Ngwatilo Mawiyoo
Poem for a Census and a Forecast
Poem for a Census and a Forecast
i
My government wants to know if I live, if I am dead.
My government wants to know what I do for a living,
how many hours I work. It counts my offspring
my livestock my radio my mobile phone. It wants to know
my tribe, the place I was born, if I own a fridge. My fridge
shall help my government plan what to do with bodies & carcasses
ii
when El Niño comes. My government will be in control
it is telling me what to do in good time & meanwhile
I work & pray. For my government is planning
to collect the coming rain so that there shall be food
for the year & enough to store. We shall not need
a Red Cross or Crescent to mark our homes
for the Angel of Death because we are righteous
at peace with God with each other with nature.
My government is steadfast; it does the right thing.
iii
my government is a man,
a giant who speaks every tongue:
he sings to my hair,
it grows long & shiny;
he inspires my hands & feet,
they are calloused with purpose;
he speaks the language of the drum for my hips
my cheeks twist round & round – time unhinges
he calms the quiver of my breast, even
when it spreads to my bones when there is danger;
he sedates my mind with signs
& I am saved for his own hell.