Barter Trade

i, too,
offer you
this broody body-
with it, my unborn children
and the children of their children.

though not so noble
as Muthoni Nyanjiru,
i donate it in whole, from forehead to ankle
i give it to you
like a wedding vow,

take it now
with all its good, and
all its bad
(for better, for worse)
expect no fuss

take it, it's yours
take it
a
gift
unwrapped

in exchange, and
in exchange
i demand only release -
uncage my enslaved heart;
let it breath

free it to fly high
and sing with the birds
let it bleed
let it beat,
in bloody defiance.

you may
rip my reddened clothes right off
to fall and lay
with the forest-green rags of
Wangari Maathai

but you, sir,
must leave behind
my mind
and all its songs
and all its thoughts

all its thoughts
both private and exposed
these blessed
thoughts, and thoughts of thoughts
are mine to keep.

leave me nude
when the sun is at its most crude
in down town Rongai
surrounded by gasps of 'Ngai!',
if you dare

but i should make it clear, dear
though you may
have this body,
i intend to keep its soul, so
take it all, but leave it just so.

©, N.L., 2010