Many have spoken of you, cloaked in satire.You are renowned in the literary world.I long to see your colour—to watch the crocodile shed its tears. How long do they flow, and where do they fall?Perhaps into the mouth itself.Why should a crocodile weep at all?Who has seen it cry—and how often?Does it wail? What sparks […]

By Shem Onderi For him, the night is working hours,He harvests all he can,Every creature caught in the net—even the unwanted,All that the net can hold. Sometimes the net returns empty,The night cold, the shacks, the breezeWearing him down.The tide rises, tossing the boat,Sometimes the catch is heavy,Making it hard to pull back. The fisherman […]

By Shem Onderi A busy, open room,where everyone watches everyone else,suspicion moving quietlyfrom face to face.Even the teller is strict,measuring every transaction,because here, trust is counted in notes. The bank manager hovers over each teller—no errors allowed.In the queue, everyone is late,late to transact, late to breathe.Yet once served, no one is in a hurry.Inside […]

By the Idler-in-Chief Here in Nyagenke, Njaanuary creeps in chewing loudly, crunching leaf by leaf, like a determined goat that has discovered an unattended kitchen garden. After weeks of December merrymaking; when meat flowed like rumours in Nyagenke Intervillage Open Air Market and plates bent under the weight of nyama, pilau, and other festive declarations […]

They tell the childchoose earlyname your talent at tenand carry it like a passport. They saythe West did it this wayas if history were a templateand hunger a choice. They forgetthose countries built safety netsbefore they taught children to walk the wire.There, falling is survivable. Here, the ground is hard. Our engineers steer motorcycles,their degrees […]

By Shem Onderi I am blamed for food greed,Chewing, eating, always eating,Even when my body shows no need. My tummy never protrudes.I speak too much, even when silence is bought.I spoil relationships, intrude on conversations,Then take them over without thought. The other day, I nearly interrupted the preacher—All because of my genes. I walk aimlessly, […]

By Shem Onderi They rhyme without a voice,Though they exist for one purpose — to make sound.Each is crafted differently, held together by its own bolts and quirks.Some must be gripped tightly to sing,Others must be struck with force just to speak. There are those that lie flat for balance,And others that hang from the […]

By Shem Onderi Imagine me flying—Light as a whisper, gliding through the open spaces,High above the noise of humanity,Alone, yet free in my own world. Up there, I’d look down on the houses,Tiny boxes of dreams and secrets.I’d land softly on their rooftops,While their gates stood firmly shut—Barriers meant to keep strangers out. I’d slip […]

By Shem Onderi Too young to be an adult,Too tender to carry the weight of motherhood,A teen mother learns too earlyWhat only time should teach. She is discouraged,The government frowns,The church weeps,And the chief laments in the village square —Yet her heart remains unheard. A national concern,A silent tragedy,A teen mother cannot feed herself,Still clutching […]

By M. Awino and Nyang’au Araka Barely two weeks after Raila Odinga’s passing, Kenya still hums with a single, aching refrain; “Raila come home… Agwambo come home…” The song that fills the streets, radio waves, and social media feeds is not new. It is the late Lady Maureen’s Ohangla ballad, Raila Duogi Dala, recorded over […]