AFRICAN WOMAN

African Woman;

Self namer,

Self definer,

Family centred,

Genuine is sisterhood,
Strong,

In concert with male

In struggle,

Whole,

Authentic,

Role Player,

Respectful,

Spiritual,

Considerate , 

Male compatible,  

Adaptable,

Ambitious,

Mothering,

Nurturing,

Feminist,

Political,

Frugal,

Social,

Cultural,

Organized,

Activist,

Crusader,

Money bank.
The African Woman:

What do you want?

Which way do you go?                                                                                       
 

 

BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS

 

They are lovely, lovable

So pretty and vital

All adorned in imported vestments

And sky-high ideas,

They have the sky-scrapers to hurdle

Benzes to outrun

And lives to possess.

They are out in the freshness

But alas!

Featherless;

They totter and totter

Gathering useless momentum

For they cannot fly

Cannot take-off

And when you touch their hearts

You freeze

All the warmth is gone into the race

Their smiles, a stamp

Their laughter a cassette

They must fly

But the feathers won’ t grow

And they remain grounded

Perplexed at the failed take-off.

 

 

MOTHER NATURE

What do I see, the death of our land.

What do I hear, the cry of our mother,

Death of our land.

Our greed for money, esteem,

power, destroyed her.

We, her children,

We, who thought that we

Were making a better land,

A better world, a better future.

We destroyed the one who loved us most

Who cared for us, protected us. 

We dug our own grave.

 

So listen, listen and understand her plight.                               

She is dying, crying silently for help,

As she remembers yesterday,

When we danced with songs and rejoiced;

The fresh air sweet as honey,

The land beautiful in its grace.

 

The beautiful songs of the birds told a story.

The wind whispered the secrets of the forest.

The tall and handsome trees stood proud,                                 

Like a guard of honour.

While the beautiful flowers danced gracefully

In their wedding gowns.


The water rippled with laughter as it danced seaward.

Nobody worried about food, shelter or water.

Firewood and medicine came from the forest

Man lived in harmony with beast.

Mother nature took care of her children.

 

Then!

Greed overcame us:
The trees were cut down for wood, the

forest burnt for cultivating land.

 

Tall buildings sprang up,                                                        

Releasing a deadly gas.

Our water was polluted by waste,

The land filled with chemicals,

We dug our own graves.

 We destroyed our mother.
The beautiful birds started dying,                                                      

The flowers no longer danced in delight,

Our land became barren.

Men and animals competed for food,

Hunger became our daily companion,

The air choked us to death,                                                       

Strange diseases appeared.

 

War arose and people died.

Machine guns were used like toys.                                                

There was no place for man or beast to hide.                          

Survival of the fittest became the name of the game.
So listen! Listen to the plight of our mother.

Clean all the garbage,

Plant trees and flowers,

Get rid of the choking gas,

Clean our rivers and lakes,

Save our mother from death;

She cared for us.

In return we should care for her,                                                

Save our environment,

Save Mother Nature.

FOREVER IN LOVE

 

“Asuko and Wanaswa”

The two love birds that loved each other                                   

The two birds that married each other.

The two love birds that lived

Together; for better, for worse!

 To have and to hold!

Till death do apart.

Did you have to go on a journey

Together and leave the children alone?

Well, two months apart it was

When you left.

But surely did you have to                                                           

Leave the children so young?

 

Oh death! Thou cruel death!

Did you have to rob the

Children at that tender age of a loving                                            

Mother and a loving father?

“Mightily and dreadful”, called you

John Donne, and indeed you are!

Asuko and Waanaswa!