Let's Not Change a Thing

Lets not change a thing
We looked to see
How tall the eucalyptus grew
And turned the stone over
To see if moss grew on the other side.
The stick in the stream
Told us how deep the water went
And tiny Kiki ate the poisonous fruit
To see if it’d kill him.

It was home
Where familiar voices proceeded
And the kettle always steamed
The dog barked itself to a cough
Chasing the spitting feline up a tree
The plum tree we and heavy with fruit
Swayed and broke in the wind.
It was the old jogoo that roused me
Now my feet with dew are washed.

Call in the children,
Milk the cow and the goat too,
Today we eat chapatti and ndubia
Father’s gone to the baraza,
We’ll leave some tea by the hearth
Kick the unsightly cat
Away from the ash and dirt
Lest it burns rest’f it’s gray fur.

Let’s not change anything,
Lets be called the backward and shady
Nothing can replace
No thing will compare to,
The thrilling adventure of discovery
That there’s another world
A new thing
Just below us, just above us
If we look.

Let’s not change a thing.

May 18th 2007