In Exchange

for seven medium-sized chickens,

a promise of clear skies, a rich husband and

a fertile womb, what wonder have I bartered?

And what of these unseasoned tragedies of mine,

are they without sponsor?

Did I subsidize my own agony, floating,

entranced in that old sea,

calling out to that far-glowing head,

that mute god? 

Basi sasa, is my offering paltry, insulting?

Well, alright, listen:

I might afford a few fowl,

or even a goat, maybe — if the child is a son,

and one I do not have to bury, and if

the rich husband is an orphan with no siblings,

and if the clear skies last long enough for the carpet

to dry, I could manage a cow,

a small cow, fine,

but an Aberdeen Angus!

Alexis Teyie is a co-founder and poetry editor with Enkare Review. She published a poetry chapbook, Clay Plates: Broken Records of Kiswahili Proverbs (2016), through the African Poetry Book Fund and Akashic Books. Alexis also co-authored a children’s book, Shortcut (2015). Her poetry, short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in collections like Routledge’s Handbook of Queer Studies (2019); Queer Africa II (GALA); ID & WATER (SSDA), among others. She sings for a secret choir in Nairobi.