A Black Empress's Legacy (Taytu Betul) Poem by Alem Hailu Gabre Kristos

I. Taytu Betul as a leader

" Ethiopia is famed for being
A peaceful, hospitable
And warrior nation
How come then it failed
To come to your attention,
As bees whose hive is threatened,
Citizens are ever alert to
To foil provoked aggression!

The 1889 treacherous
Wuchale treaty
I will tear apart
A messenger, with a tail
Between your legs,
Before you depart.
The Italian version
That tries to put Ethiopia,
A sovereign state, a pawn
Under Italy's protectorate
Is completely opposed to
What Ethiopia's
Versions indicate.

Till we meet
Your colonizing troops
At a showdown,
As a punitive measure to
A cheater or a clown
I will be tempted to smack
Your face
To ram home, valorous,
For fear we have no place.

II Taytu Betul a strategist

To deny the invading
Italian troops, advancing
from Eriteria,
Advantages of logistic
We could do
The following trick
Indeed, we could shift
The battlefield
From Adigrat to Adwa
Also we could cut them
From a key water point
Till for truce they plead.
To this end,
A battalion
I will personally lead.
What is more,
I will inspire
Women, combatants, too
To fire!
Parallel to that
Our injured soldiers
To nurse back
Wounded in the attack
Also dry foods
To prepare and pack.

III Taytu Betul as a wife

Though independent,
With lots of love to
Emperor Menelik II,
My king and beloved husband
I will lend a cooperative hand.

IV. A beacon of independence & standard bearer

True to my name Taytu
— A sunshine—
I will flicker
A ray of light
The oppressed for
Freedom to fight!

Women
For a military prowess,
Leadership and intelligence
Have acumen! ////