Member-only story

Roadside cutters

Kenya — Silly poems for your backpack

Michael Freer
1 min readApr 7, 2024
A grass fade

You would think with all that livestock,
The goats, zebras, cows and more,
That the government wouldn’t have to,
Make a job from what seems a chore.

But then again, it’s one way,
To get the youth out there and working,
Idle hands are the devil’s tools,
So true, when unemployment is lurking.

I thought it was community service,
It caught my attention more than once,
Or perhaps it was a school punishment,
For the biggest classroom dunce.

No, no, I assumed wrong,
And was educated the reason why,
These roadside grassdressers,
Could earn so then they could buy.

Armed with a machete,
Working in groups of five or six,
They would swing blades at blades,
And give the sides a good fix.

It kept the walkways from overgrowing,
Potentially hiding snakes or beasts,
Whilst the youth got to chat and socialise,
And move to those afrobeats.

While I travel, I enjoy writing a bit of poetry, mostly silly stuff, but all to remember the fun I had.

I publish them all on Medium, so check out my other poems here.

Please feel free to get my stories direct to your email too, I only post twice a week.

--

--

Michael Freer
Michael Freer

Written by Michael Freer

Social enterprise enthusiast, avid traveller and fiction writer. www.ensoco.co.uk

Responses (1)