Beloved Country, Endless Journey
from one ocean to another
the struggle for human progress
continues on its journey
towards the endless sky
2007, nearly over
20,000 homicides
childless mothers
weeping for the stolen lives
50,000 girls and women raped
stolen bodies
damaged lives
300,000 deaths from AIDS
the beloved country cries
brave and unforgotten ones
have brought this country back to one
Papa Mandela you all have met
now you know Lucky Dube too
but not the men who carjacked him
as he dropped off his sons
as if he were a stranger
unhuman to them
Gauteng, the unploughed fields
Cape Town's windy shores
Kwazulu hills so green and low
the feet of the Maluti mountains
draped in shame and snow
? ? , ? ? ? babies born
to HIV and pain
1.2 million orphans
crying to the silent wall
imagine the death of a single child
imagine if we lose them all
that long, unending journey
from slavery through prison
surviving torture all the way
up to the gates of freedom
come so far, from mbaqanga
to liberation song
cut down by bullets in the blink
of a man who was his brother
before the world went wrong
there's time to touch the golden shores
of a country loved so well
refusing all the turns to hell
remembering the starting place
and what they started for.
..................
Notes on data:
Homicides (women and men) and rapes (grossly under-reported) - from national statistics.
Deaths and children orphaned due to AIDS - UN estimates based on national sources.
Numbers of babies born with HIV - unavailable, inevitably in the tens of thousands at current adult prevalence and treatment rates.
poem by Frank Bana
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Related quotes
God Was Right
God was right when he made the women
Because men built house for the women to live in with their families
And he included a kitchen
But God knew that if the house had a kitchen the women would be better The whole night cooking for her family
And God knew that the kitchen was the perfect place for women
God was right when he made women so that they can have babies
And feed the babies milk from her breasts and change all the babies Diapers everyday
Because the only way babies communicate is by crying
And all the babies needs their naps
God was right when he made the women
So she could be there to do the family laundry also
And women's job is never done at home
Because as long as she lives she will be the slave of home
poem by Aldo Kraas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Country Woman
Country women now, what you gonna do with your life
Country women now, why dont you get out of this life
Leave my life alone
The first time I met you I knew you were the devils daughter
You came on like a river , doin all the things you oughta
Youre a self made women ,baby, not a made-to-order
If you had your way , I know youd make me stay
And that would only bring me down
Country women now, what you gonna do with your life
Country women now, why dont you get out of this life
Leave my life alone
(break)
Country women , country women ,country women
Country women, country women , ahh....
Country women now, what you gonna do with your life
Country women now, why dont you get out of this life
Leave my life alone
Leave my life alone
Country women now , country women now, country women now,
Country women now , country women now, country women now, (fade)
song performed by by Bee Gees
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Brave Mountaineers
Born in the country and I like that country smile
Of the little girls and boys, they remind me of a child
That I knew and a big harvest moon
That shon by suppertime in the dusty afternoon
And I need to be there
When the autumn wind goes whistlin through the trestle we would climb
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time
Born in the country and I like that country song
We played for just a nickel every time we got to town
And I bought you a dime diamond ring
In the hayloft we would play, we were princesses and kings
And I need to be there
When the world gets too heavy and the shadows cross my mind
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time
Born in the country and I like that country way
Of the uncles and the cousins and the card games they would play
While the young ones slept overhead
Beneath the quilts that mother made, when all the prayers were said
And I need to be there
When the autumn wind goes whistlin through the trestle we would climb
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time
And I need to be there
When the world gets too heavy and the shadows cross my mind
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Girls vs. Women
Girls are insecure; Women are confident.
Girls dress trashy; Women dress classy.
Girls are students; Women are teachers.
Girls are listeners; Women are preachers.
Girls makes babies; Women raise babies.
Girls have sex; Women make love.
Girls are weak; Women are strong.
Girls fight; Women walk away.
Girls argue; Women speak.
Girls give in; Women compromise.
Girls envy. Women appreciate.
Girls give up. Women strive.
Girls look. Women see.
Girls take. Women give.
Girls follow; Women influence.
poem by Christina E. Brown
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Day Break Africa
Twenty-one days to an overthrow,
Twenty-one years from a hide-out;
Day break Africa with news around the world!
Out of changes, out of words,
One out of the muse that i bring to you;
Living on One Dollar a day means that,
We have no aids but hunger! !
Day break Africa with words from a bard,
Like a serious rethinking to all mankind;
Life in Africa matters to me a lot.
Braving through the thick and thin clouds of Africa,
Like the time when a party wins;
A muse like this puts up a serious rethinking.
