Swahili, is a language in which words, even without tonal exaggerations, retain their intended emotional effect. This Swahili poem, written in short sentences is a cry for a mother by her children. Specifically, it personifies the prevailing tragic cries of Mother Africa’s children in this era of inexorable modernization and globalization.

Katie introduces her poem: I was lucky enough to learn Swahili from some amazing Kenyan people during the time I spent in Eastern Africa. Swahili was developed as a trading language and is now spoken in East Africa as well as some other places in Africa. This poem is about being affected by Kenya and its people, and my feelings upon returning to America.

I spent fall of 1997 on the SIT program in Zanzibar, Tanzania. This is a letter I wrote to my host-brother, Lodi, who became one of my greatest cultural teachers while I was there.