Home » Poems » Gerald Kithinji » Give Peace a Chance Part 1

Give Peace a Chance Part 1

Like the twelfth
juror in the play
I must say I am not
convinced
For I know a recipe
for trouble 
I have seen the
double standards
And I do not approve
this for Kenya
I will never approve
it, and neither
Would you, dear
friend of Kenya
If you saw what I
most clearly see, 
For you, too, know a
recipe for ire
That promptly
transforms into dire
Consequences for
those unwary
Of the machinations
of self-interest

These are myriad,
the machinations  
And Africa is
totally unprepared
Just like South
America for
centuries
For we have
forgotten the real
heroes
And think our
enemies are they who
bled
To free Africa, for
in our minds they
looted
A few inches of our
land for their
kinsmen
A current
unforgivable outrage
indeed 

And yet there were
those of Africa
Who, routinely,
betrayed our
struggle 
To rid Africa of
colossal colonial
vestiges
These we have
forgiven and moved
on
For ‘tis not right
that we should be
stuck
In a time-warp or
worse through
ineptitude 

Now we have
‘liberators’ who
daily oppress
Erstwhile liberators
in the hope of
usurping
The liberation
struggle and
supplanting it 
With a breed that
totally ignores the
history
That was written
with the blood of
our people.

 For them, the
ultimate sacrifice, 
Deserving the
ultimate accolade
Is this deformed
limb of yesterday
Not the sixty plus
years of servitude
I shudder at the
thought, I do, I do
Brother, for I know
full well the truth
It is not to be
found in this lie,
this lie
I say, it cannot be
found here, no!
We are busy
negotiating the
truth
For we know not what
the truth is
And the more we
negotiate 
The further we get
from it
The more we seek
assurance 
The less certain we
get, brother
I can see that,
brother, I can see
And so can you,
brother, if you look

If you look inward
and seek the truth

You cannot negotiate
the truth with
strangers
You cannot seek
retribution through
strangers
For, strange though
it sounds,
encouragement 
From outsiders has
an outside chance of
success
If it undermines the
inside view, the
local input
I see that happening
here, my brother, I
see it
And I’m saddened,
for I wish it were
not so
I long for a
permanent
understanding
A permanent truce, a
permanent pact
And this can only
come from within
Not from without,
never, never! 
 
What have we learned
from the Middle East
conflict?
What have we learned
from the Congo
conflicts?
What have we learned
from the Iraq
conflict?
What have we learned
from global
conflicts?

Nothing? And so the
conflicts continue!
Learn something and
dissolve your ire
In a locally brewed
long-term quencher
That the communities
involved can own
And claim to have-
as the only solution
With local
mechanisms of
enforcement
And universally
acceptable local
censure

The Hague process is
a poor remedy 
For a supposed
conflict that did
not exist
A swift sweep of
dirt under the
carpet
Of politics, power,
greed, retribution
By the very
protagonists who
will fuel
Future conflicts in
the same zone, yes,
I do not claim to
know all or even
most
But this I do know,
we are all watching
Our kinsmen dancing
on a volcano!
And the world will
say, as it has
always,
That this is savage
Africa at work as
usual
Yet I know and you
know that it is not.

It took Europe over
a hundred years
To settle down, nay,
longer, much so
For when was it that
Napoleon reigned
And Bismark sought
to annex France			
And Adolf Hitler
thought he was God?
In the 19th century
Europe experienced
Twenty one revolts
and uprisings
And twenty six full
blown wars
From the Irish
Rebellion of 1803
To the Greco-Turkish
War of 1897

The twelve year
Napoleonic Wars 
The Serbian
uprisings 
The Russo-Persian
wars
French invasion of
Spain 
The War of the
Malcontents 
The Russo-Turkish
and Liberal Wars
The Tithe War, the
Albanian Revolts 
The Galisian
Slaughter, the
Carlist Wars
The Albanian
Revolts, the Mahtra
War,
The Hungarian
Revolutionary War of
Independence
The sixteen year
Wars of Italian
Independence
The Schleswig Wars,
the Crimean War
The Epirus and
Cretan Revolts
The Austro-Prussian
War
The Franco-Prussian
War
The Russo–Turkish
War 
The Greco–Turkish
War
The Serbo-Bulgarian
War
The Cod (not Cold)
War
What kind of war did
they not fight?
Is it not by the
Grace of God
That they can claim
European unity
And play football in
the same league

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.