Day break Africa with hunger,
Day break Africa with hospitality;
Mark the beloved child who wakes up early with,
No food at all! Yes, an empty stomach! !
Just like their parents and care-takers,
Just like the things you see around;
A life and death struggle for survival!
Lawlessness! A child is born;
With an empty bowl beside him or her.
This is to learn about the hardships of Africa,
This is to grow up in the mist of nothing;
Where many talents die out easily!
From hope to poverty,
from the North to the South;
From East to the West,
From the mountains to the rivers;
We need our fertile minds to do the thinking.
Gone-East, gone-West, gone out of bounds;
From the North to the South without hope,
Day break Africa with hunger!
More deaths cases are reported on malaria than aids,
But our best works are not even well known to the world;
Since, they rather cloth us with aids! ! !
From O.A.U. to A.U.,
From poverty to aids;
How long can we hoist a flag for our emancipation? !
Day break Africa with words,
Day break Africa with hope,
Day break Africa with Hunger,
Day break Africa with dreams;
Oh, how long can we hoist a flag for our emancipation?
Day break Africa!
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Power to the Women of the World
Power to the women of the world
Women with W for winners
Women with O for Order
Women with M for Movement and mothers of hope
Women with E for energy, everywhere, every time
Women with N for Necessity
Women of the world
Our struggle needs your attention
Our struggle needs your support
Your children in on earth have no future
Your children in in the wolrd will die, if you sit
Your children in in the world are dying
Your husbands are culturally polluted and they are dying
Your pots are blown by light air
Your fire have burned months ago
Your future is no more
But this is your time
Your time to rise Women of the world
Power to the women of the country
Power to women
Power
poem by Alex Lushaba
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Country Doctors
The quiet country doctors
Of many a country town,
Whose lives are spent to service bent,
With scant hope of renown
Those sturdy country doctors,
That walk the healer's way,
At beck and call of one and all
That pain be smoothed away.
Those patient country doctors,
That journey day and night
By country roads to far abodes
To ease some sufferer's plight;
Thro' fire and flood and tempest
They make their pilgrimage
To bring release and healing peace,
The comforters of age.
Those modern country doctors,
They do not advertise;
Surcease they bring for suffering
And hope to pain-filled eyes.
These be their ends to be man's friends,
And so they shape and plan,
Divorced from greed to serve man's need,
And give their lives to man.
Those quiet country doctors,
Unsung, unknown to fame,
Refusing none what may be done
In skilful healing's name
Philosophers, friends, mentors,
Thro' pain and death and birth,
And who shall say that such as they
Are not salt of the earth?
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Does God weep on the misfortunes of man?
the flood that kills a thousand men
and women and children
the massive mud that buried
them
looking like frozen statues
the lava, the tidal waves
that hit the islands
the virus without cure
the disease
the plague
the consumption of so much number
numbing
to our sense of dignity
the rape that fathers commit to their daughters
and even sons
the mothers that kill the fetus
to save their faces from shame
what more?
let us count the miseries of men & women and children
the fear that grip them
the chaos that always comes
in wars
in famine
in nuclear hatred of one country
to another
the hunger, many more deaths to come
the exploding population
too many neglected children
and too many to ignore
the rich & advantaged caring less
the insignificance of the voices of those
who speak
their valid concerns
does God really weep?
does God really care?
does God signify
any sign of presence
of any divine intervention?
did he say we are free?
did he say he respects this freedom that we take pride in
that we won from the snake in that paradise?
is God here?
do you really hear him weeping?
i want to hear my God
i want to hear Him speak
i want Him, forgive me, to weep,
but i have not seen the tears
i have not heard any sound of weeping...
i guess, if he is here, if he is here at all,
i will still respect, and worship & love Him,
even if i hear Him laughing....
for what am i?
i am just his slave, his servant, though he may call Me
brother,
or his beloved son
to Him, i can be, even
nothing
one that he can always
put in Hell and set aside as a useless spark
in the vast space that he owns
one that he can also save
by His Mercy and Grace....
i know, but i will always wait
for His answers, even from the passing wind
i am always thirsty and asking
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Believe it as right
Rejoice o, sons of soil and celebrate
The happiness and joy how to narrate
It has found its ultimate and logical end
The tyrant was forced to flee and inclined to bend
The popular will has prevailed and won
The hardship and pain may finally be gone
Let another tyrant not enter through back door
The country belongs to all including very poor
Years have passed in turmoil and end was not in sight
No one was able to judge and believe it as right
How can a single individual rule over millions hungry?
When there was no love for countrymen and country?
The endurance has now no more stretching space
We have been pushed into corner for mad race
It was unknown tyrant to long for such a long
Why did he not know he was doing something wrong?
