ODE TO KAUNDA
Kaunda is free!
Free from seeing the land he made free
Mortgaged to strangers with slanted eyes.
Free from hearing about impostor statesmen in yonder isles
fanning embers of division to bring their countries to derision.
Kaunda is free from seeing voiceless generals cooing through lifeless birds.
I read about you in high school
In your inspiring book, Zambia Shall Be Free
I saw you live on the beat
Dishing out nuggets of wisdom from a high table
To inspire aspiring leaders.
Adieu, great one!
Yours was a life well lived.
The legacy you leave
Shall remain evergreen!!
- A tribute to Dr Kenneth David Buchizya Kaunda, the first President of Democratic Zambia who led the country to independence in 1964 and governed it for 27 years with the people’s free mandate. He died peacefully in Lusaka on June 17, 2021, at the glorious age of 97.
From Random Thoughts: A Collection of Essays and Poems
By Tony Ekata
© June 2021
