Alone but not lonely,
I waited in the lounge at the Airport,
Not for a long lost relative,
Not for a long lost friend,
And not for any family member,
But for the Air Force One to land,
So I may see my president.
It took me not 2 hours,
It took me not a whole day,
It took me several years,
Just to have a look at my president,
This president that was God sent,
He never came early, he never came late,
But just at the moment when I needed him most.
He is not the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces,
Neither is he a member of the parliament nor a senator,
Neither bodyguards nor the Presidential Press Service,
And above all, no one voted him in the office but me,
No pushing and shoving at this lounge for the president,
Neither red carpet nor dancers to welcome him home,
But I waited still for my president to come.
I did not know how he looked like; I did not know his name,
But I knew for sure I would recognize him when I see him,
At first, the lounge had been fun for I had never been there,
But with time, it got boring and I wished I could walk out,
Only I had no idea where else I would sit and wait for my president,
I wanted to go and meet him as he alighted,
But the security man at the lounge could not let me go!
One evening I was bored and decided to take a nap,
Only to be woken up by others at the lounge,
With sleepy eyes I woke up and looked out the window,
And there it was! Air Force One was on the runway!
Landing swiftly with my president on board,
One look at him and I knew he was my president,
“Your statesman is here for you sir” I whispered in my heart.
I was not carrying my country’s flag but he knew I was the one,
Right there at the Airport we bonded like one,
We had fun at the runway as everyone watched,
Some envied us while others cheered us on,
I kept my president happy and updated him about his country,
I tried making him feel at home for this was the country he would lead,
I was the statesman, he was the president, and did I have a choice?
With a smile on my face, I decided to bid the lounge goodbye,
That lounge that I had been in for the past years,
That lounge that had turned me into one boring robot,
Doing things not because I wanted to but because I was being controlled,
Now I was out and was not planning to go back at any cost,
I knew the guys at the lounge would miss me but I had to go,
They had their chance with me and now they had to let me go.
My president told me all about my other statesmen,
The ones I had never seen and whom he had left behind,
Although I longed to see them, all I saw were their photos,
A good picture is worth 1000 words and sure enough their pictures told me so much,
My president also told me about all the national holidays in our country,
And I longed for the day I would spend the holidays with him and my other statesmen,
He even went ahead and taught me the country’s national language!
From the blues and without a single warning,
My president decided it was time to go back to the lounge,
He told me to go back to this lounge that I dreaded so much!
As much as I knew this was not what I wanted,
I could not disobey my president because I knew he was older and wiser,
I trusted in his word, I knew it was all out of goodwill,
With a heavy heart and without a choice, I went back to the lounge.
As I swallowed my pride and walked back to the lounge,
I saw my president walk back to Air Force One!
I saw Air Force One speeding down the runway,
I saw Air Force One ascending in the air,
I looked out the window at the lounge,
Air Force One was gathering momentum in the air!
Tears welled in my eyes; I was not ready to see it leave.
I had thought I had found my president,
I had thought I would finally be in my country with my other statesmen,
I did not even have the chance to spend one national holiday with him!
With whom shall I talk to in this sweet national language?
With whom shall I celebrate these national holidays?
Are my statesmen okay and will my president be fine?
How I wish Air Force One could turn back!
I had thought this was the president’s destination,
Only to realize that he had just made a stop,
Made a stop as he headed to his destination,
Mr. President, I still believe this was your destination,
Whichever destination you are heading to, I pray you find a true statesman,
One that will make you and your country happy,
All I want to see is a happy country lead by you, your Excellency.
I am still watching Air Force One in the sky,
I see it flying over our land every day,
I wish I could forget that it ever landed,
But I am unable to brush its thought off my mind,
Fare thee well Mr. President, I wish you all the best!
Do not mistake this for a goodbye my president,
All I am saying is see you later sir!
By
Beryl Wanga Itindi
I waited in the lounge at the Airport,
Not for a long lost relative,
Not for a long lost friend,
And not for any family member,
But for the Air Force One to land,
So I may see my president.
It took me not 2 hours,
It took me not a whole day,
It took me several years,
Just to have a look at my president,
This president that was God sent,
He never came early, he never came late,
But just at the moment when I needed him most.
He is not the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces,
Neither is he a member of the parliament nor a senator,
Neither bodyguards nor the Presidential Press Service,
And above all, no one voted him in the office but me,
No pushing and shoving at this lounge for the president,
Neither red carpet nor dancers to welcome him home,
But I waited still for my president to come.
I did not know how he looked like; I did not know his name,
But I knew for sure I would recognize him when I see him,
At first, the lounge had been fun for I had never been there,
But with time, it got boring and I wished I could walk out,
Only I had no idea where else I would sit and wait for my president,
I wanted to go and meet him as he alighted,
But the security man at the lounge could not let me go!
One evening I was bored and decided to take a nap,
Only to be woken up by others at the lounge,
With sleepy eyes I woke up and looked out the window,
And there it was! Air Force One was on the runway!
Landing swiftly with my president on board,
One look at him and I knew he was my president,
“Your statesman is here for you sir” I whispered in my heart.
I was not carrying my country’s flag but he knew I was the one,
Right there at the Airport we bonded like one,
We had fun at the runway as everyone watched,
Some envied us while others cheered us on,
I kept my president happy and updated him about his country,
I tried making him feel at home for this was the country he would lead,
I was the statesman, he was the president, and did I have a choice?
With a smile on my face, I decided to bid the lounge goodbye,
That lounge that I had been in for the past years,
That lounge that had turned me into one boring robot,
Doing things not because I wanted to but because I was being controlled,
Now I was out and was not planning to go back at any cost,
I knew the guys at the lounge would miss me but I had to go,
They had their chance with me and now they had to let me go.
My president told me all about my other statesmen,
The ones I had never seen and whom he had left behind,
Although I longed to see them, all I saw were their photos,
A good picture is worth 1000 words and sure enough their pictures told me so much,
My president also told me about all the national holidays in our country,
And I longed for the day I would spend the holidays with him and my other statesmen,
He even went ahead and taught me the country’s national language!
From the blues and without a single warning,
My president decided it was time to go back to the lounge,
He told me to go back to this lounge that I dreaded so much!
As much as I knew this was not what I wanted,
I could not disobey my president because I knew he was older and wiser,
I trusted in his word, I knew it was all out of goodwill,
With a heavy heart and without a choice, I went back to the lounge.
As I swallowed my pride and walked back to the lounge,
I saw my president walk back to Air Force One!
I saw Air Force One speeding down the runway,
I saw Air Force One ascending in the air,
I looked out the window at the lounge,
Air Force One was gathering momentum in the air!
Tears welled in my eyes; I was not ready to see it leave.
I had thought I had found my president,
I had thought I would finally be in my country with my other statesmen,
I did not even have the chance to spend one national holiday with him!
With whom shall I talk to in this sweet national language?
With whom shall I celebrate these national holidays?
Are my statesmen okay and will my president be fine?
How I wish Air Force One could turn back!
I had thought this was the president’s destination,
Only to realize that he had just made a stop,
Made a stop as he headed to his destination,
Mr. President, I still believe this was your destination,
Whichever destination you are heading to, I pray you find a true statesman,
One that will make you and your country happy,
All I want to see is a happy country lead by you, your Excellency.
I am still watching Air Force One in the sky,
I see it flying over our land every day,
I wish I could forget that it ever landed,
But I am unable to brush its thought off my mind,
Fare thee well Mr. President, I wish you all the best!
Do not mistake this for a goodbye my president,
All I am saying is see you later sir!
By
Beryl Wanga Itindi
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