The Shi Fire Burnt Me Poem by Joseph Cimanuka

I went to fetch fire from Walungu,
To warm my body, my house, and light my life;
And this fire was a woman—a real fire;
Not the fire given for dowry in Kaziba,
But a fire to burn souls, bodies, and houses.
It burnt my inner core and my house to ashes.

I was ignorant, blinded by my own eyes,
But now I stand in the ashen land, indeed;
Stooping down to build things up again.


Joseph Cimanuka all rights reserved