How can we remain in palace when country men were dying in hunger?
Why can’t one understand that people are unhappy and raging with anger?
Even if tyranny is to find a favor one must act sensible and be compassionate
His rule can be disliked by many but must beat with aspirations and resonate
This is how we have witness over number of years in recent days
People have taken to streets and forced the tyrants to go away
What would they do with stolen national wealth when it is needed here?
How would they feel comfortable when they will find place no where?
The last Great Mughal Emperor Bhadurshah Jafar missed his motherland
He was exiled by foreign invaders for annexing the complete land
How much desperate he was when his last days were near?
He could not find burial land for waging holy struggle for years
People do remember great sons of soil and patronize
They will never agree if attempt is made for country to colonize
It is stand not acceptable as it is breach of promise and amounts to compromise
Even blind ruler may find the revolt much to his astonishment and surprise
It is sad to witness some of innocent deaths
The countrymen may remember their sacrifice and lay a wreath
It may always be commemoration to their selfless service
Whole country may be weeping over martyr’s death and not as demise
The new day may come with lot many aspirations and expectations
New rule with lots of welfare measures may sound as an indication
In any set up people wish is supreme and may stay as final
Any attempt to sabotage it may lead to down fall or tyrant’s funeral
poem by Hasmukh Amathalal
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America's Journey To Peace
America's Journey To Peace
9/11/01 A Day of Many Heroe's
Terrorist intruders dropped one morning
from the sky.
U.S. Citizens became warrior combatants,
fighting back hurling them howling to their deaths.
Americas peace challenged
we could not, would not! be pushed over the edge.
We awakened united in anger
transformed into purpose
to perpetuate throughout the whole world
American's hurt, wounded, thousands dead,
would not be our end, but our begining.
Our flag still waves for freedom
from the homes of all America in a united
quest to hold dear all those who were lost.
As we journey forward in our daily lives
let their deaths be not in vain,
Let America's Freedom forever Reign!
Esther Brush
poem by Esther Brush
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Freedom
To free from bondage is called freedom
It is born out of struggle and wisdom
It can be armed struggle, uprising or mutiny
Its impact can be felt far off or near vicinity
It is collective and not single handedly fought
Not only involves liberation but freedom of thought
Clear vision with real goal is pursued and sought
Secure boundary is created and peace is brought
People might have suffered and under gone anguish
Pushed in jails for untold sufferings and to languish
Losses of precious human lives and resolve to perish
As freedom is not won in a single day or finished
It is holy task to liberate the land from foreign yoke
Continuous hard struggle and not a matter of joke
Many countries may not support cause and poke
They may thwart the movement under thick smoke
Freedom once won must be preserved with care
Affairs to be managed with no option to go any where
First, house should be put in order to make it reality
To meet people’s aspirations and work in unity
Hard won freedom should not be lost for silly reason
One should know the meaning of freedom of expression
It is of no use if we don’t come out of economic slavery
Country may loose independence despite bravery
Nobody is refugee here and it is home for all
National building poverty elimination should be call
Universal brotherhood and world peace should be the motto
Nobody should be deprived of life and sent or to ghetto
Freedom is won on certain ideals and principles
It may be hard for others to accept and act as disciples
Nothing should be allowed to run or go as contrary
Nation should represent truly and find place as honourary
Freedom should not to be compromised at any cost
Ideology may differ but national interest as super most
World should count on us as true friend and champion
Should have respectable position in affairs of the region
Even if as a power there should be honour for sovereignty
Help to poorer amongst poor and respect for integrity
Freedom and liberty can be enjoyed with grant of rights
End to hostilities and strong resolve to end fights
poem by Hasmukh Amathalal
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Chained Chained Women In The 'Land Of The Free
can you feel the jealousy emanating from the other first world countries
whose women watch the US government insist upon
no universal healthcare,
making its own citizens eternal slaves to HMO's & big pharma
&
if that wasn't bad enough,
they watch the religious tyrants beating their 'holy books, '
continuing
to feel as if it is ok to
deprive citizens of contraceptive coverage in the
health care packages being provided by employers across the country?
um,
this writer has a hard time doing so…for the record.
how long will this so-called 'democracy' make the women within its borders
suffer?
how long will the crazy crazy christians insist on
trying to keep women in a little cage where they cannot determine what happens to their own bodies?
as long as women are not allowed to gain access to contraception freely & easily,
they have to walk through a gauntlet of unnecessary bullshit
every time life decides to impede their progress by
throwing an unwanted pregnancy in the way of the struggle to get to where they want to be-
if they cannot climb the ladder,
they cannot achieve the financial status that would allow them to raise these kids in the
first place-
politicians,
who pretend to have religious affiliations so that they can get more sheep to
baaaaaaaaaaaa to the sound of their specific drum come november,
need to understand that there are more women in this country than men
&
this country is already overpopulated as it is-
why not better the lives of the women who are already here,
alive & trying?
poem by Andrew Delapruch
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Afghanistan
Lives wasted as our country has no decent cause
In a country where the lawless make their own laws.
