Africa Poems, Quotes, Slogans and the like.

[Shayne]

I used to have the below poem on my old website many years ago and has been a favourite of mine since i first saw it. Thought i would share it all with you.

Lets use this thread for any African sayings, proverbs, poems, quotes and so forth.

I am Africa
whirling in a cycle
of lost generations
I am the failure
in joining hands to brains
But the feet still carry on
eager in the strength of the land
I am magical
I am divine
I am rich
but yet slave to my own ignorance
I am the mother
to a people defeated by their own egoism
I am Africa
the strength of the land

[Shayne]

We exist without skin color, without prejudice, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals? Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is a want of freedom and liberation . My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like or who they support. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for. I am an MDC activist, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike

[Shayne]

If a donkey kicks you and you kick back, you are both donkeys. (Gambia)

However black a cow is, the milk is always white. (Gambia)

Two men in a burning house must not stop to argue. (Ashanti)

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. (Kikuyu)

Until lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter (Igbo, Nigeria)

[Aboriginal]

Nice idea shayne. Would give you rep but apparently you have too much of mine already!
Just a quick google search really impressed me. My country of birth continues to surprise me in its complexity before I was even born. Some pretty cool writers black and white that we were never exposed to as children like this troubled writer/poet Dambudzo Marechera. One of his quotes I thought pretty strikeing..

"My whole life has been an attempt to make myself a skeleton in my own cupboard."

Some other Zim sayings...

A coward has no scar.

We will be grateful to flowers only if they have born fruits

(My favorite)
If you can talk you can sing
If you can walk you can dance.

[TiGeR]

AWESOME stuff! Will have to get some good ones for y'all!

[Shayne]

This will freak out a few people.

“Cricket civilizes people and creates good gentlemen I want everyone to play cricket in Zimbabwe; I want ours to be a nation of gentlemen”

- Robert Mugabe

[RustyBear]

Who is this man who has the same surname a a toilet, he is but only a donkey, keep Britian to yourself and let me keep my zimbabwe, i do not tell you how to run your country so do not medal in my affairs.

Robert Mugabe on Tony Blair.

[Poison]

“Our party must continue to strike fear in the heart of the white man, our real enemy!"”

We have said we will never collapse, never ever. We may have our droughts, our poverty, but as a people we shall never collapse, never ever.”

Robert Mugabe

[biffon]

African Rain Storm

If you've lived on this dark continent, nowhere else will be content.
Traveling over a grassy plain, many miles ahead is the rain.
Sun shines on the golden grass, creating an incredible contrast.
Grass of gold and sky blue black, as clouds upon each other stack.

Rolling thunder in your ears, as hot wind your body sears.
Feel the static in the air, just before the lightening there.
Forks of flame to the ground, followed by the explosive sound.
Ice wind coming from the storm, patterns in the grass do form.

Tree explodes from a bolt of flame, hear the roar of falling rain.
Like a curtain across the land, solid wall close at hand.
Beating hard upon the grass, bending breaking it like chaff.
Standing water forming thick, cant go in the soil so quick.

Like an army it marches across the plain, behind it the sun is out again.
In it's wake the steam will rise, sweat your body mist your eyes.
Hear the water trickle through, the undergrowth to form life new.

The land transforms from gold to green, once the storm has come and been.


Written by Pete Barlow 29/01/2001

[biffon]

This one will have more meaning to the farmer folk but is quite funny

Lo Brudder Gamina

"Lo brudder gamina maningi sick".
On Saturday morning the house-boy,Dick,
Is filled with concern and praise-worthy grief,
And begs of his master to give him a brief
To go to the invalid brother's relief.
"Lo brudder gamina maningi sick!"
His work is all finished and wasn't he quick
!And ready and clean are his finest "m'pash"
That he generally wears when he's on the "fagash";

And off on his bike at a rattling pace.
He's grinning all over his ebony face.
All over the country, for miles around,
Flour and Katemba and Joseph are found,
All spotless and smiling, and wonderfully chic,
For each one has wangled the verysame trick,
To visit the brother "maningi sick".

And over the veld see the brothers appear
To visit the "brudder" and be of good cheer,
And help with the "dora", the good kaffir beer.
So with laughter and singing, and reckless delight,
With tom-toms and clappings thewhole of the night:
Then staggering homeward withbreaking of light,
Come Flour and Katemba and Joseph and Dick,
And "zonke lo brudders MANINGI SICK"!!

