Ba Chagrins Poem by Job Ombati

Having my earphones on
and listening
to this Congolese music,
from yesteryears.
The serenade golden voices
and magical guitars—
with dexterity played.
⁸Drums beaten with love
and a rare godliness,
of a past gone—
they remind.
Tuneful beats of BA Chagrin's "Topesanaki elaka eeh! "—
calms weary nerves.
Like water
slowly poured of a gourd—
you can't get it back!

¹⁷A past liltingly magical,
one that the frail heart
fears to summon back.
Possibly it may crumble
like a dry loaf in one's hands.
Of a past
of youth
and supple knees,
waists,
and shoulders.
A tranquil past
and a near-million futures.
²⁹Perfect is the voice of Mayaula Mayoni
and BA Chagrin's perfect harmony.

A magical past
in the ever-green rolling hills of Kisii,
of faraway Lake Victoria,
of the wonder language the lake people spoke
and their love for Mbuta.
What a stench
to our blind eyes then!

³⁸An almost sacred past-
hard to summon
of the Ba Chagrin's biphonic beats
and "Nataka kufa eeh! " line.
One that can't be mustered in bits
like small crumbs of bread
falling though the fingers.
Of evocations of older brothers
with their girlfriends
and... and this music!

⁴⁸A past
of a disgruntled mother
and a never easy to please father.
And how by the way did the tall friend of my elder brother look like?

A past
of years gone and never to return.
"Cherry kanisa kaka olulaka nagi na quartier! "

⁵⁴And now the climax - 'Nazoki na Molema aah ngo ya ooh! "
The brother and his friends sing along.
Are they drunk?
Indeed, they teeter.
But the memories -
they have stuck.
And more are being made
in the hearts
of the young listening mind.
⁶⁴Memories that will be branded
in his near-and hard to be recalled now.
And if he tried to force them,
they'll crumble through his fingers.

When it will play,
he will remember me.
Maybe with a sigh
and if with a soft heart
and the convenience of privacy,
a tear too.
⁷⁶He will tell his children that
I loved this song.
His taste will have matured.

©️Poems for Humanity