A Cup Of Tea
That fusion of spices
Lemon grass, what I know as mchaichai
And ginger.
Makes me travel,
To a land far away
Across mountains and seas.
To a land
Where the soil is brown,
Like milk chocolate,
And the beaches white.
Where the people smile not frown.
Stretched out savannah
With animals of all colour,
And a mountain that peaks over Africa
Topped with glittering glaciers.
But as those spices
Bubble in my teacup,
I don't see tourist attractions
Instead I sit
At a crooked wooden table
With my knees to the side,
Glancing at a grassy roundabout
That you made oval,
In a kitchen
Still undone,
With eyes barely open
After being, shocked awake.
And I hear the birds
Whistling wisdom.
I hear voices,
As one looks for their schoolbag,
Another runs to brush their teeth,
Papa starts his motorcycle
A woman enters to sell bananas
Mama walks through the garden
Plating this,
Pulling that,
As I sit sipping tea
With lemongrass and ginger
Until the tea is gone.
Then it all fades.
The voices and the chaos.
The roundabout which's oval.
The kitchen undone.
I return to my longing
To be back
In a land,
That I call home.
poem by Mariam de Haan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
My Africa
Come to my land to feel her warmth.
Come to my land to hear her myriad voices.
Come to my land to see her many magical colours.
Africa the shape changer, the chameleon,
Africa, different things to different people
Never ever dull or commonplace.
Merge with her, become one with her
Feel her joys and her sorrows
Feed on her abundances and
Weep at her devastation and famine.
She is the mother of mankind
The cradle of civilisation.
A multi-layered lady, feel her deep rhythms
Her primordial throb as vital as a heart beat.
Hear her sound images vibrating.
Smell her odours, from the seashore
To the deserts, to the lush green rain forests,
To the high snow capped mountain ranges.
She is a wanton, fickle, ever changing mistress.
She will seduce you, draw you in and
Enslave you forever. The call of Africa is
A siren’s call, savannah lore lei.
She has bartered for the souls of mankind
Since the world evolved and time began.
The promise of land, the lure of precious
Metals and gems, the domination of the beasts,
The beckoning of vast uninhabited spaces.
Man has come to conquer her, make her his.
Instead she enters your blood like a fever,
A sickness that will never leave,
No matter how far you travel from her,
And no matter how you try to leave her behind,
Wherever you roam, she will forever more
Call to you to return to her embrace.
This Africa is life; she is the alpha and omega,
This is my Africa
poem by Gillian P Stokes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Spices
Of the spices of life,
Of the spices of love,
Of the spices of peace,
Of the spices of my mind,
Life in Africa maters to me lot.
Of Black Cumin,
Of Red Peppercorns,
Of Black Mustard,
Of Cayenne Pepper,
Of White Mustard,
Of Mixed Peppercorns,
Of Mahaleb Cherry,
Of Szechuan pepper,
Almost everybody is with a mobile phone in Africa!
But strong alcohol are consumed daily by the majority unemployed.
In Africa,
My mind sits and writes;
Because, life in Africa matters to me a lot.
Of Coriander, Ground Ginger, Fenugreek, Turmeric and Paprika!
Like the struggles daily in Africa for a survival;
But one day, we will get there.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Show me my Africa!
Show me my origin...
Show me my land...
Show me my Africa...
Shine and support the spirit of UBUNTU.
Take me back to where i belong,
Where birds fly well peacefully,
Where every creature is happy.
Let me hear African stories,
Let me see its natural beauty landscapes.
Show me my land...
The land of great heroes,
Where Nobel peace price winners were born.
Where fighting and murder is a sin,
Where all people wish one thing,
Where all people preach one thing,
Where all people practice one thing,
Where everyone wants PEACE.
Let me hear those voices of hope...
Land of admissible and prosperity,
Where cultural diversity means nothing, but
Brings us together as valiant regiments.
Past is the past and let us let it pass...
Show me my Africa...
Where robust and intrepid people lives,
Where the beauty of cultures reflects.
Let discrimination be the history
And believe in the beauty of Africa.
Show me my origin...
Let me venerate and cherish its traditions..
Let me be the true African.
Take me back to Africa.
Show me my origin,
Show me my land,
Show me my AFRICA..
