Jonathan Karanja

From generation to generation, from time to time,
Hast education among men been exalted,
We’ve our children been telling two things do rhyme,
These are diligence and education-possessing value untold.
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Diverse ethnicity forty-two tribes in all,
Like multi-coloured attire in a shopping mall,
Or diverse goods upon a supermarket stall,
So are the many tribes, one flag unites us all,
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I long to travel, globe trot and explore,
I long to see many sites, holy and Biblical as well as historical,
Since lots of travel, sounds, sites and landmarks galore,
Make for grand experiences, both memorable and factual,
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Barking “dogs” seldom bite, so said the British,
Yet dogs are pals most dear to man,
Man can afford to his pet dog appear uppish,
To every poodle, is every upstanding owner like a Napoleon,
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'Twas one fine mid-July day,
Mine learners didst to me say,
‘We want a movie! Want to view it today',
I agreed, my sixth sense didst me forewarn,
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Oh what a humongously lovely land our nation is,
Bequeathed to us by our predecessors- our fathers of old,
Who our rights championed, bringing equity and peace,
From 1963 onwards we have our freedom relished- more precious than gold,
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I long for Thee, O lord Jesus Christ my Shepherd! ,
Who bled and died for me that I shall walk Heavenward,
Acquainted with grief, bruised, pierced, chastised for me,
In You O lord findest I all that I desire and Lord, I long to see,
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Sob and suck as surfs in the sea at times retreating,
‘Tween high-tide and low tide alternating,
Is the vast water body known as ‘ocean’,
Spinning, rotating on its own axis,
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Deep in the heart (near Lang’ata) of our capital,
Harbouring and offering sanctuary to animals many in total,
Small in size but of value to the nation,
In East Africa having no imitation,
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Swirling, white as foam, whoosh! swish!
Eddying, tossing and ebbing at every pull and push,
Of earth’s natural satellite, which around earth revolves,
So does the mighty ocean and her currents,
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Life may not be rosy as a bed of putty,
Ne’ertheless, it’s at least bearable and good,
In place of ashes, soon shall come beauty,
It all began in the house nasty word here and there as well as rude,
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Boom! Twaff! Boom! Rat! Tat! Tat! Tat! ,
Sound of gunfire in tiny African island State,
Several citizens lifeless, some in villages lying flat,
Many more still whereabouts unknown, obscure fate,
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Yet another cold, gray morning in May,
The ‘boss’, uppish and brutish, didst to me say,
‘Young man I wanna have a word with you’,
Shuffled over to his office, without clue,
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In my country, in a relatively far-flung constituency,
Are mighty and fast moving puffs of moving air,
Which, ne’er witnessed before, of unpredictable consistency,
Blowing hither and thither, from nobody knows where,
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