We Africans by Wayne Visser

I was listening to a track by the Nigerian legendary musician, Fela, and one of his phrases caught my attention - "we Africans" - two simple words that mean so much. I was inspired to write this poem.

We Africans

By Wayne Visser

We Africans

We, the spark of creation

We, first nation of nations

Remember us

For you flow from our ancestral streams

And your hopes are what mirror our dreams

We Africans

We, the crossers of high seas

We, the keepers of memories

Remember us

For you pulse with the blood of our veins

And you cry with the fear of our pains

We’re born, we rise

We open our eyes

We crawl, we walk

We’re learning to talk

We Africans

We, the fathers of hungry hands

We, the mothers of thirsty lands

Join with us

For your toil is sweat on our furrowed brow

And your guilt is shame for our here and now

We Africans

We, the sons of rusty chains

We, the daughters of dried-up rains

Join with us

For your suffering leaves tears in our eyes

And your great escape is our freedom’s rise

We plant, we reap

We strive, we weep

We serve, we slave

We hope, we brave

We Africans

We, the farmers of the plains

We, the hunters of the rains

Stand with us

For your food is our planted gorge

And your iron is our fiery forge

We Africans

We, the nomads of the sand

We, the stewards of the land

Stand with us

For your drink is our handpicked beans

And your wealth is our tunnelled seams

We dig, we drill

We bend our will

We melt, we mould

We bleed for gold

We Africans

We, the soldiers of the thorny cross

We, the seekers of the pantheons lost

Rise with us

For your chapels enact our daily sacraments

And your deities fill our starry firmaments

We Africans

We, the pilgrims of the crescent moon

We, the students of our earthly swoon

Rise with us

For your mosques echo our calls to prayer

And your mission is our promise to care

We kneel, we pray

We sing, we slay

We lift our pain

We praise His name

We Africans

We, the singers of life’s sorrow

We, the lovers of tomorrow

Reunite us

For your maps are our patterned mosaic

And your home is our ancient namesake

We Africans

We, the dancers of our freedoms

We, the voices of new seasons

Reunite us

For your culture is our rainbow display

And your genes are our twined DNA

We drum, we beat

We stamp our feet

We weave, we thread

We love, we wed

We Africans

We, the refugees of futile fighting

We, the tribes of lands uniting

Welcome us

For as you gain so we have lost

And what we give is without cost

We Africans

We, the migrants of opportunity

We, the leaders of the fair and free

Welcome us

For as we join as fragile friends

So we prosper in the end

We move, we tread

We search, we spread

We fit, we fight

We claim our right

We Africans

We, the archers of the starry sky

We, the askers of the question why

Celebrate with us

For the dawn is strung with morning dew

And our time has come to start anew

We Africans

We, the scatterlings of the rising sun

We, all proud Africans, every one

Celebrate with us

For our future fate is far from done

And we are all Africans, every one

Copyright 2012 Wayne Visser