First Born
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 11, 2011
- 5,310
- 1,473
Do you remember Ocol?
He said,
What is Africa
To me?
Blackness,
Deep, deep fathomless
Darkness;
Africa,
Idle giant
Basking in the sun,
Sleeping, snoring,
Twitching in dreams;
Diseased with a chronic illness,
Choking with black ignorance,
Chained to the rock
Of poverty,
And yet laughing,
Always laughing and dancing,
The chains on his legs
Jangling;
Displaying his white teeth
In bright pink gum,
Loose white teeth
That cannot bite,
Joking, giggling, dancing....
Stuck in the stagnant mud
Of superstitions,
Frightened by the spirits
Of the bush, the stream,
The rock,
Scared of corpses. . .
He hears eerie noises
From the lakeside
And from the mountain top,
Sees snakes
In the whirlwind
And at both ends
Of the rainbow;
The caves house his gods
Or he carries them
On his head
Or on his shoulder
As he roams the wilderness,
Led by his cattle,
Or following the spoor
Of the elephant
That he has speared
But could not kill;
Child,
Lover of toys,
Look at his toy weapons,
His utensils, his hut....
Toy garden, toy chickens,
Toy cattle,
Toy children. . .
Timid,
Unadventurous,
Scared of the unbeaten track,
Unweaned,
Clinging to mother's milkless breasts
Clinging to brother,
To uncle, to clan,
To tribe
To blackness,
To Africa,
Africa
This rich granary
Of taboos, customs,
Traditions. . . .
Mother, mother,
Why,
Why was I born
Black?
Enzi hizoo, kumbukumbu wadau
F Born.
He said,
What is Africa
To me?
Blackness,
Deep, deep fathomless
Darkness;
Africa,
Idle giant
Basking in the sun,
Sleeping, snoring,
Twitching in dreams;
Diseased with a chronic illness,
Choking with black ignorance,
Chained to the rock
Of poverty,
And yet laughing,
Always laughing and dancing,
The chains on his legs
Jangling;
Displaying his white teeth
In bright pink gum,
Loose white teeth
That cannot bite,
Joking, giggling, dancing....
Stuck in the stagnant mud
Of superstitions,
Frightened by the spirits
Of the bush, the stream,
The rock,
Scared of corpses. . .
He hears eerie noises
From the lakeside
And from the mountain top,
Sees snakes
In the whirlwind
And at both ends
Of the rainbow;
The caves house his gods
Or he carries them
On his head
Or on his shoulder
As he roams the wilderness,
Led by his cattle,
Or following the spoor
Of the elephant
That he has speared
But could not kill;
Child,
Lover of toys,
Look at his toy weapons,
His utensils, his hut....
Toy garden, toy chickens,
Toy cattle,
Toy children. . .
Timid,
Unadventurous,
Scared of the unbeaten track,
Unweaned,
Clinging to mother's milkless breasts
Clinging to brother,
To uncle, to clan,
To tribe
To blackness,
To Africa,
Africa
This rich granary
Of taboos, customs,
Traditions. . . .
Mother, mother,
Why,
Why was I born
Black?
Enzi hizoo, kumbukumbu wadau
F Born.