The Obama Serenades XII

In Kenya,
it has been
raining blood,
raining blood
all over the land;
in Kenya,
after the latest
bath of blood,
our kinsfolk
still wrangle
over the package
of blame;
in Kenya,
they dourly
pass the blame;
in Kenya,
blame is
being passed
around
like salt-shaker
at dinner…

the people's reps
can still
not decide,
and so
they pass
packages
of blame
endlessly
round and
around like
a merry-go-
round;
the Nile
is red
with the blood
of my kin…

some say
the people's reps
are squarely
to blame,
some say
it is they
that are most
at fault,
which is why
their fingers
are still
stuck in
their
pant-
pockets,
you would think
they were
either
digging
for diamond
or gold…

in Nairobi,
it's been raining
blood
cats-and-dogs
all over
the land;

in Kisumu,
seedlings
no longer
sprout
and locusts
swarm
the land…

alas,
it is
the peacemaker
who is
being blamed,
the peacemaker
from the placid
land of
the moon,
the peacemaker
from the great
kingdom
of gold,
the peacemaker
whose head
they nearly
clubbed…

the villains
had prayed
to abscond
with the scourge,
till justice
grabbed them
rudely
by their scruff
and crotch;
and now
the villains
are crying foul
and plotting
mischief…

inside
a big
brown
box
decked
with a
ribbon are
printed
in red
the names
of those
who must
defray
the cost
of this
bloody
scourge…

alas,
the land
has lost
its once
storied
verdure;
no longer
do corn stalks
bear the sweet
teeth of
the harvest
gods,
their silken tassels
having been
burned
to dust
and ashes
by the sun…

still,
the peacemaker
insists
blame
for the bloody
rains must be
swept up
into neat
sheaves
and
equally
shared
with
remorse…

7/15/09

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe

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