Chai ya Jioni
Wakati tunywapo chai hapa upenuni
Na kuwatazama watoto wetu
Wakicheza bembea kwa furaha
Tujue kamba ya bembea yetu
Imeshalika na imeanza kuoza
Na bado kidogo tutaporomoka.
Kulikuwa na wakati ulinisukuma juu
Nikaenda zaidi ya nusu duara;
Kulikuwa na wakati nilikudaka
Ulipokaribia kuanguka,
Na kulikuwa na wakati tulibebana kwa zamu
Mmoja wima akisukuma mwingine amekaa.
Wakati huo, japo tulipaa mbele na nyuma
Tulicheka kwa matumaini yaliyotiwa chumvi
Na kisha tukaongozana jikoni kupika chajio;
Ilikuwa adhuhuri yetu.
Sasa tukisubiri ndoto tusizoweza kutekeleza tena
Tumalizie machicha ya chai yetu ya jioni
Bila kutematema na kwa tabasamu.
Baada ya hapo tujilambelambe utamuutamu
Uliobakia kwenye midomo yetu,
Tukikumbuka siku ilee ya kwanza
Tulipokutana jioni chini ya mwembe
Tukitafuta tawi zuri gumu
La kufunga bembea yetu
Naye mbwa Simba akikusubiri.
Lakini kabla hatujaondoka kimyakimya
Kukamilika nusu duara iliyobakia.
Tuhakikishe vikombe vyetu ni safi.
Translations of this Poem
Evening Tea
While we’re drinking tea on the verandah
watching our children
as they swing joyfully
we ought to know our rope
has frayed and worn thin:
a few more strands and we will fall.
Once, you used to push me
up higher than half a circle;
once, I used to catch you
as you almost fell.
Once, we used to take it in turns:
one of us standing to push the other on the swing.
Even though we swooped up high both forwards and backwards,
we too laughed at our high hopes –
and then we went in to make dinner.
It was our early afternoon.
Now we wait for dreams that can no longer be realised.
Let’s drink our evening tea down to the dregs –
not spitting them out, but smiling.
Let us lick the lick the sweetness from our lips
as we remember that very first day
when we met one evening under the mango tree
looking for a good stout branch
to bear our swing
while Simba the dog waited for you.
But before we leave so silently
to complete the half circle that remains,
let us make sure our cups are clean.
About this poem
This poem, representing Tanzania, is part of The Written World – our collaboration with BBC radio to broadcast a poem from every single nation competing in London 2012.
