Kimathi Martyr

Dedan Kimathi bravely fought
        Against the colonizer
And Africa to freedom brought
         (Though he was brutalizer)
More closely than so many men
        Who merely fought with words,
Not shy with either gun nor pen,
        His martyrdom accords.

So many, his compatriots,
        Were hunted down and killed,
Their heartbeats silenced with gunshots
        And so their voices stilled;
For even though the men were brave
        Their methods were erratic,
Misguided even, meant to have
        Terror’s impact dramatic.

They pass into a bygone age,
        Such blood as gushed from them
Washed clean by men who take the stage
        Trained in the stratagem
Of what be called modernity,
        In which a land be held
By titled deed, which no more see
        Of goat’s-blood oaths compelled.