Thousands of mountains and thousands of years
Have wrought nothing but suffering, death and tears.
Not long ago America’s civil war caused 600,000 deaths,
While 50 years past the Vietnam choked 56,000 American breaths.
Because of ignorance and greed we insist that the answer is killing
Even though much of our young boys’ blood is still spilling.
Killing the enemy won’t change the way that they think.
It’s as ludicrous as curing a drunk by giving him more to drink.
poem by Gregory Huyette
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HeLp mE Go bAcK........
Is it time for me to go
The little girl wondered if she had a chance
Is it time to go
As she started packing her travelling bags and pants
Is it time yet
She wondered with great hope
But as her hope was slowly fading away
She felt like she could'nt cope
Please tell me is it time for me to..............
She thought and thought to find the right solution for her concern
But as she kept on thinking, her mind tended to burn
I want you to answer my question please
I want it right now, i'm on my knees
Tell me if i have a chance
Tell me if i will live through this journey away from my country and land
Tell me if i will still have the dignity to keep my head up high and stand
Tell me if i will ever go back to my country and race
Tell me if i'll see my countries glories and grace
All this beauty was stolen, when will they let me be
I have lost my country, i'm about to lose me
Is it time yet for me to go back
Is it time yet for me to pack
Is it time for me to see my country, my people, my reflection and whom I sought to be
Is it time to find that long lost person hidden inside of me?
poem by Marria Attar
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Girls Of Summer
When winter hush turns summer pink
In half the time it takes to blink
But it all depends on what'choo think
About the girls of summer
When all you think of all day long
Is a pretty face inside a song
With a thought like that you can't go wrong
About the girls of summer
Oh yeah... (Do you know... everybody knows now)
Some girls are all about it
Some girls they love to let it fly
Some girls can't live without it
Some girls are born to make you cry
Over and over again
My favorite thing that drives me wild
Is when a city girl walks a country mile
For a boy she loves God bless the child
Inside the girls of summer
Oh yeah... (Do you know... everybody knows now)
Some girls are all about it
Some girls they love to let it fly
Some girls can't live without it
Some girls are born to make you cry
Yeah... over and over again
Yeah... yeah... yeah... yeah... yeah
They get'choo climbin' the walls
They get'choo caught in their spell
They get'choo speakin' in tongues
Could this be Heaven or Hell
To fall in love twice a day
Is such a sweet place to be
Se - vous - play
The best things about life are free
The pussywillow up your tree
To the one who climbs
They'll always be the girl... yeah
Some girls are all about it
Some girls they love to let it fly
Some girls no doubt about it
Some girls are born to make you cry
Some girls can't live without it
Some girls got twenty reasons why
Over and over and over and over and over...
song performed by by Aerosmith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Freedom For Palestine! ...
My country, my people, my land
Oh do I wish to be with my people hand in hand
With all wars abolished and all pain gone
With death and pain vanished that has been accepted for very long
Oh do I hope for my country’s independence and self-rule
Oh do I wish to destroy my enemies that have been and are still cruel
With all this evil destroyed and finally stopped
Then no more dreadful missiles could be dropped
Where finally a child can sleep silently in his bed
Not worrying about the next day if he’ll be dead
Where children are happy and finally sense the feeling of fun
Where a father could finally live in peace with his son
Yes, it’s my country Palestine
A country that will always stay mine
Oh do I wish the world could just for once say no and mean it
Oh do I wish the people in this universe could just admit
That what’s going on in Palestine is totally wrong
Then the war that’s still happening would’ve not stayed for so long
I don’t see the reason on why an innocent child deserves to die
I don’t see why a mother should look at her dead children and cry
We are all people...Our differences doesn’t matter anymore
Freedom and peace is what we all should be looking for
May the Palestinian pain and misery just fade away
That’s all I pray for every single day.
poem by Marria Attar
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I go to Malawi twice a year. It's where two of my children were adopted from, and I have a lot of projects there that I go and check up on and children who I look after. It's sort of a commitment that I've made to this country and the hundreds of thousands of children there who have been orphaned by AIDS.
quote by Madonna Ciccone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It is people
It is people’s victory
No one should feel sorry
It was writing on wall
Demand of the day and call
Mahatma Gandhi did it to gain freedom
Such movement was witnessed seldom
Today it is happening once again
Glory to motherland and power to regain
No bloodshed or single loss of life
Amidst uncertainty, with growing concern and strife
Whole country has witnessed a non violent struggle
With free will drive for looters, grabbers in populated jungle
Why country and poor can not be placed at top?
