where were you? (Tribute to Lupita Nyongo, Oscar Award Winner) by Ojijo Ogillo

(extracted from Fireplace Stories: Ojijo's Performance Poems. Poem .2012. ISBN.978-9966-123-17-6)

 

1.      where were you?

 

you woman, sitting there, begging for emancipation,

you mother, standing there, petitioning for freedoms,
you girl, kneeling there, pleading for affirmative action,
you wife, sleeping there, crying for release,
where were you?

 

where were you when boudica fought the roman emperors in 60 ad, a woman of peansat birth,

where we you when rosa parks refused to walk to the back of that bus, a common woman,
where were you when kinjekitile mwenda led the men to revolt against british rule in kenyan coast, an illiterate woman,
where were you?

 

when mother teresa went to help the poor, were you washing your baby?

when benazir bbuto ran for office in pakistan, were you cooking tea?
when camila valejo was leading student protests in chile, were you reading for examinations?
when indira gadhi was the first woman prime minister in the whole world, were you painting your nails,
where were you?

 

why do you want to be helped, when joan of arc helped the french to defea the british,

why do you beg for assistance, when golda meir offered assistance to israel,
why do you cry for handouts, when mavia handed land and produce to her people in 400 bc,
why do you plead for gifts, when isabella of spain gifted africa to men twice her size,

when we think of zenobia threatening king cyrus, we wonder, where are you?
when we remember margaret thatcher ruling britain for ten years, we wonder, where are you?
when we watch wu zetian lead china s first female emeror in 614 ad, we ask, where are you?
when we remember the trung sisters leading vietnam, we shudder, where are you?

 

like cleopatra, using her charms and intellect to deliver egypt, let us not ask, stand up,

like tomyris, leading her tribe to victory, let us not fear, he strong,
like nzimga mbadde, queen of the matamba, let your men weat skirts, be brave,
like augn san su kyi of the mongols, do not despair, keep fighting,
like eleanor of acquitane, lead your men and prosper, do not falter,
let them not ask, where were you?

 

wake up and run after angela merkel, she leads europe, she was there,

quit begging to copy oprah winfrey, she stood up, she was there,

end pleading and follow dr. zuma, she leads africa, she was there,
stop crying and applaud lupita nyong’o, she knows everyone has a dream, she was there,
where were you?

 (Ojijo is an ICT lawyer, author of 31 books, performance poet, armature pianist, luo culture expert, business feasibility study and financial projections consultant, public speaker and coach:+256776100059)