Kubwera kwa Azungu

[translated from the Chichewa by Allan Kazembe]

One afternoon some of our parents were in slumber

Those awake suddenly saw black men, four in number

Laboriously, carrying a stretcher made of cloth

And they saw red like color illuminating from there forth

Others became jubilant and shouted, “Friends, today pork we’ll eat.

“Those men are carrying prepared pig-meat!”

But on closer look, they realized the men carried a man

They became afraid and lamented in a real mourn

“Friends, look! What horrific people these men are.

“They are carrying a skinned man from far.

“They have prepared him as pig-meat;

“Does it mean dead people they eat?”

But upon another closer look, they all said:

“The skinned man is alive and not dead.”

Then the skinless man got out of the stretcher

Some of our parents said, “He is a ghost. Look at his nature.”

Our parents looked earnestly in disillusionments.

They saw more strange things and started to utter vexed statements

“This year the moon has come with a strange bag;

“Will we live longer?” they marveled with a shrug.

“These things have exhausted all curiosity surely.

“We must sleep with our heads listening to the door, squarely;

“Let us be very cautious, like shepherd-less sheep

“Sudden comings of this nature should make mother ear not sleep;

“All of us nuts under the ground, we will sleep in puzzlement.

“Look he only eats eggs!” continued our parents in amazement.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” they again shouted, “these people are crippled;

“They have no toes. May be they had leprosy,” as his steps rippled.

“Hah! We have seen no such things. Just look at his feet

“Only bones make of them, making the ‘goh’ sound as the soil they meet

“Sleeping, he sleeps on a dead man’s stretcher;

“He has such a scary and deathly nature.”

Then rumors started to sprout and spread;

Our parents heard that many such people, with skin color, red

Were almost everywhere; our parents heard they were found

At Kabula, at Bandawe and also at Mvera and Dowa, they were found

They then heard some were called Sir Hetherwick, Sir Doctor Livingstone

Dr. Laws. And that not all these were alone

But with some who piled trade, such as Sir Fredrick Moi

and also his blood brother called Sir John Moi

Those were some of the strange names

That had invaded the land of the flames.