Africa

Consider Africa, she as virgin

Savour in its sprawling grassland

Its mountains where many rivers begin

Its beautiful game that adorn the land.

Picture Africa, see it as a home

Of comely fair people and great culture

A haven where white tourists come

To seek sunlight, beauty and rapture.

Consider Africa, see it as a goldmine

Nations scramble over her to have share

Of its moon and its sun, both that shine

To bring life and beauty everywhere

To make Africa home to all races

To make her a symbol of all faces

Consider Africa, mould it as a pillar

That holds up stable the world’s nations

It cures continents, a true healer

Of the universe and all God’s creations

Picture Africa, as a source of life

Nations scramble over its raw resources

Nations scramble over what she can give:

Thistles, cactus, bamboo, thorns and roses

Elephants, lions, giraffes and baboons

Warm rains, quiet nights and crisp days

Soft grass to sit on by the lagoons

Rocks to sit on to watch the sun rays

Africa, you are a land of wonder

Africa, the world’s beauty and grandeur.

Christopher Okemwa is a literature lecturer at Kisii University, Kenya. He has a PhD in performance poetry from Moi University, Kenya. He is the founder and current director of Kistrech International Poetry festival in Kenya. Okemwa is the editor of Musings during a Time of Pandemic: A World Anthology of poems on COVID-19 & I Can’t Breathe: A Poetic Anthology of Social Justice, and Coming out of Isolation: An Anthology of Resilience, Triumph & Hope. He is the author of ten poetry books.