Poet. Multimedia Journalist. Author
Mbona wesema husemi, na hivi umo wasema, kipi kikusemacho?
Ulisema husimami, kwako ni mbele daima, kipi kikurejeshacho?
Wesema husemi nami, tena kwa kunamba koma, leo kipi kikupacho?
You said you wouldn’t say anything
Yet now you do
What makes you do so?
You said you wouldn’t stop
Forward you would go
What makes turn back?
You said you wouldn’t speak to me
You even told me to behave
Why has now today prompted you –
Why are taking a U-Turn?
Soundtrack: Ally F. Juma
Kwa nyakati hizi, za mwisho wa siku, tungo naiandika
Moyoni simanzi, punde ni usiku, giza litazuka
Uje uduwanzi, niwe zumbukuku, nishindwe kumbuka
Nguvu zinihizi, nifungwe vikuku, na kuporomoka
Kurasa zishafungika!
At this moment of the end of the day, this poem I compose
My heart is so lonely as the night will soon come, so will the darkness
Tiredness will come and demented I will be, who nothing remembers
My strength will be taken away and will be handcuffed and down I will fall
Because my pages have been closed!
Kiswahili has at least three meanings of the word ‘Andamo‘, which carries the title of this book. Depending on which context it has been used, Swahili people use this word to describe situations or actions. One of which is the situation of sticking tightly to something and never let it go. Continue reading “‘Andamo’: A Young Traveller on Journey”
The poem N’na Kwetu itself, which takes the title of the book, represents the internal struggle of an immigrant in a foreign land. Continue reading “‘N’na Kwetu’: A Stanger’s Voice in a Strange Land”
Mohammed Ghassani 