*Africa*

[yarrumsg]

Within my soul, within my mind,
There lies a place I cannot find.
Home of my heart. Land of my birth.
Smoke-coloured stone and flame-coloured earth.
Electric skies. Shivering heat.
Blood-red clay beneath my feet.

At night when finally alone,
I close my eyes - and I am home.
I kneel and touch the blood-warm sand
And feel the pulse beneath my hand
Of an ancient life too old to name,
In an ancient land too wild to tame.

How can I show you what I feel?
How can I make this essence real?
I search for words in dumb frustration
To try and form some explanation,
But how can heart and soul be caught
In one-dimensional written thought?

If love and longing are a "fire"
And Man "consumed" by his desire,
Then this love is no simple flame
That mortal thought can hold or tame.
As deep within the earth's own core
The love of home burns evermore.

But what is home? I hear them say,
This never was yours anyway.
You have no birthright to this place,
Descendant from another race.
An immigrant? A pioneer?
You are no longer welcome here.

Whoever said that love made sense?
"I love" is an "imperfect" tense.
To love in vain has been Man's fate
From history to present date.
I have no grounds for dispensation,
I know I have no home or Nation.

For just one moment in the night
I am complete, my soul takes flight.
For just one moment. then it's gone
And I am once again undone.
Never complete. Never whole.
White skin and an African soul


Written by Michelle Frost, a talented young poet and author. She is originally from Zimbabwe but lived in Gonubie and attended Clarendon High School, East London.

[Saphire Lady]

I can not imagine not living in Africa.

[licorice]

I was sent this poem in 2005, it has been around a fair while.

Here is another by the same lady.

I wish you an African morning,
I wish you an Eden land.
Ivory grasses spread at your feet,
thorn trees and copper sand.
Where the first cool moments of dawning
are scorched by the bright sun’s birth,
and molten horizons miraged by the heat
quiver above the earth.

I wish you an African sunset,
I wish you a sky on fire.
A thousand red blood-glow horizon
of the day’s passed funeral pyre.
Where the shredded clouds form a dark net
to catch the last bright blaze
of the mighty fleeing bronze-cast sun
As it sets in a scarlet haze.

I wish you an African midnight.
I wish you an heavenly sea.
To drown in a dark star ocean
And float on the tide back to me.
Where the foam of the waves is the starlight
that swirls through the endless skies.
To billow and crash without motion
And beach in a spray of fireflies.
...
Copyright Michelle Frost ~ December 2001

[zimboykie]

Toto - Africa

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way,
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, It's waiting there for you

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have




(interesting point: Kilimanjaro must be some f***-off BIG mountain in order for it to rise above the Serengeti as it's nowhere near it)

[jiggs]

That woman has a real talent - awesome

[Nyala]

Bring on the tissues......it's so heart-wrenching. I miss Africa so much.

[sarahe]

I don't usually read poetry, but they are just beautiful.. Very talented poet

[biffon]

(interesting point: Kilimanjaro must be some f***-off BIG mountain in order for it to rise above the Serengeti as it's nowhere near it)

hmmm you have a very good point there.. Serengeti is about 200kms West of Kilimanjaro :D

[licorice]

A new poem.

AFRICAN DREAM
By Wayne Visser

My Africa!

As white-hot skies give way to bloodshot red
I breathe a sigh and rest my laden head
As dark descends and blinking stars pierce through
I close my weary eyes and dream of you

I dream a dream of genesis
Of teeming wildlife on the plains
I hear a tale of Eden’s bliss
Of sparks of knowledge fanned to flames

I dream a dream of beating drums
Of painted caves and hunters’ bow
I hear the voice of ancient ones
Who weave the web of what we know

I dream a dream of exodus
Of journeys over land and sea
I hear the song of restlessness
That swells with longing to be free

I run with cheetahs, graze with deer
I hunt with lions, know no fear
I soar with eagles, hide in dales
I swim with dolphins, sing with whales

I throb with music in the air
I see the swirl of rainbow flair
I feel the stomp of dancing feet
I sweat with fever’s tropic heat

I gaze into the firelight
I sit in silence, pure delight
I listen to the elders’ words
I rise upon the wings of birds

The rivers are flowing
The brown dust turned to green
The harvests are growing
In my African dream

The fathers are yearning
The mothers’ love redeems
The children are learning
In my African dream

The peace-buds are blooming
The hope-streets freshly clean
The love-stalls are booming
In my African dream

As visions fade, all blurred and bled
My world unwinds like loosened thread
As daylight breaks and jet sky turns to blue
I wake refreshed with glorious dreams of you

My Africa!



(Creative Commons 2010)