Why Roosters Sing Hallelujahs Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

I turned on my side at an early hour,
And found that my breath was sour,
Wishing for the early morning meal,
Feeling empty and worried sick,
By this crowing of the rooster.

He had a tail that spread out
Backwards in all morning colors.
His cook-a-doodle-doo was loud,
My listening to him brings back,
The memories of early morning sounds,
Made by my empty stomach.

This act of waking sleeping dudes up,
Does not sit well in the 'veins of my blood, '
And make me want to wake up from my sleep,
But makes me think of things to do.
Like the doo in cook-a-doodle-doo
All because I have to work before I eat,
And the rooster does not do that,
He just walks around and shouts loud,
Singing his hallelujahs into the air,
Then pecks his beak on the ground,
And gets full from that.

Next time you see a rooster up a tree,
Know that it may seem easy to look up,
And call him down with a loud vote,
And then crash under the tree,
For his crowing will ring the bell,
And get you out the door, never to return.

Birds like him are too loud,
When it is time to work,
For they watch the clock,
And call the shots,
For me and you.

The gizzard of a rooster,
Tells the story best,
For he eats and grinds,
With little stones and sand,
For they are always free,
And waiting to be pecked on.

Roosters shout hallelujahs loud,
Like preachers on a pulpit,
Always seeing the heavens up there.
While me and you walk on tip toe,
And char our fingers and toes,
Like the rest of the brood he leads,
That scrape the earth for a living,
Following him as he dances,
Wanting another cuddle,
For that is what hens are for.


Roosters won the battle far away,
In the lofty heavens up there,
For they were hired for a job,
They did not apply for,
But were found to know it best,
Hence never fired, but by death,
For it fires even kings.
By rendering them silent forever.


Don't join the pity party,
For you can be a rooster,
It takes climbing a pole,
And announcing hallelujahs,
In the early morning hours,
For you will do no dirty work,
And never watch the washing,
As it gets clean in the wash.