Hilda Richards (Rhodesian Rhymes by T)

if you want to read more great poetry check out: http://www.rhodesia.com/docs/poems/contents.htm

[chantillylace]

Harare, 2005
’Clean Up’ refers to the demolition by the Zimbabwe government of so-
called “illegal structures” mainly in poor urban suburbs and rural areas.
It resulted in thousands being made homeless, and was condemned in a UN report.

© 2006, Chris Magadza

CLEAN UP


I can see clearly now
The shack is gone
I can see the stars
Quivering as if
Afraid of the dark

I can see
The baleful moon
With clouds blowing
Across its distraught face,
Lonely as if
Bereaved

I can smell the freshness
Of the garbage
The persistent breeze,
Like the tax man,
Insistent on its demands
On my body warmth.

Now I can see the dawn
Painting the sky
Blood red
The early warning
Of the visiting hunger

I can feel the sun
Teasing me
With its morning warmth
That soon turns
To a scorching hate.

Now the compound
Is silent and mute,
I can hear distant calls
From lost children: a generation
With no past nor future:
A mere memory lapse.

[chantillylace]

Song of the Makiwa Tree

(Looking west from Rhodes' grave in the Matopos Hills)
When I die I want you to make of me
ashes, the colour of infinity;
the colour of horizons where the sky
beyond the focus of the eagle's eye
meets earth - not any earth - the western hills:
five wasted cheekbones where makaza spills,
of drops trickling slow.

Winter
is the time for fires, for limbs to splinter,
trunks to topple down koppies, bark to drop
like peeled skin. Time for Efifi's crop
to tighten, but not crack. Not yet crack.
Ntabemnyama carries on his back
a herd of Matabele cattle ghosts.
Potgieter and his men are at their posts;
the last Boer raid for many years.
Bampata pats away Ingwenya's tears;
Inungu, desecrated by a cross
completes the five that stand and gather moss.


Call me Commiphora, the Paperbark;
my trunk is green but my ashes are dark
as blurred horizons where the earth
beyond the shudder of a jackal's mirth
meets sky - not any sky - the western deep
where balding koppies and their valleys sleep.
Smell me smouldering in this chilly night,
watch the gradual dying of my light.
Scatter my ashes where makaza spills -
among the slopes of the five Matopo hills.
© 1989 John Eppel

Notes:
- bampata: to pat
- Commiphora Marlothii or Paperbark tree or makiwa:
white man, as the skin of the tree peels away
- efifi: blue jay
- ingwenya: crocodile
- inungu: porcupine
- makaza: light drizzle
- ntabemnyama: black hill

[chantillylace]

I love this one!

A Flower Poem, No. 2

Your brother Khaki Weed has given
you a bad name: Black Jack they call him;
the hiker's curse; as ubiquitous
as the devil, without his charm. Drives
prospectors to blistered socklessness;
invades, like pricking desire, knickers;
clings to the ears of cocker spaniels;
stains trouser bottoms; makes fingers stink;
lodges in the corner's of cow's eyes;
starts skin rashes which sometimes fester
like lilies in old wreaths. You stink too,
Marigold. You give off a pungent,
khaki odour of crushed beetles, soil,
old men, hat linings, ointment and dung.
And yet I love your smell – your odour –
better than a million Krugerrands
carpeted around a city hall;
better than your fancy Latin name
Tagetes; better than your native
Mexico in Aztec times; better
than your cousin, that reliable
annual the Calendula. Yes,
better even than your glorious
crinkly, flaky, golden head-pieces
which adorned my mother's garden like
moultings from the noonday summer sun.

It's really your brother that I love.
Your odour reminds me of Black Jack,
and Black Jack, ou Khaki Bos, reminds
me of Colleen Bawn where we flourished.
I remember one school holiday
when a bunch of us hiked to Jessie
Hotel, drank a Coke at the petrol
pump, and hiked back. Sixteen miles for what?
A Coke and tackies full of black jacks.
I remember going prospecting
with my father, following his wide
back through parched mopani veld, across
vleis where lilies grew, down dry dongas
looking for quartz reefs; occasionally
stopping to drink from my father's World
War Two bottle, and to pluck black jacks
from our stockings. And I remember
a girl with shiny brown hair – the things
we did on the golf course by the glow
of a genial moon.


