The grandmother gets great respect in our culture
For she's the storyteller, the history teacher
If you disturb her house after she's gone
Tradition has it she'll haunt you life-long

The cattle have a special place inside our fence
With hyenas and leopards outside, this only makes sense
In the day it's the job of the boys and the men
To graze the animals and herd them safely back in

The shamba, or the garden, is the woman's domain
Though Mom recruits help whenever she can
Dad lends a hand with the digging after the rain
And we water the plants when it's dry once again

Now getting water is a whole other tale
You need a hole in the ground and a good pail
But just as important is a powerful neck
And believe me when I tell you, Mom's strong as heck