The evening had set in,
As the herdsman began to whistle,
Singing and humming some cattle songs,
Praising some, while chastising others,
Like Gaju, and Siina ga Gabuhooro,
The ones, that carried us, on their backs,
Long journeys, in search of water…
There was Kyasha, which fought all day long,
Its long horns, a thorn in all
cows..
Then the melodies of this Kanyonza bird,
Filled the air, attracting imitating voices,
From all the kids,
We sang all kanyonza songs,
Like the one when it sat behind the shrubs,
To witness a woman easing herself,
Demanding the whizzing wind
,
To slow so it could write, what it saw…
Harvesting what it never sow..
What a bird’s show!
Then there was Kanyarukira,
The bird with a long tail,
Wagging it among the people it met,
Especially some village girls at the well,
Taking a bath
“ Kanyarukira Ndyarebire “!
It did, as it swayed, all the time…
We sang this song,
Ourselves swinging and shaking our own!
What a thorny crown among the clowns..
The bird that sang all day and night…
Like Kafiti,
The Village Wag
bird that sang all day and night
ON THE PULPIT