Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins under the marula trees, the cub and the calf - they play Sokoro - no claws; Nuru's not tall and everyone can only seem to discuss their flaws Together they escape; together they replace the memories which they wish they could erase
Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins under the marula trees, the cub and the calf - they play 'Sokoro! Do not play with a giraffe! You are a lion!' a mother growls 'Nuru! Do not play with a lion! You are a giraffe!" a mother scowls The two playmates dragged from each other The two playmates wishing to fight their own mother but Nuru's mother is too strong and Nuru is not tall but Sokoro's mother is strong and Sokoro has no claws
Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins under the marula trees, the cub and the calf- they once used to be Sokoro and Nuru: for how they have grown! They have started to repeat what they have been shown Sokoro with claws and Nuru with height where they once used to play now they fight
Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins under the marula trees, the cub and the calf- they once used to be Sokoro prowls and hides in the grasses the lion waits for what does stand as is Nuru- now tall- eats the leaves from the marula trees nothing yet spotted to put it out of ease
Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins under the marula trees, the cub and the calf- they once used to be Sokoro and Nuru, now predator and prey under the marula trees, where they once used to play they were once told: 'This is how it is meant to be' and now neither of them will ever be free
Sokoro and Nuru: the unwanted twins under the marula trees, where no one will ever win
This poem was inspired by the Kenyan wood carvings of a giraffe and lion that sit on my desk. I named the giraffe Nuru, which means 'light' in Swahili, and the lion Sokoro, a Kenyan name that means 'the lucky one'.