THE BROKEN WINGS OF AFRICA
Oh beautiful Africa,
My heart yearns for your growth,
My arms long to hold your waist.
Endowed with nature's most precious,
Sought for by many.
Your wings, more colorful than the rainbow,
Your strength - in the unity of many
Or so it's meant to be.
What happened to your prowess?
You should have grown better by now.
I call on you oh Africa,
Hopefully your ears still function.
I shout on top of my voice,
In a bid that you hear me.
Listen, listen oh beautiful Africa,
Listen to the voice of your patriots.
Your wings are widely spread,
Carefully arranged in its own array,
Strong enough to soar the skies,
Yet very weak, can’t fly.
When will you use your wings?
When will you soar?
When will you dance to the gentle wind?
For we await your ascension.
Persons come from far and near,
To behold the beauty of your prowess,
That prowess you now strongly fight to uphold.
But the forces within are so powerful,
Almost overpowering your strongholds.
They tell the world you are well,
But you're dying within,
Your organs failing with time.
Soon there will be nothing left,
Nothing to clamor about.
Your babies are crying,
Your children are dying……
Don't you care for these ones?
Are u so weak that you can't even tell?
Do you have to settle for less?
Your wings are broken but can be mended.
Your fields are getting dried up,
Your produce is rotting away.
Year in year out visitors troop in,
And then I wonder - what's left of this our Africa,
This Africa we're trying to heal,
This Africa we're trying to groom,
Pain has taken away its gloom,
What's left, we try to mend.
And here's what Africa said to me,
"I'm not to blame"
With tears in her eyes as she looks to her leaders, she cried....
Why does it have to be about you?
Can't it be about me for once,
What's so beautiful about looting and ripping me apart,
What's so pertinent about sitting on that seat without making any visible impact.
Time itself will definitely have its share of your exploits,
The worms will come for your corpse,
Yet your pleasure is in gathering possessions,
When you should be fighting recessions.
Give me back my food please,
I need it to grow please,
Do not sell it to hades,
Your pockets are fat enough.
I can't stand on my feet, but I need to,
I am trying to fly higher, why draw me lower,
The games you play drain my power,
Your escapades purge my growth.
My children need my milk,
Why sell it to the children of others.
I want to sing out loud,
Why choke me with poisonous gas.
My curves have flattened out,
I'm no longer in shape.
Please give me a chance,
Help me clean this mess.
Help me see the brightness of day once again,
Allow me use my wings freely again,
Release me from this prison I've been kept,
Give me my legs so I can walk with them,
Give me my clothes so I can cover my nakedness,
Let my friends see that I'm whole again,
Let the world know that Africa is liberated,
I need to fly again........