If you should take my child Lord
Give my hands strength to dig his grave
cover him with earth
Lord send a little rain
For grass will grow
If my house should burn down
So that the ashes sting the nostrils
Making the eyes weep
Then Lord send a little rain
For grass will grow
But Lord do not send me
Madness
I ask for tears
Do not send me moon hard madness
To lodge snug in my skull
I would rather you sent me hordes of horses
Galloping
Crushing
But do not break
The yolk of the moon on me.
*
Jonathan Kariara was a Kenyan poet born in 1935. He was one of the first English honours graduates from Makerere University where he edited Penpoint, the university’s student literary magazine. Kariara went on to work as a book production editor at Oxford University Press’ branch office in Nairobi. He passed away in 1993, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the world of African literature.