konye ori - Crying 'Africa'

Once the color of the night,
graced in starry skies

The full moon left little to wonder
of the morning sunrise
Then we were singing “Africa.”

But lightning flashes struck our clouds
and raging thunders burst open
the sky and let the rains pour.

Now, we are flooded in austerity; we flow
scrambling for support,
tramping over one another for a gasp.

The current of diseases and hunger
washes us away. We slop in the
tides of corruption and as we are washed,
we flounder and we cry “Africa.”

Shivering like sparrows in winter
we are thrown from side to side
like trees, dancing unwillingly to
the music of the wind

Bruised on rocks and stunted tree roots
As we drift helplessly in the flood;
Choking, wailing, crying “Africa.”

konye ori

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/crying-africa/