THE ANGRY GODS

Why didn’t you the gods warn us of these disasters when you were well aware of what awaited us? Disasters that have consumed what remains of the potential offerings to appease you. For a long time, we have lived in our land, fed of its soil and drank of its waters. Life has been so good and comfortable that we never dared ask of where the waters came from. Of course we knew you were the custodians of rain. Even the rainmakers were silent when we turned against the very vegetation we were supposed to nurture, always looking to the skies as they chanted prayers whenever the rare droughts and famine hit the land. The once rare droughts that always presented the wrath of the gods have become so frequent and harsh that we are worried whether the gods are just angry or dead all together. Anger fades upon offerings, or so religious logic dictates. But how many more are we going to offer unwillingly as the livestock get consumed by the land and offered to the gods without any consent. What does one do when the only exit is locked from the outside with the house consumed in fire? Should we pray to the same gods who watched while the doors were locked from outside or should we battle the walls until another exit is created. We are at your mercies, the gods lest this generation gets to the history books as an extinct breed. A good punishment is one that leaves you the energy to correct your mistake. We have learnt the lesson for descending on nature for short-lived returns while remaining ignorant of the long-term negative feedback that has now left us hungry with nothing left of our livestock possessions. I offer this prayer on behalf of humankind asking that you leave us the energy to give back what we took from nature. Death stares at us on the face if you fail to intercede to stop this prolonged suffering. Suffering that has left most of us at the mercy of well-wishers who awakens the now inactive salivary glands only to disappear after few hours leaving us with even more suffering. Our children cannot even explain what is happening since they are too young to be exposed to the sins we and our fathers committed. We are not leaving the mountains until we get the answers. PLEASE OPEN THE SKIES AND BRING RAIN, GODS!

Fredrick Ouma / fredrickmbima@gmail.com