Another Home Another Day

The red-brown murram road is running,

Cutting through the landscape filled with green,

From woody hills’ horizons, stunning,

Basking in the sunlight’s golden sheen,

To wetland lily pads and reeds

Leading toward a town of memories.

Each building, shop, and pathway bleeds

Into an image drawn from melodies

Of years gone by.

And all that I remember

Comes rushing back, and as the visions fly,

I think of what you said that last November

When I flew off to find another home

But promised to return another day.

To paraphrase: No matter where I roam,

A part of me would always stay

With you, beneath the leaves of ffene trees.

In every other home that knows my gaze,

I hope I leave some blessing on the breeze.

 

My guess is that this will be the last poem related to my recent trip to northern Uganda. The northern part of Uganda is certainly different from the south, which is where I lived for a few years. But going there and spending a few days definitely brought back some memories of my previous time living in the country. I'll note that I did mix in a couple words that some folks may not be familiar with. Murram refers to reddish brown laterite soil that is common in East Africa, and ffene means "jackfruit" in Luganda (the local language in central/southern Uganda).