Musiki kweli ni dawa yangu
Yebo, Ndiyo
ni kweli nimeshasikia
Muziki ni dawa inayo nguvu
kuliko nyingi, nyingi!
Nguvu ya muziki inazidi vitu vingi
siwezi kusahau lengo, lengo hivi hivi
Imeshatoboa bongo langu
kama kijiti ‘kali kupasua mshikaki kavu hivi
Muziki imenisaidia maisha yangu kweli, mara nyingi
Wakati nikipata shida kubwa
sauti headphones yangu inasaidia kuliko dawa baridi
kutoka hospitalini
au
kutoka pharmacy mjini
Kama…
Kabla daktari wa meno aanze kuwasha drilli
Ninasema kwa sauti kubwa…
”Ngoja dakika moja tafadhali! Ngoja dakika mbili!
Bado sijachagua dawa yangu muziki kuzuwia paniki za mwili!!”
Ninasema
“Daktari wa meno
kabla ya kunipa sindano
kabla kuanza muziki wa drilli
Lazima nipate nafasi ya kuchagua muziki moja au mbili!!
Labda itakuwa jazzy
Labda bongo flava au bluesy
Labda zitakuwa rhymes kali za hip hop
au ngoma mbali mbali asili
Labda nitachagua sauti tamu
inafanana sauti ya nyuki bizi
Sauti ya wazazi wangu zamani ndani ya obokano, kamba hizi
Sauti zao wazazi wangu kila siku ninawasikiliza
Naona napata nguvu kutosha
waweke blanketi za sauti, upendo begani
Naona sauti ya muziki wa wazazi unatosha kama dawa yangu kweli!
Music is truly my Medicine
Oh yes! No doubt!
I’ve heard it said often and I know it is factually true
That Music is powerful
a strong healing blow
that gives me more strength than most will ever know
Music has strength and more power to heal sick
that message pierces my brain
like skewered pieces of shish kabob meat
or dried fishes lined up on sharp edged sticks
Music has helped me in my life through huge troubles
so many, countless times before
The voices from my headphones help heal me
more than hospital or pharmacy medicine for sure
Like …
Before my dentist starts her work and turns on her electric drill
I shout out in the loudest of voices
“Please wait Doctor! Wait a minute or two, I say!
Please wait while I choose that special medicine for me
that soothes me and takes my panic away!”
I say…
“My doctor! My dentist! Before you give me that needle
and start up the music of your electric drill
I must have the chance to make one or two choices of the medicine that will soothe my own ills
Who knows,
I might choose some jazz or some bongo flava or even some cool bluesy blues
Or I might choose some slammin’ beats, some hip hop rhymes
or wide varieties of traditional drumming tunes
Or maybe I might choose those sweet, sweet voices
that sound like the hum of fierce honeybees
Or maybe I’ll chose the sounds of my Ancestors voices
that come through the obokano strings that I play
Those ancient voices give me my strength and restore me
as I listen to them each and every day
I get strength from those voices wrapped ‘round my shoulders
like soothing blankets of love
The music of those voices serves me like medicine
strong medicine,
strong medicine of love!
Written and Translated By: Mama Charlotte Hill O’Neal aka Mama C.
This poem was written in Swahili, a Language of Eastern Africa spoken by the people of Kenya and Tanzania.
