I hate your tribe
For like the ancient kipande, you wear it as the symbol of your identity
Not as a source of pride but as a factor of discrimination
Causing a rift to divide this nation
Use it as a reason to wage a war you don’t even believe in
Drive your neighbour out of his home
Steal his land and make it your own
Spew hate on social media without thinking
Fuel a cause, not yours but for your tribal Kingpin.
I hate your tribe
Because you use it as your ticket to prosperity
Yet fail to see it is a factor in your poverty
Of the mind,
And hindrance to your ability
To love thy neighbour as you do yourself.
Use it to dialogue in conversations
So that I would not understand,
Let it define how you vote
Where your children should school
And even the god you pray to.
I hate your tribe
Because you judge me by the sound of my name
With no shame, to look past the colour of my skin
Or the origin of my ancestors.
I hate that you are ignorant and blind
To the fact that I did not choose where I was to be born
Or who my next of kin would be
That you fail to appreciate the culture of my people
Calling me names both demoralizing and vile
Just because of a piece of skin
Or a gap in my teeth.
But the end of it all
I hate your tribe
For I cannot hate you as an individual
Only feel sorry for the future generations
That will pick a page from your book.
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