Heaven Through Hell Discovered Kenya Poem by David N. Munene

Unheard of, native and primitive
Amidst the bushes from across the deserts
Submerged in the sogginess of wetlands
Green pastures for the wild and domestic alike
No rail; no trail
A land of its own class; on its own

Oblivious of the neighbourhood
For abundance sustains solitude
Unknown to the surroundings
Just birds and warthogs… and dik diks
Somewhere in the universe
Were left these fields untilled

Rivers unpolluted
Mountains unclimbed
Peace and ambience unperturbed
Cold fought against with fire
Canopies evergreen shielding from higher
Like insulators do electrical wire

Grapes and guavas were free
Of beef and game were made the meals
No treatment for waters or digging of wells
For impurity was foreign like light skin
Remedy and medicine – voodoo and roots
Dispute by elders resolved; friendships endeavoured

Till the sea spat on the land,
White butterflies on black sand
Grabbing to develop for own good
Snatching and cutting down the wood
Plotting protectorates and territories
Whilst the rest are class time stories

Song and dance turned to dirge
Soup and sweat bore black blood
Sooner than later a mixture of both
Happy to be, happy to see
How sweet the freedom would be
Heaven through Hell discovered Kenya