Ngwatilo

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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 [...]

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Dream house

i saw the house today,
a quaint two bedroomed,
with enough space
for a dinning and lounge.
The bathroom loo had a wonderful flush,
a properly old school bowl and tank
and the tub, in its own room,
imagine a bath without the knock
of a belly full of pee cutting in
Outside was a garden of fully grown trees,
no matter they give nothing [...]

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March 16, 2009: Confession of a Matatu ride

So yesterday, i was in a number 24 Nissan matatu at 5.45pm heading up past Nairobi West. At the roundabout that joins Langata road, my matatu lurches forward into the roundabout in the middle of traffic, as matatus are wont, and nearly rams into this woman driving a pickup. She is in the roundabout nearly [...]

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Summer in Nairobi

is Jacaranda trees in bloom 
blissfully blue, bold, edging
toward lavender gladness.
When the rain falls, as we hope,
the flowers fall.

It is not tragic,
stomping on them on Kenyatta Ave
delicately and joyfully–
we hope the ritual will make us 
blissful while blue, even decidedly bold.

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Did you know?

Lillian towers was built to look like a maizecob.
I think the architecture continues to be pretty cool.
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