DIRGE: "NGUGI LIVES IN OUR HEARTS" BY POET THE MIRROR

No, Ngũgĩ didn't die, not in the way

The world expects, the breath gives out, decays.

He simply turned the final, gilded leaf,

A chapter closed, but not the time for grief.

He wrote in ink, a steady, flowing hand,

But in his heart, a burning, fertile land.

While others strove for perfect, borrowed tongue,

His mother tongue, Kikuyu, fiercely sung.

He carved a path, a literary might,

And soared to immortality's bright light.

Those set books, they ignited in our souls,

A flame of doubt within colonial roles.

He made us question, forced us to resist,

To think, to challenge, fist clenched in our fist.

Kikuyu bloomed upon the global stage,

And English strained against his potent rage.

He didn't just compose a crafted tale,

He forged a weapon, sure to never fail.

The ink now rests, the quill laid gently down,

No more new stories blossom in the town.

But listen close, beyond the silent page,

His words are marching, on a timeless stage.

They echo loud, a revolution's call,

Empowering voices, rising above all.

Rest now, Ngũgĩ, let your spirit soar,

The syllabus trembles, forevermore.

For you have changed it, shifted every view,

And made the world a braver, truer hue.

Rest, champion, your battles bravely fought,

The seeds you planted, richly, dearly bought.

© POET THE MIRROR

- Kenya

The poet persona praises the Kenyan writer and academic, James Ngugi wa Thiong'o. The bard believes that this great man has gone to rest at last. Yet, his records and legacy shall continue to live on earth.