Poem: The communal clay pot
Thursday, April 09, 2020

My father ate with all Drank from the same communal clay pot Sipping from the same straw Not minding who sipped on it first or Who sipped on it last.

An ordinary man like them Whose dreams were never realised. He could have been a published poet, He had a way with words. He could have been a comedian, He made enemies laugh.

He could have been a great lawyer, He had clarity with issues.

But like many of his age, instead He sat and drank from the communal clay pot Using the same straw Without looking to see, who used it first or Who used it last. They tormented him, beating, kicking. They forgot that they drank from the same Clay point, sipped on the same straw, Without minding who sipped on it first or Who sipped on it last.

They surrounded him, throwing stones at him, And when he breathed his last,

They forgot, his saliva mingled with theirs, That his sweat and theirs fused casting a potent smell That their words entangled sometimes giving meaning, other times just hanging in the air. They forgot the days he made them laugh so hard that they cried and peed in their pants!

They forgot that they drank from the communal clay pot and sipped on the same straw, Without caring who sipped on it first or Who sipped on it last.

Now, a daughter he never had a chance to raise, Is back in the crowd. Breaking the Bread, sharing the Cup, Not minding who sips on it first or Who sips on it last.

As our voices rise up in worship Our gaze fixed on the Redeemer Who gave it all, to buy us hope, Will you remember who broke the Bread and gave the Cup, Without worrying who sipped on it first or Who sipped on it last?

As we race for the throne, And we stumble in this world Will you remember we broke the Bread and drank from the same Cup?

Now I sing, dance, laugh and cry with the crowd, I pray I will always remember, we broke the Bread and drank from the same Cup, Without considering who sipped on it first or Who sipped on it last.

In memory of my dad: Antoni Musoni - Resident of Kinazi, Ntongwe, killed during the I994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

(An eye witness told us how he was killed, his body was never recovered).