'Oh Mama Africa' Poem by George Shadrack Kamanda

Oh Mama Africa,
Just one day, you can smile again,
And someday, you can rise again.
A rise that will come as a surprise,
For those, who see you as deprive

Oh Mama Africa,
Just one day, your values will once again be the center of our identity,
Our 'Identity' lost to Western Modernity.

Oh Mama Africa,
One day, you shall be named a developed land,
Not an undeveloped land,
Underdeveloped to exploiters exploiting your land,
They mine from it, they building in it,
And they make fortunes from it.
And yet, they say you as weak and inferior!

Oh Mama Africa,
I bet no one can imagine your pain?
Yet alone, put on your shoe of despair and anguish?

Oh Mama Africa,
Your sons and daughters have failed you,
And to date, they continue to disappoint you.
The signs are breath-taking, but worth reminding:
Poverty stricken,
Inequality ridden,
Economy broken,
Politics suppressing, just when education is in disrepair.

Oh Mama Africa,
There are some that feel your pain but cannot help,
There are some with ideas but cannot express it.
There are some with talents but are unable to cultivate it,
And there are some craving to play a role in your new beginning,
But, are politically challenged.

Oh Mama Africa,
If you set us free from the clutches of colonialism,
There is no doubt; you can set free from neocolonialism.
Oh Mama Africa,
If you set us free from slavery and brutal civil wars,
There is no doubt; you can save our dwindling continent.

Oh Mama Africa,
Your children continue to fail you,
But yes, we believe in ‘you.'

Oh Mama Africa,
Your days of reckoning is near
That day—just one day,
You will rise again
And your children can smile again.
Oh Mama Africa, You are one, and our all!




*Published on Saint Joseph's University Newspaper