Out of Mikuyu Prison

(for Jack Mapanje and all Malawians who were imprisoned without trial during the Dr Banda era)

How did you feel in your wretched heart
When the stubborn gates of Mikuyu Prison finally clinked open,
When your hand hesitantly hung above the freedom register,
When the sun sprayed its beams on your mild face,
And provoked your darkness-oriented body?
How did you feel when you finally embraced
with your hostages of fortune,
When you walked in a land of freedom;
A land of a gentle zephyr, radiant bloom and swift rivulets
When the world welcomed you back with tears and cordiality?
You must have felt very sad
You must have felt they would call you back to Mikuyu prison
Or you must have felt you were only having a reverie.


How did you react to your freedom
When it was announced to all and sundry
When his magnificence ordered that you should be released
Just like he had ordered that you should be detained
And you were finally welcomed back where you belonged?
How did you react when you had not been prosecuted
Only to be given judgment
Which didn’t exist in any files at any courtroom?
When you were finally told that you were free
You must have reacted very wrathfully.