I believe
the moon still visits there. But Puza
the Simpson's old spaniel is dead now,
and Fred is in Cape Town, and Gillie
is married, and Taz was killed by 'terrs',
and Bob's gone religious, and the old
cow down at the dam is Fray Bentos,
and I am overseas, looking out
for marigolds to finger and sniff.
© 1989, John Eppel

Notes
Khaki Weed – Tagetes minuta, Mexican weed reputedly introduced into Southern
Africa by the British Army during the Boer War.
Black Jack – Bidens pilosa/i>, common weed, the seeds of which catch in clothing.
Tackies – tennis shoes.
Fray Bentos – Uraguayan town used as the proprietary name for Liebig's meat-packing plant near Colleen Bawn.
Terrs – Rhodesian slang for the 'terrorists', fighters belonging to the two liberation armies: ZANLA and ZIPRA

[Shayne]

Ishe Komborera

Shona Words

Ishekomborera Africa
Ngaisimudzirwe zita rayo
Inzwai miteuro yedu
Ishe komborera,
Isu, mhuri yayo.
Huya mweya
Huya mweya komborera
(repeat previous two lines)
Huya mweya
Huya mweya woutsvene
Uti komborere
Isu mhuri yayo.

English Words

God bless Africa,
Let her fame spread far and wide!
Hear our prayer,
May God bless us!
Come, Spirit, come!
Come! Holy Spirit!
Come and bless us, her children!

[Poison]

What a great anthem....

[Steve Scott]

Got an old one.....

If Kariba were wiskey
and I were a duck,
i'd swimm to the bottom
and drink my way up,
but Kariba aint wiskey
and i aint a duck
so i'm going back to Harrys
to have a good .....:smiley35:

[RustyBear]

Down in gorromanzi where the ladies learn to knit
a lady poked another lady in the tit
said the lady to the lady we are here to learn to knit
not to poke another lady in the tit

Gorromanzi, Gorromanzi, Gorromanzi is the place i wish to live.

Down in gorromanzi where the beavers learn to build walls
a beaver dropped a boulder on another beavers balls
said the beaver to the beaver we are here to learn to build walls
not to drop boulders on another beavers balls

Gorromanzi, gorromanzi, gorromanzi is the place i wish to live.

Down in gorromanzi where the eagles learn to fly
an eagle dropped a turd in another eagles eye
said the eagle to the eagle we are here to learn to fly
not to drop a turd in another eagles eye.

Gorromanzi, gorromanzi, gorromanzi is the place i wish to live.

[zambezilover]

ahhhh very nostalgic stuff going on here.......

what about eish baas

[RustyBear]

nice avatar

[Shayne]

Was reading some articles on Bishop Desmond Tutu. I have alot of respect for him and he has quite a dry sense of humour. See below.

“When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.”

[Shayne]

“Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive, because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive, because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny. “– Mahatma Gandhi

[Breanne]

"There are no murders in Africa, only regrettable deaths."

I think it's from the movie The Constant Gardener.

[Greenballs]

:smiley20: :smiley20: :smiley20:
1608

[Famous Graus]

Remember them Cricket days! Not sure if the words are 100% correct, but have remembered what I can, feel free to add/correct:

Once a jolly Poacher camped down by the Limpopo, under the shade of a baobab Tree
As he sat and he watched and he waited for the Nyamazaan, You’ll go down well with my sadza for tea.
Sadza for tea, Sadza for tea, You’ll go down well with my Sadza for tea as he sat and he watched and he waited for the Nyamazaan.
You’ll go down well with my Sadza for tea

Down came a Reedbuck to drink from the Limpopo, Up jumped the Poacher and grabbed him with glee.
As he sang as he stuffed that Reedbuck in his Mealie Sack, You’ll go down well with my Sadza for tea.
Sadza for tea, Sadza for tea, You’ll go down well with my Sadza for tea as he sang as he stuffed that Reedbuck in his Mealie Sack.
You’ll go down well with my Sadza for tea.

Down came a Policeman to apprehend the Poacher, “Stop!� in the name of the Z.R.P
As he sang as he stuck the poacher in his Santana, You are going to Chikurubi.
Chikurubi, Chikurubi, You are going to Chikurubi, as he sang as he stuck the Poacher in his Santana.
You are going to Chikurubi.

