Africa, my Africa
My land of many wonders
Varied in colour, culture and norms
Light and dark-skinned
Yet we yearn for lands beyond,
That only lust for what is ours
Our rich palm trees and unending plantations of cocoa
Our oil wells so rich and livestock innumerable
Mountains that go beyond the sky
Kilimanjaro!
Rivers that know no bounds
Nile!
Rocks that the eye itches to behold
Olumo!
Lakes that meet the horizon
Chad!
Where is thy lost glory?
Oh my Africa!
Where are the rainforests that once bloomed all year round?
Where are the tropical birds; the happy songs they once sang?
Herbs and spices, exotic as they were
Put away for chemicals
That destroyed our temples continually
Why oh why?
Are you so blind?
Why do you go after bronze trinkets
When you have gold for an inheritance?
Inferiority and race are only social constructs
Shake off dull sloth
And remember the labour of your heroes past
So what if our heritage was stolen and our motherlands plundered?
We can reclaim our pride as was done in times gone by
All we need is the desire to rise from the ashes
Like a phoenix, to live again
Diseases and malnutrition!
The termites eating into the tree called life
Mortality they call it
Negligence and abuse!
Plagues that torment us still
Ignorance and illiteracy!
Nuisances that perch upon us, like flies to exposed food
We can do something about that
It goes way beyond wailing brothers and sisters
Our cries have been drowned by selfishness, imperialism, colonialism, slavery and racism
Our tears, dried by the winds of suffering, abject poverty and impoverishment
Corruption!
That is the cankerworm
That has eaten into what was finally left
Of our nation’s unfathomable wealth of resources
In the hands of a few
We can do something about that
Bad leaders they say
Are elected by the good people who don’t vote
Away with apathy!
Arise and exert your authority as the masses
The real power lies within you and I
Let us therefore
Put on the armour of patriotism and unity
Let us be desperate for all that we deserve
Political freedom, health, nutrition
Attention, knowledge, education
Let us strive
For the future we dream of
And let us come together as one
To make Africa great again
-Graceola 2017
