RAP Poem

Every evening, we have something called RAP. I think it stands for Reflection and Presentation, and the mwanafunzi of the day (student of the day) leads the RAP. The first part is a recap of what happened that day, and then there are announcements, and then the MOD presents something. A lot of people have done games or shared a story. I decided to read I poem I had written about our sunrise hike and I thought I’d post it here.

Top of Moyo Hill at Sunrise

The west sides of the mountains hold on to the last of the night,

matching sky where Antares still outshines the morning.

Before the distant hillside forests,

the sunken misty air warms and rises.

Kilimanjaro and Meru fade into the brightening horizon.

Lake Manyara to the south below the famous diamond of stars,

its shallow, saline waters receding in the last of the dry season,

turns silver like cirrus clouds floating by a waning half-moon.

The ground here is the night sky at home,

few lights in the dark.

Slowly, plowed streaks gain color

with stripes in the sky—

red, grey, faintest hint of green—

until all is fully revealed:

the blinding sun over the mountains’ crests

and the Kili ma Tembo valley

below the rocky top of Moyo Hill.