('ubuntu' is a Zulu word meaning humanity)
poem by Siyabonga A nxumalo
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Africa. A land...
Africa.
A land full of mysteries,
A land where the Gods speaks,
A land where Nature talks in secret ancestral tongues,
A land rich in Culture and Heritage,
The soil, drenched in sweat and blood
Listens to the poundings of the African feet
As they dance to the sound of patriotism.
Africa.
The land of hope and bliss,
The land of milk and honey,
The land where freedom was fought for,
The land rich in natural beauty,
The people, blessed with strength and grace
Fights for the love of their land
As they listen to the pleas of the drenched soil.
poem by Muneerah Abdulrahman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Land, Ho!
I know ’tis but a loom of land,
Yet is it land, and so I will rejoice,
I know I cannot hear His voice
Upon the shore, nor see Him stand;
Yet is it land, ho! land.
The land! the land! the lovely land!
‘Far off,’ dost say? Far off—ah, blessèd home!
Farewell! farewell! thou salt sea-foam!
Ah, keel upon the silver sand—
Land, ho! land.
You cannot see the land, my land,
You cannot see, and yet the land is there—
My land, my land, through murky air—
I did not say ’twas close at hand—
But—land, ho! land.
Dost hear the bells of my sweet land,
Dost hear the kine, dost hear the merry birds?
No voice, ’tis true, no spoken words,
No tongue that thou may’st understand—
Yet is it land, ho! land.
It’s clad in purple mist, my land,
In regal robe it is apparellèd,
A crown is set upon its head,
And on its breast a golden band—
Land, ho! land.
Dost wonder that I long for land?
My land is not a land as others are—
Upon its crest there beams a star,
And lilies grow upon the strand—
Land, ho! land.
Give me the helm! there is the land!
Ha! lusty mariners, she takes the breeze!
And what my spirit sees it sees—
Leap, bark, as leaps the thunderbrand—
Land, ho! land.
poem by Thomas Edward Brown
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The Skeleton & The Roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
I am the fairground man at heart
I run the roundabout this part
I fill this fair but custom have I none
I turn the handle round so fast it makes my elbow ache
Nobody seems to care
No-one rides upon my roundabout no longer anymore
Oh what a horrid fair!
Climb aboard my roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
Money there is none - Im thinner than a skeleton
But wait a minute, Im so thin
That all these aches and pains could be a chance for me
I could be a horror or a ghost in a ghost train
I think Ill go and see
I meet the man who runs the ghost train
He says, youre just great!
Ill pay you top class wages
If youll just hang from this gate
A year is passing lots of food and money come my way
Oh lucky man am i
But whos this telling me, youre fired!
Youre much too fat to be a ghost, be on your way!
So here I am
Climb aboard my roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
Climb aboard my roundabout
song performed by by Electric Light Orchestra
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Africa.
Africa, my motherland.
The home of my forefathers,
Who were as ignorant as children.
But were as industrious as wild beavers.
They call themselves Africans.
Africa.
The land of assiduous beings,
Whose skin as coal.
But their masters' as snow.
How good were they at playing that game called slavery
With the then blindfold blacks.
Oh! Mama Africa.
Behold how fantastically majestic
You look on your throne.
Crowned by the sun
Some millennia back.
With your other five associates
exhibiting some kind of curtsy.,
When they see you swagger
Though they feel to stagger.
Africa.
The land of honey and milk indeed.
The land of money and silk not in need.
Civilization started in Africa.
Victimization altered in Africa.
Nought sought when it fought not.
Rather taught how it thought.
Africa!
A place of haven.
Yet not heaven.
A place of dainty nature.
Yet not in saintly feature.
There ingenious and gifted Homo Sapiens,
Emanates from nowhere.
Animals and green plants,
Emerging from somewhere.
Where was I at that time?
Where were you at that time?
Mama Africa.
God bless you.
And your people,
God bless Africans!
poem by Solomon Dankwa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I am Africa~ Mimi ni Afrika
Is not like a dream
The place of streams
I hear you scream
Ooo Yee my ancestors
Black like the soil
The soil of fertility
Can find all types of oil
Because I am Africa
Natural resources; my park attractions
Tourists fill Africa; they want citizenship
Once, called the Dark Continent, colonial era.
