Kuno Kunena
Kuno kunena kwa nini, kukanikomeya kuno? Kwani kunena kunani, kukashikwa kani vino? Kani iso na kiini, na kuninuniya mno Kanama nako kunena, kwaonekana ni kuwi Kana na kuku kunena, kunenwa kakutakiwi Kuna wanakokuona, kunena kwamba si kuwi Kunena wakikuona, kukuita kawakawi Kunena kana kwanuka, nikukome kukunena? - 19 Julai 1970
Speaking Out
Why has speaking out provoked my imprisonment? What therein compelled my confinement? Invalid insistence incited anger against me Apparently speaking out is viewed with contempt Speaking out may be distasteful to some Yet others do not regard it negatively Encountering each other, they hesitate not to embrace So if speaking out stinks, should I shut up? – 30 October 2014, Ann Arbor, MI
Telezi
1 Mvuwa iliyonyesha, ya maradi na ngurumo Kutwa na kucha kukesha, kunyesha pasi kipimo Haikuwanufaisha, wenye kazi za vilimo Wenye kazi za vilimo, walifikwa na hasara 2 Mimeya waloipanda, ilitekukatekuka Kazi ngumu walotenda, yote ikaharibika Hawakuvuna matunda, waliyo wakiyataka Waliyo wakiyataka, yakawa ya mbali nao 3 Wenye kuicha mvuwa, isiwatose mwilini Baadhi yao wakawa, wakimbiliya penuni Wengine hawakutuwa, hadi mwao majumbani Hadi mwao majumbani, na kukomeya milango 4 Wenzangu dhihaka kando, nisemayo ni yakini Ilibwaga kubwa shindo, mvuwa hiyo jamani Na mijaji kwa mikondo, yakawa barabarani Yakawa barabarani, mvuwa kwisha kunyesha 5 Kunyesha iliposiya, kukatapakaa tope Zilijaa kila ndiya, isibakiye nyeupe Ukawa mwingi udhiya, pa kupita zisitupe Pa kupita zisitupe, kwa ndiya kukosekana 6 Japo hivyo zilikuwa, ndiya hazipitiki Bali mimi haamuwa, kwenenda japo kwa dhiki Kumbe vile nitakuwa, ni mfano wa samaki Ni mfano wa samaki, kuiendeya ndowana 7 Zikanibwaga telezi, sikujuwa kuzendeya Ningekwenda kwa henezi, yasingemfika haya Lakini tena siwezi, mwendo huo kutumiya Sitawata kutembeya, ila tabadili mwendo – 3 Agosti 1970
Slipperiness
The rain that fell amidst frightening thunder and lightning In endless quantity from dawn to dusk Offered no benefit to those tilling the land Those tilling the land suffered great loss Seedlings they had planted were uprooted in the deluge All their hard work came to naught They harvested none of the fruit they anticipated The fruit they anticipated remained beyond their reach Those who feared the rain, lest it drench their bodies Ran hastily for cover While others wouldn’t rest ‘til their homes they reached ‘Til their homes they reached and closed the doors shut Friends, jokes aside, what I am saying truly happened It carved a deep chasm, this tremendous storm And the strong currents overflowed in the streets Overflowed in the streets, even after the rain had ceased When the rain had stopped it was muddy all over Mud filled every road, not leaving a single path clean So inconvenient it was, that we could not discern the way We could not discern the way, due to impassable roads Though that is how it was, with roads that were impassable Still I decided to proceed, despite the hardships Little did I know, I would be like a fish I would be like a fish, taking itself onto the hook I fell on the slippery ground. I did not know how to navigate it Had I been more cautious, I might have avoided what befell me But I will never again walk in that fashion I will not stop walking, though I will change my approach –– 3 August 1970, Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Nairobi, Kenya
KIBARUWA
