THE NEW LEAF

 




 I saw you,
I saw you seated at the bench,
I saw you.
I looked deep inside your heart
And saw the worry, the cry and the wail
I saw it.


I saw your haggard shoulders, drooping carelessly
Your shaggy hair, boasting of the little acquaintance you had with the comb,
Your blood shot eyes that spoke volumes of the many times you had cried yourself to sleep,
I saw it all child
I saw it.

Getting into my presence, "Your Majesty's palace" as you call it, you knelt
Your shoes you left at the door. You knelt and started crying.
Weeping, mourning and languishing,
I felt you child
Waves of trembling attacked you. 
You shivered, you feared
I looked and waited on you.

Seeing that you were too troubled, compassion took the best part of me
I fished out my butter-soft handkerchief and consoled you.
" In the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit",
The handkerchief sang sweetly as it wiped  your teary face clean.
" Amen", your eyes responded as they lost the sorrowful dampness.

You started, you started the litany,
A long litany of woes and pleas,
I listened keenly.
You recounted your tales,your deeds, your misgivings.
You told of the number of chicken you had recently stolen,
The number of times you had fornicated, masturbated, hated, lusted, abducted, neglected, coveted
And a host of other ...teds. 
I listened.

I listened still.
Yours was a contrite confession, truthful, genuine, authentic and comprehensive,
I accepted,
I indeed accepted.

"Teacher", you lamented, "this is the paper you gave me. 
It was plain and clean, but my mannerless pen soiled it shameless,
Scribbled and blotted it.
Here it is; not worthy for you to enter down its score, but only give me another leaf and I shall not disappoint"

The sad words bore deep into my heart and I looked straight into your eyes. 
You were like a despondent, innocent toddler having wrecked a TV remote
 And here you were
Pleading, begging, imploring, soliciting and appealing me, your dad, for another.

"Here is another leaf child but be more careful this time", with those words
I dug into my shelf and drew a new book for you. A book that you would write anew.
A book that signified your absolution, forgiveness and acceptance.
A book that I had personally designed, marked out, ruled and calibrated. 
Here is your book

THAT WAS "THE NEW LEAF" FROM SPT TIMU PRODUCTION.

 

By James Njenga