How Do I Start... Poem by DEDAN ONYANGO

How do I start thanking you!

My mind keeps on jumping
Up and down
How do I start thanking
You who have been
And will continue to be
A person I hold so dear?

How do I begin to thank you,
For it is life you breathed in me
It is a mind you built in me,
How do I start to thank you,
For the things that you
Have seen me through
The downs
The ups
Now I am down
Soon I will make new steps
Only known to you,
Tell me how do I start to thank you
God?

How do I start to thank
The people who have been there for me
Each day each need that I had
Never did they turn their backs
On me, trust they built in me
Confidence they had in me
Patience they had in me
Hope they have in me
How do I begin to thank them please?

How do I begin
To thank the friends I made
The friend that made me
To be who I am today
And will be tomorrow?

How do I thank the church
How do I thank the mosque
How do I thank the temple,
How do I thank the university
How do I thank the high school
How do I thank the primary school
How do I thank the kindergarten
How do I thank home?

Perhaps one day I shall have an answer,
Perhaps one day I shall gunner courage
Perhaps one day I shall name them one
By one
Forgetting one will be detrimental
For now my sentiments
Are murky
But still I thank God
And
You
My
Friend.

One day you will know why!

How do I thank you?