Then came a Minister with no portfolio, agreeing that the poacher be let free
And only on one condition that he go and fight in D.R.C
D.R.C, D.R.C You’re going to fight in the D.R.C
As he sang as he put the Poacher in the Indegi.
You are going to Fight for Bob Mugabe

[besame las nalgas]

i think thats actually the worst collection of poetry i have ever seen in my life.. :(

[besame las nalgas]

“Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive, because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive, because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny. “– Mahatma Gandhi
we are what we think all that we are arises with our thoughts, with our thoughts we make the world. think and act with pure mind and happiness will follow you like your shadow unshakeable. - Verse 1 the dhammapanda -sayings of buddha

[Raevoyn]

I like this thread, guys, it's good for the soul!

"Be the change you want in the world."
Mahatma Ghandi

[nightape]

I cannot change the words for they are not mine to change, but whatever our colour, we are the same inside...

"Within my soul, within my mind"
==========================

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 I touch, the blood warm sand
And feel the pulse beneath my hand
Of ancient times 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 sheer frustration
To try and form some explanation,
But how can heart and soul be caught
In one-dimensional written thought?

If love and longing is a "fire"
And man "consumed" by his desire,
Then this love is no simple flame
That mortal thought can hold nor 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 mans 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.
Just white skin covering an African soul.


5/8/03 Steve Herschel

[squeakyB]

Our Zimbabwe ~ Henry Olanga

This land our land, is our Zimbabwe, a land of peace for you and me
Once born in pain and segregation but now we live in harmony

Now flies the flag, our nation's glory, we'll live with pride inside our heart
As we all stand to build our nation, this our land, our Zimbabwe

Though I may go to distant borders, my heart will yearn for this my home
For time and space may separate us and yet she holds my heart alone.

Now flies the flag, my nations's glory, I'll live with pride inside my heart
I'll make a stand to build my nation, this my land, my Zimbabwe
Now flies the flag, my nation's glory, we'll live with pride inside our hearts
As we all stand to build our nation, this our land, our Zimbabwe

We've been through it all, we've had our days, we've had our falls
Now the time has come for us to stand, to stand as one

The night has gone and with the morning comes rays of hope that lead us on
So we will strive to give our children a brighter day where they belong.

[fantaniatastic]

That is brillant squeakyb!! Bought tears to my eyes:-)

[Eagle]

Hi everyone...I'm a new boy to TCB...great site and I thought I'd contribute this, by Clem Tholet:-



PEACE DREAM
by Clem Tholet.


May the mountains standing by you ever guard you,
And the rivers wash your spirit bright and clean;
May the animals and birds sing of the peace that is to come
And not the glory of a land that might have been.
May God be with you and keep you strong;
May your tomorrows be rich and long.

May the lives that you have taken be for reason,
And the pain that you have suffered make you strong.
May the seeds that you have sown bring out the fullness of the future -
May God give you the strength to right your wrongs.

It's just a dream, I know - but dreams set you free
Dreaming can ease your mind . . . and bring you peace

May the sweetness of your soil yet bring you riches,
And your pastures ever fill your belly's needs,
May the nations that you harbour find a way to live as one;
Keep your standards high - do not give in to greed.

May God be with you and keep you strong;
May your tomorrows be rich and long.

"Remember the good times....."



Thanks for everything - love Clem.

[Eagle]