Why does our spirit and conscience not stop?
What is reason for putting country into shame?
Is the liberal democracy only causing to blame?
Politicians and bureaucrats have done immense damage
The country’s affair is in shamble and unable to manage
The precious national wealth is taken away from people
God only knows when we can do it or be able?
Even the mighty can be brought down to knee
This is movement for calling a country really free
The system is not used to the advantages for few
People are in street to compel the culprits review
Only one man has done the miracle
Whole of country is proud of and entered the circle
The time zeroed in and changes are offered
The conception may be odd but opinion never differed
The country has to be freed from the slavery
From the organized loot and corruption mystery
Who can lead the nation and bring the result?
The country has faced enough of it with insult
Mahatma faced bullet for telling truth
This lone man may loose battle and face the death
Yet whole country is behind mass movement
We can only offer tribute and no other comments
poem by Hasmukh Amathalal
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Country Girl
(hawkshaw/gosling)
I was born in the country, I was raised with the sun
The flowers were my pillow when the days work was done
Down in the valley shone the bright neon signs
The call of the city life kept going through my mind
Oh yeah, the days of my childhood would soon be left behind
It was a saturday morning when the snow lay on the ground
Pa said the time had come when I could move to town
So I kissed goodbye to mama, held on tight to papas hand
I saw a tear in mamas eye but I did not understand
cause I was just a country girl being brought up on the land
Goodbye mama, let me see your smile
Wipe away that teardrop from your eye
I wont forget that Im a country girl
I got to go, but I hate to say goodbye
So long, papa, Ill be seeing you
But Ill be coming home again someday
No, I wont forget that Im a country girl
A country girl, you know Ill always stay
I was born in the country, I was raised with the sun
The flowers were my pillow when the days work was done
Down in the valley shone the bright neon signs
Yet I know where I belong, I got my peace of mind
Oh yeah, I was born a country girl and that just suits me fine
Goodbye mama, let me see your smile
Wipe away that teardrop from your eye
I wont forget that Im a country girl
I got to go, but I hate to say goodbye
So long, papa, Ill be seeing you
But Ill be coming home again someday
No, I wont forget that Im a country girl
Ill come back to you, believe me
I wont forget that Im a country girl
A country girl, you know Ill always stay
song performed by by Olivia Newton-John
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The true view of my country: Swaziland
The true colors of my country
The true Swaziland
The true view of my country
How long have you been deceived?
How long have you received
How long have you conceived
Deceived of a peaceful country
Received about a democratic country
Conceived a developing country
This then is melody of the true Swaziland
A voice of the real Swaziland
A roar of the future of Swaziland
Around the cities of Manzini
Around the mountains of Mdzimba
Around the rivers of Shiselweni
Around the deserts of Lavumisa
You shall find the poor Swazis
You shall find the poor schools
You shall find the starving Swazis
You shall find the dying Swazis
Around the cities of Africa
Around the cities of Europe
Around the hospitals of South Africa
You shall find children of the leaders of Swaziland
You shall find brothers of the leader of Swaziland
For our education is less valued
For our hospitals are critical
For our salaries are drops
For our lives are miserable
Why my country
Why Swaziland
Houses of the leaders are a paradise
Our homesteads are falling mud and sticks
Their cars are glittering engines
Our cars were God given, ever barefooted
Food beyond measure is theirs
We rely on donations; see our water sources, fields and work places
The true image of my country
They call themselves members of parliament
Warming the chairs with not effective policies
Swazis have turned to misinterpret the duties of members of parliament
They are elected to donate food for them
Why my country
Why Swaziland.
Listen as I throw a true picture of my country
Hearken to my joyful tidings
We lead the world in HIV prevalence
We lead the world in violation of human rights
We lead the world in degrading of freedom of expression
My country is not white in color
My country is painted white
Swaziland is a dark black country
But so colorful
Colored white
Our voices are not heard in Africa
Our tears are not seen across the world
Our feelings are not noted in Africa
Our funerals are not counted in Africa
Our unjust imprisonments are not considered across the world
Are we in a different plant?
Is this Pluto
To Africa I sing this song
To the world I throw these words
We need a better Swaziland
We need a better country
A free Swaziland
A living, not leaving Swaziland
A true picture of my country
My country
poem by Alex Lushaba
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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