The matatu was fairly crowded

as I squeezed into my place

     I was on my way

     to rehearse the Nairobi orchestra

     in preparation for a rendition

     of Brahms’ Requiem

I opened the large conductor’s score

and mentally rehearsed

some of the difficult spots

     The man across from me

     nudged his partner

     and asked in Swahili

     “Is that a book?”

         “Indeed, it is a book

         but what kind of a book?”

Then the lady sitting next to me

peered over my shoulder for a long

time

and then whispered to her neighbour

“Ni uchawi”

Although I understood the

conversations around me

I chose to remain silent

     How could I explain the complicated

     notation

     of a conductor’s score

     in the twenty minute’s ride?

     How could I explain

     that the piece of music —

     a great spiritual impact

     on my life —

     was by no means witchcraft?

                                                        …

      How could I explain

      that in the West we separate

            the composer,

            the performer,

            the conductor?

How could I explain

that I was taking the role

of the conductor

to prepare the performers

to sing and play

for a totally silent audience?

How could I explain

that this large book

was full of symbols

written as a map, a blueprint?

      How could I explain

      that the singers

      could not sing without it

      the instrumentalists

      could not play without it?

      and that I could not even rehearse

      or conduct without it?

Is it witchcraft?