Song of Wealth: KCSE English Poetry Questions and Answers

Poetry Questions and Answers

Read the song below and then answer the questions that follow.

Soloist    : Greetings to you comrade warriors.
Others:     Greetings!
Soloist:     Do you know or you do not know me?
Others    : We do not know you?
Soloist    :  I know you know me not
                For I am he who is known as Ole Pare who wears a loose ring
                And who owns stout steers and a healthy herd.
                That bears in the months of plenty.
                That are over-weight by fat.
Others    : Yes it is him indeed!
Soloist    :  He that owns heifers with large stomachs.
                For whom the meadow is insufficient but who gets stuffed at the valleys.
                Where cow bells are removed1
                As they are grazed together with those of the king’s
Others:     It is him!
Soloist:     I have the blue one with the horn.
                Whose beauty resists branding.
                Who leads the large herd of Kilapa2
                Whose numbers pose difficulty when moving homes.                

                From NaomKipury, Oral literature of the Maasai

                Notes:      1. To prevent them from being discovered.

                                2. Name of a cow.

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