My Gourd-By Lydia Ireri

If I desert my gourd
Birds of the air shall build their nests
Spiders shall lay webs
Ants shall crack my gourd
Not being spared by the rats

If I abandon my gourd
Strangers shall carry it with them
Shepherds shall put blood instead of clean water
Terrorists shall use the fragments as weapons
While the young cobra finds habitation
In my gourd
If I reject it

If I leave my gourd outside
The scorching sun shall expand it
And
When the rain falls
My gourd shall contract and break
It shall possess shades of a dead chameleon
Whose permanent undesirable colour is evident
And an odour that scatters both friend and adversary


Then I ask myself
Must I abandon my precious gourd?
I must not leave,
abandon,
reject
or desert
My gourd

I stand!

I shall hide my gourd in the secret places
I shall save it from uncondusive conditions
I shall wait till dad sends me to the river
To fetch clean water
And carry the water in my gourd home
To save Ma, Da and my People!