Afrikaba: A Cry From The Heart Of Africa Poem by Success Sibanda

Provoking yet veracious images flicker in my mind
As i cast my eyes upon that eight-lettered word...AFRIKABA
I drift, i float
I frown, i smile...in thought
As i look back in time
Across the Caribbean... and Africa

I remember the day i heard the cry...
Mountains echoed the anguished sound
Indeed it was so piercing and profound
For many years its target it did not find
For generations it filtered through the human mind
Amongst whites and blacks; people of every kind
On and on went the cry
And from trough to crest it did fly
The cry for recognition and unity
Multiracial coalision and togetherness.

Higher and higher ''the bird of hope'' did fly
Further and further the search for equality did continue
In their plight the Africans soon forgot their differences
Although some were taken to lands they hardly knew
In their hearts to being African they remained true
In them the spirit of unity grew
For in their ears the heart-rending cry persistently continued
Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King are just but a few
Who sent out the cry persistently to the world.

As i sneak out of this reminiscence trance
I challenge you with just but a few notions
We are what we are
Because of our cultural disposition
We are where we are
Because of our cultural diversity
People of this world
Let us all realise the oneness of our difference
Let us all see that variety is indeed the spice of life
Let us take away the existing strife
And let us eradicate greed and malice
Unity is our only efficient tool against disrcimination
So let us be as one regardless of our cultural orientation
Our society should be a manifestation
Of the disinclination to racism
And we should bring the world to the realisation
That unity is the key to peaceful and prosperous nations.