Letter To Dickson Baz. Poem by Edwin Owade

Noon breeze of the monsoons winds, behold a real buzz,
Still fresh the lyrics, tempo, and message of the 'dance n' shake' band,
Son of my mother the last heir to the Baz,
The cuisine of our motherland cures, not the fries of the queen's land,
The aroma of dried mtonzi, drooling of fried tafi,
Time flies, Hi to my long-time buddies Sarai, Shantel, and Shaffie,
Here they call it winter I hope you remember;
The four circles. Yes! You were a geography club member.
Chilly they are but in the ring the flare of Mayweather,
Still vivid, the termites trapping and mud running of the May weather.

It is said by a sling the macho man fell,
I, therefore, say follow his way and you shall not fail,
Harbinger not, you're a leader, a prominent figure in the make,
As papa said, 'books are the fodder' chew it for his sake,
Shun the Shayne's and Mary Jane, after fame and name their intent,
Jiggery-pokery their game, poker-faced they are only to be fake,
Life though hard through faith, you'll make it.

Saboteurs on the run to end your tour,
I heard of the malady sent to the rich by the poor,
Envious, always on the run dusk to dawn without a sigh,
Weary not, on a mission to send you to the most high,
Their smile is a ploy,
Laughter a perfect decoy,
Black their intent, putting on a white robe to cloak their darkness,
Be wary of them on the next block,
Peace and harmony are disrupted by their loud ngoma,
Horde scared, famed as the dreaded sangoma,
Fear not.
'Ok unu nyall' to them but not on a placard,
Beset by their actions, set to make you a retard,
They failed.
Till we meet again, son of my mother.
Fear not.


# Mtonzi and Tafi: These are Swahili names for specific fish found in East Africa.
#Ngoma is the Swahili name for a drum.
#Ok Unu Nyall: A Dholuo saying which means, You will not succeed.