, Mali to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbawe
Raping justice and reaping where and what they sowed not!
I cry when they call you "dark"
Coz you are so bright, your sons and daughters beaming with strength
Africa, I call you MAMA, for your breasts are full enough for all your children to suckle!

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The Land of Awe

At first we seemed to slope
Low and low, I thought we could drop
Then snaking through the hills, we
rose
And I imagined the valleys could close
Yes! This was the land of awe

I peered through the windows and
saw
The hills resembled a big cat’s raised
paw
Indeed they made the terrains afar a
desire
For mine eyes couldn’t stop but
admire
Yes! This was the land of awe

The plantains darted everywhere in
joy
Dancing beneath seemed the
cassava’s ploy
Were they seeing the glint in my
eyes?
Their response was such a dice!
Yes! This was the land of awe

Then palm trees in rows as folds in a
foil
I could smell the richness of the soil
And left to dreamily savor its oil
Pondering on the folk’s toil and moil
Yes! This was the land of awe

As the city drew nigh
Mine being lit with a sigh
At the thought of meeting with the
women and men
That walked majestically along the
streets and down the lane
For indeed, this was the land of awe!


(A Trip to Bujumbura, Burundi)

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My Scars

They are all over me! See my ankles, my loins and my groins....
This one along my chest, most ugly, uh?
And the one across my tummy?
How can you call me beautiful?
May be if this mirror is a damned liar.....

I used to detest them but now I love
them.
I love scars.
I love my scars.
They tell a story.
They tell my story
Better and clearer than none could.
That I am a fighter, a warrior, a
survivor, an overcomer and a story
teller.
I love scars.
I love my scars!

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For Who

Plaiting, twisting, weaving
It always seemed as though I was
being thatched
Her skill was to fix what was matching
But did she ever bother, to know what
inside my head hatched?

Waxing, locking, braiding
She had to follow what I desired
I wondered if God approved all that
transpired
Nor did I have to go through it all
As I changed my look from time to
time, like a rolling ball.

Pony Yaya, Pony Tail, Haiyaki
Were all these for pleasing my
Waiyaki?
But he never wore more than his clean
shave!
And I never wished he had a Mohawk
wave
Neither the locks that were dreaded
That had made Moha's reputation in
the village shredded!

Treating, combing, straightening
I felt her soft fingers glide through
my scalp
Then I realized it was her source of
livelihood
To prove her motherhood.
For her three lovely lasses
It did not matter whose scalp she
encountered.
Because she adored and did this, even
for their eyeglasses
Their joy and success was all she lived
for
For, he, who she had given herself to
Had left, for her,
A 'trendy' woman next door.

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The Blue Valentine

The day finally came
It was bright and displayed fame
She knew her moment had come
To be cosy, rosy and plum
Her hair, face, lips, lashes, nails were
all detailed
For her wishes , thoughts, dreams and
desires had prevailed.

She chose the dress- a black and
white polka dot
Doned with a scarlet belt
With red velvetty stilletos, to make
the look hot
Her heart as sure as her pay day
That this was the big day
To be asked the question of her life
And finally like her mommy, be a wife.

Why was she so convinced about this
day?
Hadn't he shown all the indications?
Persuaded her not to meddle the
evening with any complications?
For he had something treasured to tell
her?

She longed, she believed, she smiled.
Then a message on her phone flashed
Her face with expectation blushed
Then the wide smile thinned
You would see her face like one pinned
It paled, frowned and raged

She tore her dress, disheveled her
hair
And across the room flew her shoe
The day, her day, had turned,
To a Blue Valentine.

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To Have and To Hold

Today I sat down with my palms on my chin
I thought and thought, all I could think
Knowing very well life's conquering thick and thin
But this reality could not keep me asleep even a wink!

"Why do you keep all the good that I need?"
I asked God 
"Child, what you think you need is beyond man's deed,"
He whispered so gently
"What man can give, cannot last"
"What I keep for you surpasses all past."
His voice was still, soothing and reassuring

Then my mind reeled and wheeled
Like a tape of film, I saw the faces of them that I loved so
All gone like mist
Thinking of you,
I sulked.......for someday you would be gone too
But then I smiled courageously
Knowing that when mine time comes
I will eternally have you, to love and to hold!

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O Love

O love that holds me deeper and closer
Flowing flawlessly within my being
Even when they try to find an error
I still see a whole you knit within me
Your love so fresh like the milk in my
mother’s gourd
Refreshing my weary soul at each
touch
Of your love, O love

O love, that lets not go of me
In my days of bloom and my days of
gloom
I ponder on the yarns that wound our
hearts together
So skillfully and so beautifully
That am lost in you so
If we weren’t meant to be,
Couldn’t the differences they have
tried to conceive work?
It is with no shadow of a doubt, that
they are the strands
Of your love, O love

O love, that seeks me through pain
The desire of my eye and the delight
of my soul
How do you guess the needs in my
inmost being?
That you meet that grim being within
me and tarry in there?
Many a people have reached there and
dared not to linger
At the dreary me deep inside
Beyond the edgy smile on my
countenance
But you zealously cheer me up with
that magic
Of your love, O love

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Magical Journey

In a dark lonely world you start
Growing
Squishing, fluttering, kicking, you come

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Silence

Seething pain it causes
Indelible marks of questions
unanswered
Lacerations of separation and
loneliness
Emanating from endless questions of
‘why’ and ‘how’
Nights and days are rendered
disconsolate
Coupled with despondence, depression
and melancholy
Endurance is but, all that the
affected has…….

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If Only

If only
I was a bird
I would fly
And soar
To the heights far and beyond
There I would discover the secrets
yonder
And sing the happiest song
A song of harmony and tranquility

If only
I was a cloud
I would follow the wind
Tirelessly and valiantly
To all the four corners of the world
There I would lay a treasure
A treasure of life and continuity

If only
I was the sun
I would spread my rays
Lovingly and soothingly
To all the peoples of the universe
There I would shine a smile
A smile of unmatched bliss and peace