Eulogy for a Pothole (The Star 17.08.09)

The pothole is gone; the one I hit once
and remembered every other trip home,
knowing it was there when I passed
like a road sign. It’s been      recarpeted–
by the Chinese, mum says, only they
will fix a road in a day.

I drive over the spot to celebrate and mourn,
the same way you scatter soil over a coffin
before they cover it and leave you to collect yourself.
I thought the scar could not fade, even while they recarpeted
and paved and drained and lit the road to the UN.
I wish I had a picture of the hole to show, to remind myself,
because the story will be dull next week. Suddenly

it seems possible that Ngong road will become a dual carriageway,
that the pothole-cum dam opposite St. John’s Church in Pumwani,
on the California side just inside the T-junction will, in my lifetime,
lie under gleaming tarmac – no longer a marker for motorists. If I possess
some clout on that day, I shall like to name the street  “Old Calif Dam Way,”
so it will be possible to tell and retell the story.


Comments

  1. Quote

    wow!!!this is fantastic

  2. Quote

    thanks dada, :) I appreciate you.

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