poetry

Negotiations in Yimbo

Elders,the reason why I want to
marry your daughter is because her
breasts are not pointed sideways like
of all the other women,
Hers are sharply pointed forward,
She is not particularly beautiful but
she has beautiful particulars.
Elders,your daughter has muscled
thighs that can carry pregnancy for
even more than nine months,
She speaks too much and that is good
for my quiet house,
Elders of Yimbo allow me to marry
your daughter,
I will take good care of her,
I will wash her with thick ‘omena’
soup mixed with ‘obuolo.’
Elders,I am a good man of excellent
reputation,
I drink less on weekdays but on
weekends I swallow beer properly
like a pregnant shark,
I am not a violent man,
I will only slap your daughter once
in a while, for no apparent reason,
just to remind her who is the head of
the house,
Elders,did our forefathers not beat
up their wives as a show of love?
Elders of Yimbo,let me take your
daughter as my first wife,
I will treat her like a real ‘migogo’,
Even after I will marry my second
and third wives,my love for her will
not dwindle,
Because of her,and through her and
with her I will uplift the face of this
backward village,
The first ever aeroplane to visit
Siaya will land in this village when
we shall return,with glamour and
pride,fromAmerica with her!
Yes,if you allow me,I will take your
daughter to the land of Obama,
The dryness on her skin and the
cracks on her feet will disappear just
like the paw paw fruits disappeared
in Alego,
I will oil her body with aloe vera and
sew her rough kinky hair with
horse’s tail till her hair will become
smoother than Jaduong Jaramogi
Oginga’s fly whisk!
Elders of Yimbo just nod your heads
in agreement and I shall wash your
shiny bald heads with’ busaa’ and
‘chang’aa’ for the father in law,
I already know he only takes that
one,
Nod your heads elders of Yimbo and
witness eight goats and eleven
chickens being driven from my
father’s home to here!