Africa! Poem by Niki Nicholas Nkuna

Beautiful continent by nature
Beautiful people by nature
Africans ebony skinned by nature
Now darkened by the extremity of nature
Africa rich in precious minerals by nature
Precious minerals got plundered
By the extremities of colonisation and decolonisation
Poor Africa now forsaken by its own people
Diaspora homecoming a dream deferred!

Unscathed Africa still stands proud to welcome the second rape
Asian assailants brought with them artificial cake
Paper cake not to be tasted in the presence of barter
African generosity gratified by the restoration of long lost pristine
Mother Africa’s bloom perturbed in the second take
This time by the selling of her soul to a prosperity pipedream

African diaspora forever hooked by the glory of artificiality in Europe’s magic wand
Dreamed of Africa stoicism’s erstwhile colonial hurt
Forever in the dream believe of the so-called Dark Africa
Africa forever in a pendulum state of cry and jubilation
Cry and jubilation, colonised and decolonised
Vice versa in the whirlwind of build and destruction

How long will Africa stand dislocated?
How long will Africa fail to see its own reflection in the mirror of reality?
How long will Africans stop begging standing on the rock of gold?
How long will Africans stop looking over the seas in want of the wonders of artificiality?
How long will the diaspora look over the seas in dislike of the African nature’s wonder?
How long will the diaspora remain satiated with the crumbs of pseud-gold from the masters’ table?
How long, ………….. How long Africa!
N Nkuna,21 August 2012