Can I also contribute this...it's one of my favourites:-



White skin African soul


White skin African soul
Within my sole, within my mind,
There lies a place I cannot find
Home of my heart. Land of my birth.
Smoke colour stone and flame colour 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 ancient life to old to name,
In an ancient land to wild to tame.
~~~
How can I show you how 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 dimension written thought?
~~~
If love and longing are a ''fire''
And man ''consumed'' by his desire,
Then this love is no simple flame
The mortal thought can hold or tame.
As deep within the earth's own core
The love of home burns ever more.
~~~
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 mans 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 its gone
And I am once again undone.
Never complete. Never whole.
White skin and African soul.

[dallas]

I want to go home!!!!!

[Eagle]

Ja...don't we ALL want to go home! But you know what? Our country is in our hearts and our memories, forever and it will always be there. We can still visit it, as often as time and circumstance permits. :)

[squeakyB]

Ja...don't we ALL want to go home! But you know what? Our country is in our hearts and our memories, forever and it will always be there. We can still visit it, as often as time and circumstance permits. :)

So true! Our childhoods are no longer, just memories of a place filled with fun laughter and love... What I would give to be able to give my child what we had as kids...

[squeakyB]

saHbs3mVbWw



8eUrxad-HY8

y9UKDQP5j50

[fantaniatastic]

Very true!!!

[zimajays]

Thought I would add a saying that is so typical of Africa

Make a plan

I find this very true of this site. No matter what happens in our life, no matter what shit has been thrown at us, we will always make a plan to have a good time, share our thoughts with people all over the world, have a giggle, have a cry, cuss people, but in general try and recapture what we are -

Here's to all the Zimbo's

:smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32:

That and rekkin (sp?)

[squeakyB]

Thought I would add a saying that is so typical of Africa

Make a plan

I find this very true of this site. No matter what happens in our life, no matter what shit has been thrown at us, we will always make a plan to have a good time, share our thoughts with people all over the world, have a giggle, have a cry, cuss people, but in general try and recapture what we are -

Here's to all the Zimbo's

:smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32: :smiley32:

That and rekkin (sp?)

Here Here!!!!

[dallas]

gave me goose bumps ajay

[byovixen]

:smiley6: Makes me miss home so much.

[galeforce]

Old Girl Guide song from memory, it has quite a haunting tune - I'd sing it to you if you could all hear me, or if you could all bear the agony ;):

Land of broad open skies
Sunshine and rain and storm
Where the great elephant
Wanders at will

Grey rock and stormy plains
I will return again
Bom didi eidi, bom dide eidi, bom didi eidi, bom (typed phonetically)

Cities and open veld
Folks of all races
Striving to bring about
Peace and goodwill

Grey rock and stormy plains
I will return again
Bom didi eidi, bom dide eidi, bom didi eidi, bom

[squeakyB]

Not that I went to Gundi but remember it as I had a few mates at Gundi

[Chick]

You can learn wisdom at your grandfathers feet, or at the end of a stick.

A walking man builds no kraal.

You can not know the good within yourself if you can not see it in others.

When you bite indiscriminately, you end up eating your own tail.

The lion is a beautiful animal, when seen at a distance.

The bones must be thrown in three different places before the message must be accepted.

Guessing breeds suspicion.

Even immortals are not immune to fate.

You cannot fight an evil disease with sweet medicine.

Old age doesn't announce itself at the gate of the kraal.

Almost doesn't fill a bowl.

Even the most beautiful flower withers in time.

The sun never sets that there has not been fresh news.

[Shayne]

Thought i would add smiley's poem in here.

REQUIEM FOR ZIMBABWE

The buildings crumble, neglected
Rubbish lies in the streets.
I stare through the window, dejected,
While the cab driver grumbles and bleats.
The roads are pot-holed, a minefield.
We zigzag to save the car's shocks:
Only drunks would drive straight in this town!
We hit one - the vehicle rocks!
I've come home this last time, a requiem
To pack up, and tell friends goodbye.
I'm sure that my new life's a good thing,
So why do I just want to cry?
I can make far more money in Europe,
Buy things I have ne'er before seen.
But money's just money, gadgets, junk.
My heart lives back here, where it's green.
In a land where Saturday's braai day,
When friends meet to burn meat and drink.
To talk and solve all the world's problems,
Without even pausing to think.
Where children can run in wide spaces,
And shout, and carouse, and be free.
Where parents know each other's faces,
And don't worry who strangers might be.
A land where the people are friendly,
Where you're met with a hand and a grin.
Where the doors to the houses are open,
And "whenever you're round, just pull in!"
Where the people are friendly and caring,
Where they all stick together, make a plan.
Where they do what they can for each other,
And will help anyone, if they can.
A place of great natural beauty:
Hard granite, dry grasses, hot sun,
Waterfalls, dry river beds, dirt roads,
Bush tracks that go on and on.
To know that because of one mad-man,
Or two, and a bunch of their friends,
I must leave my homeland forever,
And my African idyll now ends.
