Thursday, December 15, 2016

In this Nairobi


By T. Michael Mboya

Here comes the man
your mother in Uriya[1]
warned you against
in tale, song and proverb
that kept alive
the fire in the hearth.

Moving



By T. Michael Mboya


These go into the pickup truck first
The hard bulky stuff
the beds, the bedside tables,
the dressing tables and their stools
(detach those long mirrors
lay them on the floor
Of the boot of the car)
the mattresses
the computer desk and its chair
the reading tables and their chairs
the book shelves
the TV stand
the sofa set, the coffee table
the stools and the pouffes
the dining table and its seats
the fridge, the gas cooker
and the gas cylinder
the satellite dish can perch
on the dining table
Take these crates, too
they are books
Lean the wall hangings
against them
and besides these, supporting them
that box of shoes.