WHO TOOK AWAY MY INNOCENCE?

 WHO TOOK AWAY MY INNOCENCE?

(Innocence to mean without much knowledge of your surrounding/ oblivious of what is happening around you; man to mean both man and woman; same case with manhood)

I walked by a kid's park yesterday

And decided to stop and watch them –

Watch the kids -

I watched as they ran around in circles

With their arms stretched out wide

I felt compelled to join them

But was skeptical of being labelled a mad man

Lest someone makes a call to a mental hospital

I mean, only mad men ran around in circles


I watched them roll in the mud

I watched them fall from their bikes

And then rise up and jump back on laughing heartily

I watched them fight and scream at each other

And then hold hands a few moments later


I wondered when I stopped being a kid

I could recall when I used to enjoy being tossed in the air -

Now I get an adrenaline rush whenever my feet leave the ground

Back then when police officers were my heroes

Back then when ice cream and waffles were good for my health


Back then when plastic bags were raw materials for winding together a soccer ball -

Now they only remind me of SDG 12 and the fights towards a sustainable environment


Back then when the most important thing on the newspaper was Mwalimu Andrew

And, later on, perfect covers for my 32-page exercise books

Now I spend hours tracking the progress of the latest financial policy

And what Makau Mutua thinks about it


Back then when I related supermarkets to candy and not ‘unga’

Back then when I could trans-night learning the lyrics of the national anthem

Now I question the very genuineness of the words ‘Natukae na Undugu.’


Back then –

When my excitement rose if our car was the fastest on the road.

Now I raise my voice whenever the driver exceeds the speed limit –

My life might just depend on it


As I walked back home

I wondered whether innocence and manhood could coexist

Perhaps innocence is just a kinder word for ignorance when harbored in a man.


1Corinthians 13: 11

“When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

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