mathina ma mundu muka.... english version attached

MATHINA MA MUNDU MUKA
Indi muio uu mukambaua indii?
Kusyawa kana kaka kwatwikie no ta kusyaa nzee kana luma
Ai wiiw’a, “ Ngania nusyaie!”
“Asyaie Kamwana?”
Nimukulya, kusyaa kelitu to kiumo?

Kana kelitu, kainenevanga nivo kitau indi,
Kavithe vita utave kiw’u,
Katinda vita ukamanthe ngu
Kanini kua mwana
Mutuku na mutua,
Mwamina kusoma endai mukathauke
Indi kelitu ko ngamile kana ing’oi!

Amwi ma mbaitu, akii ekai kueka
Kelitu kainenevanga nasu masembete
“Inyaa kavithe, kelitu kaa kaivikie,
Kai kwisa uvita ivinda.”
Uiseng’a na kwiikulya kevika ko ndula, ikolovia kana ngwasu.
Mayiamuka iting’i syiile musainga, yaani syiile andu
Kwakya tene vala ndia yikilaw’a itheka
Mayosa wenzi, na uyathamya ta ndia inamina mboka
Ngw’e, kila ukona no nthakame na woo wi nthumi.
Kyalo kii kya kelitu ki woo na muvevetanio wa maeo

Ona uuma wa nzaiko utenavoa
Matumila manene meania mavu myatu
Na tungi twakuie tutialye o ametho
Maivitukana ta ngali kya mathau
Maivika- ai yu ni monie kiveti
Akiau woo wi mateng’e tusu.

Indi niwene wakwatiwa ni walola
Wavita matatwa ta yesu weuni
Uyoswa uthi ukatungate wia wa nyumba
Ona ndwisi kwivanguula kimia nesa
Kuamuka ni saa kumi,
Kukoma, ona ndukawete
Kuthambya miio,kuvua ngua, kuua, kuea syana
Muiseng’e indi, Kana kaaea kangi.
Uiseng’a uyona yila itumila ya musyi
Yitetemete na kwita mavuyu
Yii mavuyu ta ngiti ya mung’ethya
Uikaya ngai ndethya, yiyia aiutunga mundu muima.

Mathina ma mwiitu makuawa na mbawa
Ayosa aitwawa ni nyamu mbai
Yamina kwivuuia nzovi na nyama sya uvivya
Yitata ukwiliila ngundi ukaluma to kwaunya
Uikaya uitinwa utheele kitimba kyu kiyakana mwaki
walea utwaa ndii mwakoni Kati usu
ukakuiwa sivitali Kinyata

Anaasa ni mukulya,
Mbaitu nimuthaitha mundavye
Kyalo kii ki kyeva na methoi
Kyalo kii kya mundu muka kikathela indii?

A WOMAN’S WOES

Will  time’s ever change?

 Would you equate the girl child-

To a porcupine- a wild animal?

Once a baby is born, “Is it a boy child?”

There goes the question

Is a girl-child a curse?

As a girl child grows older,

So does her woes grow:

Kavithe, fetch water,

Kanini, take care of the baby

Katinda ,collect firewood

Mutuku and Mutua, after your homework-

It’s your playtime

Why make a girl a beast of burden

A donkey, a camel!

Adherents, custodians of culture and tradition                   

Hawk eyed aggressive troop to your home

“she has come of age, she is just about ripe!”

Ripe?  Wonder; is she an avocado or tamarind?

Early in the morning,

Before the crack of dawn

A chilly ungodly hour

There goes the sharp knife

Pain, violation and mutilation

The blood, the excruciating pain

The woes of being a woman

As the horrid sore festers

Men, old men start trooping in

Big beehive bellied men

Skinny wizened geezers

The yoke of early marriage

The terrors of being a girl

Lady luck smiles upon you

By the skin of your teeth escape

Yet the troubles are compounded

The yoke of child labour beckons

You are shipped off- an house-girl

The wee small hours- you wake up

Long work hours, long work hours

Utensils, laundry, cooking, children

Soon lands the man of the house

A rabid dog’s foaming

As you cream for help

Defilement, the pain of rape

Your Innocence is brutally devoured

A woman’s woes are insurmountable

 She lands a wife batterer for a husband

After a drinking and ‘nyama’ eating spree

It is blow after blow

it is either death or Kenyatta hospital

My brothers

My Kin, please answer me

It is always sorrow and tears

Will the tide ever change?