PROFILING ADHIAMBO AGORO (KENYA) #BABISHAI2015 SHORTLIST

ADHIAMBO AGORO

Adhiambo Agoro is Kenyan poet born and brought up in Nairobi where she resides to date. She began writing at the age of twelve and her budding nest for poetry has felt the touch of many. Adhiambo has written poems versed to photography and has received great reception for her skill. For her, anything that gives life is inspiration for her writing.Attuned to particulars of travel and explorations, she adds into poetry the distinctive value of 'seeing the words on extra coloration’. She has self-published several collections on her blog (adhiamboagoro.wordpress.com) and other social media platforms under her name: Adhiambo Agoro. She is currently pursuing CPA and a Bachelor of Commerce undergraduate degree. She herself, is poetry and continues to grow the arc she describes as “An affirmation, for the little scales that mentions my name- the baby steps that makes the rhythmic heart of a woman.”

Her #Babishai2015 shortlisted poem is below:

My Son  by Adhiambo Agoro (Kenya)      

Fruit of my womb

I beg to stay away

And let you build bridges

To carve sculptures of our souls

To read invisible lines of Holy books

To find meaning in meaningless lines

And hope from tombs left for so long

Mother will be back

Let me find one like us, for us to become one

As your spine gives your body posture

So does the rhythm of our blood play upright music?

You are my last winter bird

My twins gave hope

My smile gave pride

But we're little termites with big hearts

We need our scraggy feet for paths we haven't crossed

Let me find one like us, for us to become one

The roses of our hearts have a charity case

The sidelines of our thoughts need ironing

We consume a variety of edibles to keep ourselves strong

It is a hard claim to live up to, Son

I recall your baby steps

And maps you left on the seabed after a longer drought.

Our change is forbidden but still

Let me find one like us, for us to become one

I will write these lines on paper

For the crowd to listen to our acapella

My name was lonely

Your father's name was pain

We covered your eyes from the world

For us to clean the dirt under our nails

Your life is a yearned cliché

I cry

Let me find one like us, for us to become one

We have few pieces of joy

Will we suffocate on these solitary streets?

No Son. We need history and tales

For kisses woke up the Queens and portions made Kingdoms sleep

Hold my hand to seal these words

Feel the scent from unseen paradises

As we beseech the mercies of prayer and faith

Let me find one like us, for us to become one.

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The winner will be announced during the #Babishai2015 Festival, 26 to 28 August at The Uganda Museum-Kampala.