Marry Me

His skin is ebony
Snowy eyes and ivory teeth
His smile waters the dry lands I came from.
His heart so tender
His skin weather beaten not better
He walks in gait of a thousand warriors
A secret steady rhythm of strength and courage
The earth beneath trembles in his awe
I listen, and my body moves to the rhythm-
An encoding of my name.
My man,
Giant of the village
Beast of the wet nubile land,
Marry me.
My heart belongs to him,
My heart of hearts from the western end
My beginning and my man to wed
He who from where the sun sets,
Where the cock’s crow calls for a holy gathering
The villagers await me.

Prepare the kinsmen for my arrival
Let your mothers gather for the feast
Let the bulls know no peace
Steal me away from this dusty land of my forefathers.
Marry me.
The villagers shudder at my sophistication
My skin, they say pale, has become a source of contention
Your life, they fear, there’ll be complication.
They whisper of my long nails
And wonder if the piece of land will teem with weeds
If my delicate hands will stir ugali for the elders
I am unwanted in my husband’s home
But my heart belongs to him.
My man, marry me!