Immortal Speech

13/10/09

Immortal Speech by Khainga O'Okwemba

Khainga O'Okwemba is a poet, literary critic, social commentator, champion of freedom of expression and thought, and Treasurer, international PEN Kenya Chapter.

Immortal Speech*

Even that disquietude, and mirth
Even those unmuted soundbites, and mirth
Are born with a sting in the tail
 

A seaful of young stars moving together,
Where dark clouds gather,
We hear footfalls of metal whips
 

Forging ahead, on your way
Footfalls and metal whips
Footfalls and dark clouds -
 

And now your arms are frozen
And your limbs are immobilised
And now they have cut your tongue
 

And they have red ribboned your eyes-
Oh, comrade, here is the unbridled bard
With a pen mightier than a bullet -
 

Preserved, to render this immortal speech
That it may inspire another generation,
For we are made of clay.
 

 

*This poem is an elegy for Gpo-Oulu and his fellow human rights activist Oscar King'ara of the Oscar Foundation, a Kenyan based organization that provide free legal aid to victims of human rights abuses. Both men were shot dead in cold blood alongside each other

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