A Fallen Citadel and Other Poems

Hana

56 Hana Her beauty is like a blossomed Pear tree! Her full bloomed body, Her long dark hair, Her bright charming brown eyes, Her smooth soft ebony skin, And her long neck Depict an angelic portrait of Hana. Her elegant walk Invites spectators to a gaze; her full blossoming figure, too enticing to miss, draw them to a halt as though she were a ripe peach ready for plucking. Men’s hungry eyes undress her without mercy, while we women are drawn to anger, loathing her every whim. As her soft angelic lips move, slowly, carefully, and mechanically, uttering her first word of mulembe5 , we are all taken aback. Her sweet tender voice too soothing to ignore. So we hang tightly onto each syllable of her word, entranced by the tenderness of her voice. Alas, we realize our mouths are gaping our eyes drooping and our minds wondering where Such tenderness of heart emerged. Her simple smile 5 Mulembe means peace in Logooli language 57 sends our hearts racing and the palpitation of our hearts drumming. Suddenly we realize in our gaze, We had forgotten a simple courtesy— to return her greetings—mulembe. And so we wonder out loud: “Why are we puzzled by her?” "Why are we fascinated by her?" “Why do we marvel at her?” Eyeball to eyeball, we search in her innocent, yet captivating eyes to see if we can understand that which has drawn us to her. Only to realize that it is her charm, elegance, and naiveté we find attractive. But soon, we gaze in her eyes again searching for that brilliant light, but, sadly, we begin to see the radiance in them fading, reminding us that the sun had began to withdraw Her claws lights slinking them way back beyond Mt. Elgon leaving a red tear etched across the blue sky and only emptiness in Hana's eyes. Eyeball to eyeball, we look into those big brown eyes again as we wonder 58 at the red-hot rays we now see, not the kind of red that makes one grow vivid inside and out—passion but, void, a lack of brilliance and sparkle we once sought. Yet, despite the fading luster in her eyes, we are drawn to her, as her simple politeness and elegance that had once drawn us to her prevent us from abandoning her. And so we hover around her hoping to ignite in her eyes the fire we had once found irresistible. And soon, the moon serenely envelops her in her coat of dim lights her face charred permanently, a sad reminder to us of the warmth Mother Earth gives her troubled children, soothing their wounds forever! ...