The early shepherd
GIDRAF MWANGI 1992 (Murang'a)
Bark sandals strapped with lianas
A cow-hide cloak full of furs
Knotted at one shoulder
A goat skin of a head gear
Thin claw-like hands, dry and flaky
Holding a staff from a Mutundu Tree
Across the shoulders behind the neck
Which is thin and mottled
With a hook for holding onto when the body tire
Through the bush he guards the goats
Cows and sheep that are his life-holds
Frequent whacks ensure no damage
For the huge maize plantations’ sake
Through the morning mist he walks
Trotting here and there to keep them
In bundles
So that they do not get carried away
Into the grim forests
They are the first creatures to
Wipe the dew from grass
In the Great Plains that dot the Kikuyu
Countryside
Before the sun shows off its grin in the distant hills
And the lions wake to tempt their
Chance at the herds
When the grass is greener…..
Before the sun bakes them browner!
© GIDRAF MWANGI
Font size:
Submitted by GIDRAF on May 21, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 5 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABX CCXXB AADX AXAXA XAXXAXA BB D |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 864 |
Words | 164 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 5, 4, 5, 7, 2, 1 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The early shepherd" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100523/the-early-shepherd>.
Discuss the poem The early shepherd with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In