Joseph Cimanuka Poems

The start will always come, mediocrely;
Voices in your back will whisper dismay,
Trying to make you feel black, to bring you down.
Every voice will rise, a word to say,
...

I am Joseph Cimanuka,
A son of hope and humble light,
Born where hills embrace the morning,
And rivers sing both day and night.
...

O, Death! I curse you,
For you are impolite,
You don't knock before you get in.
Death, where is your pity?
...

Half-dead people, hearts turned cold,
Conceived in shadows, in theft enrolled;
Born in crime, in darkness fed,
On stolen wealth their spirits bred.
...

I went to fetch fire from Walungu,
To warm my body, my house, and light my life;
Yet this fire was a woman—a living flame,
Not the fire bestowed through dowry in Kaziba,
...

There is a day for birth, a day for death,
A day for childhood, a day for age.
A day for marriage, a day for parting,
A day for failure, a day for success.
...

My son, my love, my dear,
Be aware of your father's words;
Uni is not the universe—do not confuse
A place where you can float without a fall,
...

There's a voice at the bottom of my mind,
Whispering that life is a book of pages;
That one day, my page will truly turn
Into a better chapter—it will become my turn,
...

Keep your least—do not waste it on the great,
Lest you beg when all your strength has passed;
With your least, you can endure your fate,
Trust not in them, their promises won't last.
...

My daughter, use your brain to be wise;
Men give with one hand while the other stretches out,
Waiting for a reward before their hearts find rest.
And after their reward, they run dawn to dusk
...