Nostalgia

When across ridges, hill sides and plains

Flickered little stars,

descended from the heavens,

Fireflies and night runners with lit twigs,

Giving life to a snoring world?

What drowned the yelp of dogs,

The crows of roosters and cocks at dawn,

The chirrups of crickets and birds,

The preens of hornbills, hoots of owls,

And yowls of mating cats?

The laughing candidates on their way to school,

The brays of donkeys and footsteps of traders from the lake,

The silence of the night and voice of the dark,

What scared the stones of the hearth?

The trust in the moon,

Parents and children telling stories at night

By a hearth over supper,

Naked children dancing in a shower of moonlight,

Whistling lovers calling out for their women

Throwing stones, while feeding dogs,

If only to divert attention from the in-laws to be?

The maps drawn in the sand,

The leaves plucked by shy ladies under Cupid's glare,

All those messages at night on sisal leaves,

And classroom toilets

"Ochieng' loves Akinyi"

All the hare, the rabbits, Apul Apul, hyenas, of lore

What happened to life?