Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou
See a procession of young mothers chattering their way
From water fountains in grenade torn sandals
And blood laced bras
Somalia, Somalia, Somalia
See the moon disappearing in a mass of gunsmoke
Guns splitting the stars from the skin of night
Rwanda, Rwanda, Rwanda
This is a wound from which the pus of grief flows freely
Meandering through rockmasses into the valley that lost its freedom
Timbuktu, Timbuktu, Timbuktu
I hear a rush of footsteps of sorrow
Rugged peasants carrying their compounds to far away valleys of flowers.
Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Decade of Bullets" was orginally published on OGOV on July 14th, 2007.
Good imagery telling us what we suffer here on this continent. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI'm touched, deeply, i must say.
ReplyDeleteMbizo, we are with you in this struggle, to emancipate our beloved continent.!!! cheers
By virtue of his heavyweight subjects, I have revered the Zimbabwe talent, Mbizo Chirasha, as the Alpha Blondy of poetry.
ReplyDeleteGood job Mbizo!
Thanks Mbizo for your poem,
ReplyDeletethis year 17 African countries celebrate 50 years of independence; some still under stress, including The Democratic Republic of Congo, La Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Somalia.
The list goes on.
your poem serves as a reminder.
Cheers