So farewell to the land of my childhood,
As into exile I go.
Some that are staying deride me.
Are they right? I just don't know.


REPLY
Farewell to our friends who are leaving;
Farewell, but never good-bye.
Don't ever be led to believing
You'll never return 'til you die.
The roads are pot-holed - a minefield;
Once they were pristine and straight.
Who says that the roads can't be filled
And returned to their great, former state?
There are two things in life that we're given:
The one is the money we earn;
The other is standard of living;
Each must be thought of in turn.
If we choose to move, now or later,
The shape of our problems will vary
But will they get smaller or greater?
That is the issue to query.
At least here we know all the issues;
We know what is just down the line.
We can see the disasters approaching,
And move to 'plan B' just in time!
So what can we say to our mates,
As they get on the bus or the plane,
As they fight to control their mind-states
And struggle to hide all their pain?
Let's wish them the best for their journey.
Let's see them away with a crack!
Let's hope and let's pray that, one day,
We'll be here to welcome them back!
May they go to the distant, blue hills.
May they fill up their hearts with new schemes.
May they learn some new methods and skills
To bring back to the land of their dreams.
The madman can't last, and will never
Destroy our dreams, present and past,
He cannot do damage forever;
His destruction will not always last.
History will look back and smile
At the way that he stumbled and failed.
They will say, "Well, he lasted a while -
But good over evil prevailed."
There are two things a country requires
A system, and hearts that are pure.
Our hearts are being strengthened by fires -
Of adversity - that's to be sure.
The system will come, be it known;
The Lord will prepare it in time.
So let's set our faces like stone
And run with the course that unwinds.
We're suffering now in the darkness,
But the dawn is not far out of sight.
The darkest of all of the hours -
Is the hour before it gets light.
So let's gird up our loins and be ready;
Our affairs are like rags - all in tatters,
But it's just like a game; let's keep steady:
It's only the last point that matters!
So whether we've gone or we've stayed,
We've suffered our fair share of pain;
We'll weather the storm
And be bravely united in Zim once again.
So whether we've stayed or we've gone
Is really not where it is at.
Our characters all have been worked on,
And we can stand stronger for that.
So come back to the land of your childhood;
Come back to the land of your birth.
We'll welcome you home, well and good,
And the land will be filled with our mirth.
We'll bask in the sunshine together,
And laugh at experience past.
We'll know it was all for our good,
That the happiness always will last.
But let's not forget all the warnings:
The serious dangers of sin.
In the fabulous days that are dawning,
That corruption the troubles let in.
So we'll live in the land of our fathers;
Our Father will care for us here,
Remembering love for our neighbours
And all His commandments with fear.
So here's to the land of Zimbabwe:
Land full of sunshine and smiles.
the warm, loving land of Zimbabwe,
I guess we'll be here for a while.

http://www.thechiefbaboon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6295

[sally]

Not that I went to Gundi but remember it as I had a few mates at Gundi

where did this come from? you make me laugh!!!

[Shayne]

Found some weird ones from Ghana

A stranger does not skin a sheep that is paid as a fine at a chief's court. - Cape Coast, Ghana

The orphan does not rejoice after a heavy breakfast. - Cape Coast, Ghana

he chicken is never declared in the court of hawks. - Cape Coast, Ghana

[joemac]

Mmmm, deep. What do they mean?

[priya]

Sorry Mods, OT I know, but this link will bring back memories.........

http://www.finalsounds.co.za/FinalMusic/RWS.htm

[Doro]

Found this - this was written during when Zimbos had millions of dollars and food shortages........

Life in Zim is GREAT!!!! (http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/631)

I have so much more money in my bank
For all of this, I have you to thank!
I’m saving money at a rate of knots
By the time I’m 40, I’ll really have lots!
I can’t spend it on fags, fine food and fair’
Cos when I go to TM, the shelves are all bare!
Other shops are quite empty of tempting treats
Who needs dairy products, cokes or sweets?
Standing all day in the queue for maize meal
Mean’s I don’t have to work – wow, what a deal!
I see all my mates there from days gone by
We catch up on news and make plans for a braai!
I can’t find any marg or oil in the shop
My bathroom scales are starting to drop!
When I put on my jeans, they fall to the floor’
Cos no sugar or flour, means no baking no more!
Now bread, it seems, is a thing of the past
But I’m not worried, ‘cos I’m loosing weight fast!
There’s no need to lose weight by going to a gym
Just live in Zimbabwe and you’ll get real thin!
I walk everywhere; there’s no fuel in my car
I’m really quite fit now, from walking so far!
I spend more time at home than ever before
This is a good thing ‘cos there’s always a chore!
I take time for all the positive things in life
Like my family, reading and staying out of strife!
I’m coping quite well; so it just goes to show
That living with shortages is not such a blow!

[Shayne]

Anything new to add here?

[pennymac]

I don't know any deep sayings, but some Ndebele superstitions I Know:

Never walk with only one shoe one, one of your parents will die

Never drink water after tea...I'm not sure what the consequence is, something to do with going hungry I think