Mama Shujaa

By HANA NJAU-OKOLO Kilimanjaro You are I am Melting. Those patterns etched into your face Are tears carved under my eyes Draining through the mask. A glacial screen The landscape of my life Frozen into the familiar. Snow-cap Washing away As men in their folly Plunder the spoils of the earth. Face-to-face you say Do not weep for me Weep for yourself And for your children. For the Sahara And its spreading. For your soul Marooned on an Island of dreams Unfulfilled. Copyright © Hana Njau-Okolo 2008-2012. All Rights Reserved. First posted on December 10, 2008.

I work at a national law firm, and in the single ugliest day for the legal industry since the economic downturn began, eight major firms announced a total of 748 layoffs last Thursday February 12th. Read more here . The gloomy announcements in our office began early in the day, just moments after the switchboard opened, and folks had logged in and settled down with their first cup of tea or coffee. One by one, my coworkers and friends were summoned, issued the bad news, provided with boxes to pack up their personal belongings and where necessary, escorted off the premises. As the morning wore on and the scythe continued to fly, the office grapevine seethed with suppositions. No one was safe! It was almost the end of the business day when the survivors were advised of the final number of those who had lost their jobs. I know all of them well, most are women, heads of households, with small children, with health concerns, and now without medical insurance. What are they all goi...