African poetry

The story of the three hawks.

Three hawks came atop a tree to watch the humans working on the plantation arguing amongst themselves about who was more entitled to the pie, the humans unable to reach a unanimous decision about who was the true owner of the pie they sort the advice of the three hawks up the tree watching. Who is the true owner of this pie? Asked the first man who was the chief of the first tribe. "The true owner is the man with the tattoo sword but he must wield it against his brother for the pie is sweeter if taken not asked" after answering the chief the first hawk rose up into the sky and left.
What tribe can claim this pie? The chief asked the second hawk confused by the first reply understood by the second chief who ducked in the bush and rushed home to prepare his warriors."The tribe of warriors has a true claim to the pie because war is the sweetest pudding and you were told in your parables how to get the taste of the pudding" the chief was more confused and he could not dechiper the true meaning of the parables the second hawk spoke about but as he was pondering over it the second hawk took his leave. This coincided with the departure of the third chief who went home to retrieve his arrows and brief his people about the parable of the second hawk saying the taste of the pudding is in the eating. What should I do to get this pie? The chief asked the third hawk that was more older than the rest of them, "it is not what you should do it's what should be done and see what is more sweet the pie or the bonds of blood choose one leave one and whatever the pick the other will be destroyed" the hawk rose up slowly missing the arrow lunged at the chief by a whisker and the other hawks who had reconvened their meeting a stone throw away from the first tree laughed out aloud "he is one old bone of meat".

The chief dropped the pie and rushed home to tell his warriors to take up arms because his brothers had tried to kill him because of the pie, he told his people his brothers were a bunch of greedy men intent on taking their birth right. They are our brothers why should we declare war on them because of the pie? one young boy asked appalled by the chief's statement, "I'd rather we declare war on them other than play second or third in the partition" and with that the chief marshalled his forces then went back to the battle field to fight his brothers. The two hawks watched the mayhem that followed with glee and they rushed back home to call their kind to tell them of a feast in the battle field and in the hawk kingdom human meat was known to be the sweetest meat in the Savannah that is why the hawks trailed the man eaters to try and steal some meat from them ones they had made a kill."We should leave the old man" the first hawk suggested before they had left for home,"we should kill him" the second hawk spoke in reply "we can tell the people that he died at the hands of the man eaters trying to whisk away some meat" he added encouraging the topic of getting rid of their brother to take root in the mind of the other brother. "Yeah we should kill him" they all said unanimously the second hawk thinking "if really we kill him I can rush home to tell them the first hawk killed our brother" the first hawk also thinking" I can kill two birds with the same stone if I pin this murder on the second hawk". Together this two brothers struck the third hawk and left him for dead near the pie.

"I have found a great battle field with human corpses and I feel that since our community found it first we must have control over this great gold mine" the first hawk told his brothers and sisters who had gone hungry for days without a meal and he knew that a hungry man is an angry man so he intended to stock the fire more firewood and let the pot of hatred stew in the hearts of his people whom he had known has since immemorial had deep misgivings about the other tribes."Why shouldn't we not share with our brothers?" one young hawk asked the first hawk who was already preparing his troops to head to the gold mine and man the carcass. "who do you call brother when the second hawk has killed the old man of the other clan" "whaaa....aaat" all the hawks chorused disbelief evident in their voices for the information had gotten them open mouthed. The other ridge the second hawk told of the same story only changing the culprit to be the first hawk and when the third hawk community got this contradicting information about who killed their leader the third hawk an internal war erupted with different factions that planned to take the mantle clashed pointing finger at each other.
"Tell me something nice about yourself " the pie asked the dying hawk "we the hawks benefit from chaos but our own self has turned us into animals and the chaos has been brought to our own doors now we are killing each other" "poor you, man is also like you and he worships his stomach which has been in love with our kind food so he has shirked the code of brotherhood in pursuit of satisfaction that is unending" "I am the problem" the pie added mournfully looking at the fight in the sky between the hawks and the fight on the ground between the men.
"Before I die I'll take you with me so that the winners in this fight see the stupidity in their actions" and with that the dying hawk gulped the pie then died just as the chiefs declared a truce having lost alot of men in the battle. "Where is the pie?" the tired warriors asked unable to believe the catastrophe that had befallen them, "The hawks ate it and misled us to kill each other" said the first chief "This mayhem was uncalled for" the second chief replied dropping his Panga " we are brothers blood brothers" the third chief said.
"What were we fighting about?" the hawks asked each other returning their eyes to the battle field to see the survivors digging the ground, what are they doing? Don't tell me they are burying the dead meat? "This is a new thing man didn't used to bury their dead and they are also burying the hatchet a clear indication that the dead men will not follow the men but follow us if we dare to eat fresh meat and thus we are left to eat dead meat to avoid the vengeance of the dead men" This was how man came to bury their dead and the hawks were left with the curse of savaging for dead meat.....