‘African Children’ (Poem)

Summary

On our rich African land,

Sat our children under the watch of full moon,

Enjoying the cool breeze that came

With the night.

Different cardinal point they were,

Yet bound by a future expectation.

Happy faces they wore but sad heart they had;

Present in person but absent in mind.

Living in reality but lost in dream,

Of what is and ought to.

Different dreams they had –

Some doctors, others lawyers;

Some engineers, others economists,

Some teachers, others bankers,

But they wished for the same future.

A future,

Immune from sickness and struggles,

tears and Pain,

mourning and sadness.

A future,

Wrapped with prosperity and growth,

joy and Freedom,

happiness and life.

A future filled with love,

Is all they ever wanted.

That wasn't too much to ask.

Yet the future they hoped for,

Was far away from them.

Over and over, they’d toil the land;

With joy, gathering the crumbs

That fell from their parent's table.

Nay, the soil they see is but a barren toy.

Who is going to give them this future?

Who is going to save their land?

The Giant among them has fallen, fallen faced

Down.

Alone they are

In the unending struggle

For survival.

With the sun rising,

They couldn't but hope,

That joy comes in the morning.