Kwenye shamba hilo kubwa asilani hakunyi mvuwa Ni kwa mitilizi ya jasho langu ndiyo hunweshezewa Kwenye shamba hilo kubwa sasa imeshaiva kahawa Na bunize ni matone ya damu yangu niliyotowa Ndipo mte ukatipuza Buni hiyo itakaangwa buni hiyo itapondwapondwa Buni hiyo itasagwa na buni hiyo itafyondwafyondwa Bali itabaki nyeusi kama ngozi yangu Kibaruwa Waulize ndege kwa nyimbo nyanana watutumbuizao Iulize na mito kwa furaha maji itiririkao Uulize na upepo mkali kwa ghadhabu uvumao - Viulize: Ni nani araukaye na mapema kuzitema mbuga na kuzilaza? Viulize: Ni nani akweaye minazi tangu kuchapo hadi lingiapo giza? Viulize: Ni nani abebeshwaye mizigo hadi maungo yakageuka shaza? Halafuye hana faida moja apatayo wala malipo yanayotosheleza - Isipokuwa kusundugwa na kutupiwa matambara na vyakula vilivyooza? Viulize: Ni nani huyo ni nani! Viulize: Ni nani ayalimaye mashamba na kuyapalilia? Na mimea kochokocho ikajaa kwa uzito ikajinamia? Hatimaye nani atajirikaye mali yakammiminikia Akaota na kitambi kama mja mzito wa miezi tisia Na akaongeza magari na wanawake kutoka na kuingia? Viulize: Ni nani huyo ni nani! Na hao ndege kwa nyimbo nyanana watutumbuizao Nayo hiyo mito kwa furaha maji itiririkao Na huo upepo mkali wenye ghadhabu uvumao Vyote hivyo vitatu vitakujibu kwa umoja wao: "Ni Kibaruwa Manamba ndiye mtendaji hayo!" —1980s, London
Casual Laborer
It never rains on that vast field With streams of my sweat it is watered And in that vast field coffee trees are ready for harvesting And the coffee beans are drops of my blood that I have shed Enabling seedlings to sprout Those coffee beans will be roasted, those coffee beans will be pounded Those coffee beans will be sucked, those coffee beans will be ground But they will remain black as the color of my skin, the laborer Ask the birds that serenade us with sweet songs Ask the rivers that happily flow with water Ask the strong wind that blows with fury Ask them: who is the one who wakes early and clears the bush? Ask them: who is it that climbs the coconut trees from daybreak to dusk? Ask them: who is made to carry loads ‘til his back is rough like coral? And then receives no benefit, is not paid a fair wage Only insulted and tossed tattered clothes and rotten food Ask them: who is that? Ask them: who is it that cultivates and weeds the fields? The plants fruiting so abundantly that they bend with the weight? Finally, who gets rich with wealth pouring down upon him? Developing a potbelly like a nine-month pregnancy? Rotating through a growing number of cars and women? Ask them: who is that? And those birds that serenade us with sweet songs And those rivers that happily flow with water And that strong wind that blows with fury All those three will answer you in unison: “It’s the indentured laborer who did all that!” —1980s, London
UNGAPOMOKA
The following poem Ungapomoka was written by AA while on a three-month study tour in Mainz, in August 1978, while still on the faculty at UDSM1. He received a letter from E. Kezilahabi telling him the news that President Jomo Kenyatta had just died. He wrote this poem in response.
Na mti uangukapo, ungapomoka, pomoko kuu Taharuki lingawapo, na shabuka, mbasi kwa nduu Hakwambwi kwa majitapo, kufurahika, ni ubuzyuu Kwani miziye i papo, itatipuka, yenende juu Na yaliyopo yawepo, pasi kwondoka, na mti huu! —1978, Mainz
Although it has Fallen
Though the tree has fallen with a resounding thud Though anxiety and worry beset friends and family One should not speak of it with certitude; rejoicing is foolhardy Because its roots are still intact, producing new shoots And what is there will remain, not disappearing with the falling of the tree –April 2013, Berlin
Notes
- University of Dar es Salaam. ⮭