here's a selection from his poem, Apprentice :
Apprentice
for my father’s 70th
One morning I burst into my father’s study and said
when I grow up, I too want to hunt, I want to hunt
words, and giraffes, pictures, buffalos and books
and he, holding a pen and a cup of tea said, little father,
to hunt words can be dangerous - but it is best to start
early. He waved his black bic-pen. His office turned
into Nyandarua forest. It was morning. The mist
was rising from the earth as sharp rays from sun fell hard
on the ground like nails. Little father, do you see
him? No I said. Look again – the mist is a mirror.
Now do you see him? I looked again. A Maasai warrior
tall as the trees spear in hand stood before me.
Shadow him, feign his movements, shadow him until
his movements are your movements. Running my feet
along the leaves I walked to where he was, and crouched
like him so close to the earth, feet sinking deeper
into the earth as if in mud, slipping between the sun
and the wind into the mist till I became one with the forest.
....
to view the rest of this poem in its entirety or to read other selections
of Mukoma Wa Ngugi's poetry, please obtain a copy of Mythium #3.