RISE WITH ME

 

Rise with me

Beyond the comfort of your doorstep

Explore the forty-seven counties

Revel in their abounding bounties

Be a local Christopher Columbus-

Discover paths yet mapped.

Come with me

To the little known gems

Largely untapped.

 

Rise with me

Beyond the roaring rolling waves of Mombasa

To the shimmering shores of Lake Turkana,

Rejuvenate at the hot spring of Eliye

Marvel at the flamboyance of flamingoes

Before tasting the baths at Baringo

The truest round trip

As the great lakes go

Rise with me

To savour the tantalizing Taita dances

Tour the tusked tremendousness of Tsavo

March to music that makes all marvel

Across the state and nights that spark.

Then ruminate at the Ruma National Park

For serenely somber sunsets

Bond over blazing bonfires

As you traverse trails

Regale in marvelous tunes and tales.

 

Rise with me

To the city in the sun

Taste urban life with a twist

Bite into our street feasts

Beguile yourself with our Bomas beats

Bursting alive with acrobatic feats-

Kenyan culture like no other

Remind yourself why, this is Africa.

 

Rise with me

Through all our seasons

For all your reasons

To all the treasures that abound

Rise with friends and family around

While you spur our economy:

Creating employment,

Earning foreign exchange

Improving living standards.

Strengthen our autonomy,

Rise with me

As we make memories

That make for amazing stories.

Rise with me.

PROJECT ARCADIA

 

Welcome to project arcadia,

Our perfect utopia

Paving our path to progress

By providing affordable access

To our resplendent resources,

Housing, health and education

Accessible to all in the nation.

Blazing our trail to success,

Embracing all our citizens

 

Welcome to project arcadia

The rural farms we relish

As agricultural production does flourish

Sustaining smooth supply

From farm to fork around the world.

For on our roads you can rely

To cut cost

And promote profit-

Providing produce that’s fit.

 

Welcome to project arcadia

Where we famously flourish

Bolstering our business environment

Building bridges for movement

Devolving development

While small enterprises expand

Satisfy growing demand.

Instant job creation for youth

and special interest groups.

Improving living standards

Our roads earning awards.

 

Welcome to project arcadia

Where we buy and build locally

Advancing our micro-economies

Leverage the village to a city

Increase each individual’s inclusivity

Together we plod towards prosperity

Enhancing the value of property

In all weather accessibility

On these roads built for reliability.

On these roads-

The codes that bind us cordially.

 

Welcome to project Arcadia

Connecting places distant,

Formerly marginalized,

Now potential capitalized

Areas once remote

Contributing to our export

Tourist attractions made accessible

Local manufacturing made possible

Trade across the counties

Connected for our bursting bounties.

 

Welcome to project arcadia,

Where the roads we ride

Are our purest pride

In our laws we abide.

And irresponsibility we deride;

Overloading, vandalism, encroachment

Are met with contempt

As our investments we protect

For our future prospects

For our prosperity

For our inclusivity.

CHRONIC WHISPERS

 

Your journey here is at a close

Your time is almost up

The end is so close

This is your reckoning child

Four years of hard work

Cannot rest on luck

As whispers grow loud

And confidence cannot come

 

Whispers want their prize

An accolade for the wise

A job well done

Or a lie well told

The teacher has his pride

Friends doubt your esteem

Your walls are closing in

 

Whispers claim a shortcut

All the glory-none of the hard work

“You don’t have to be the best in class

Just the best on paper”

So they say

And the temptation is far too great

Child, mind the threat

 

Whispers said the answers would be…

Whispers said the questions would be…

Whispers said that the exam was easy…

Whispers, whispers, whispers

Until the whispers went dead

When the exam was not it

And neither questions nor answers

Were ever close to right

And the thumping heart

Fill with fright

 

Child, no one starts to climb a tree from the top

And if you tried, you would fall

Respect the course of time

Believe in yourself and your work

And silence the whispers

For you only stand tall,

Not by luck

But the value of your work