There is beauty in who we are
not men and women- children
whose souls go giddy
when our soles feet feel for the dew
on fields of green
where our eyes stretch out to touch
the morning sun
on a park
where dreams are allowed to sleep.
There is beauty in what we love
this part of Nairobbery
where love is allowed to pluck a rose
where the only Estate that is real
is your state of mind
as it gasps for
the only pure air
in this city where
it’s a crime
to breathe free air
There is beauty in what we are
rebels, radicals, believers,
lovers, optimists, ungovernables
our blood burns through our veins
with the spirit
that led our warrior to battlefields.
Her Maji Maji rebellion made it rain
on fields of brown
on jungles
where rocks grow through steel.
Yet still
her rose now chokes.
Her rose
now the heroes
yet still,
they can’t breathe.
We rose,
yet still,
we, can’t, breathe!!!
All Rights Reserved ©Njeri Wangarì
2nd November 2019
I wrote this poem as an ode to the late Prof. Wangarì Maathai, her fighting spirit to ensure that our children, grandchildren and great children get to enjoy nature, see the beauty of their country, Kenya and learn the importance of taking care of the environment.