A Burning Question Poem by Suzan Kamau

I have a burning question: what exactly is life?
Does it ever get easy, as promised by our parents?
When does the struggle stop, the competition end?
Or are we meant to find joy in the pain?

Does joy arise from turning lemons into lemonade?
With a government that feeds upon its people, where do we go?
When did education lose its charm to bring equality?
When did degree certificates become mere paper?

Family bonds broken, brothers fighting for what they did not sow
Jembes here, shokas there, no peace, no place to call home.
What makes life meaningful? Is it the new friends who become family?
Or the triumph of inner battles against personal limitations?

All we hold is hope for a better tomorrow.
Each day, I grow wiser, realizing happiness is often born from pain.
True happiness sometimes lies within you, not others.
But brother, tell me: what does life mean to you?
Does the struggle ever cease? Educate me, sister
For I am still caught in the loop of figuring it out.