Joseph Cimanuka Poems

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

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,
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I'm fond of you, Lord,
But I feel hatred for my neighbor.

I preach your word with delight,
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There's a day for birth, a day for death,
A day for childhood, a day for oldness.
A day for marriage, a day for divorce,
A day for failure, a day for success.
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Your majesty, our Mwami,
Where is your Mwamihood?

As the greatest hero of our land,
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I love poetry, it's true!
Poetry, my daddy; poetry, my mummy;
All my siblings, poetry.
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My mind is heavy like the whole cosmos,
A wonder fills my thoughts about mankind.

From dawn to dusk—on Everest's peak I stand;
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