Now is stunning than our freedom torch.
Swahili, Wolof, Xhosan, Zulu
Yoruba, Akan, Hausa, Afrikaanas
Lingala, French, Arabic, Portuguese
And all my languages, shout in unity
Branches every where i stand
We call each other...
Baba, mama, dada, kaka
papa, ma mere, ma soeur, mon frère
My Roots run deeper
My bond is stronger
I am the continent
The Land of Africa
You can hear me sing
Playing my drum, kora, tama
Dancing Zouk, Afrobeat, Apala
Move you hip, your legs, all body
We all celebrate, cos I am Africa
To Doris
She said I come from a land flanked by the warmer seas
A flat brown land that stretch for miles with hardly any trees
In my dreams I see the big game parks and the open plains I see
'Oh' Africa my Africa I hear you calling me.
I hear the male lion cough and roar and the wild hyena scream
And the Natives dance before my eyes so real to me they seem
I hear them singing in the night and their drumming I too hear
And Africa close to my heart though miles away from here.
Doris accent is a give away as accents often are
You'd know that to get to this great Land that she's had to travel far
Her lovely South African accent one never should mistake
The migrant may live far from home but ties that bind are hard to break.
A farmer's daughter from South Africa her life story ought be told
A woman close to eighty years though she doesn't look that old
A teenager in the thirties the hard life she has been through
Her only brother a prisoner of war in Europe in world war two.
Her ill mother convinced her son had died lost the will to live on
And he returned home to the tragic news that his mum was dead and gone
There's sorrow blood and tears in war and tragedy as well
And for mums with sons on battlefields life must be living hell.
She raised five sons in South Africa and one died at twenty five
Brain damaged by measles as a child she helped him to survive
And Doris with great sadness says that her son's life was far too brief
There's ups and downs in life she says and there's happiness and grief.
With her son and daughter in law she lives east of Melbourne now by road off 'One Tree Hill'
A woman from a far Country and suppose she always will
Feel homesick for her home Country, I love Australia she say
But my homeland is South Africa the brown Land far away.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Don’t Cry For Me Africa
Don’t cry for me Africa
Because I will never let you out of my mind
I hear your voices people of Africa
I hear your cries people of Africa
I see pain in your eyes people of Africa
It is hard to describe what you people of Africa are going through
Poverty strikes you all people of Africa
Don’t cry for me Africa
Because I will keep you in my prayers people of Africa
Power to the people of Africa
People of Africa lift your spirit higher
Lord is the light and truth people of Africa
The Lord sends you a message from his heart to you people of Africa
He said because I love you
I will answer your prayers
I hear your prayers
Don’t cry for me Africa
Because you have a friend that is the Lord
People of Africa continue doing the Lords work
Make a wish people of Africa
The people of Africa are looking at the Lord face to face
Lord here is no paradise
We dream a little dream said the people of Africa to the Lord
The People of Africa Pray that the Lord will give each other strength every day
Don’t cry for me Africa
Save the people of Africa
Strengthened the people of Africa each day
Because I’ll be there in your dreams people of Africa
The people of Africa tells The Lord how much they love him
Don’t cry for me Africa
Lord comes when you are ready people of Africa
Feelings you have for your Lord People of Africa
And I know you will never let it die
Nothing but flowers the people of Africa will plant in the sea shore for the Lord
Don’t cry for me Africa
The people of Africa needs hope to heal there land
The Lord rose up on you people of Africa
Don’t cry for me Africa
My heart will go on
Once I close this door of the ship I will sail across the Atlantic Sea
poem by Aldo Kraas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Africa my land
Africa my land
Land of the condemned
Your mountains are the measures of your strife
Your rivers are the measures of your tears
Your soil is the measure of your pride
Africa my land
Land of trials and tribulations
Your wisdom has raised foreign nations and instilled hope to the desolate
Your African sun still shines jubilantly, lighting your beauty and humility
Your scars are hidden in your valleys and streams
Africa my land
Land of conquerors and warriors
With cracked feet you continue to stand
Like Sirius you shine against all odds
exonerate your fears and continue to strive
Africa my land
Land of hope and victory
Beat the drum and call your children to rejoice in your might and strength
Let your wounds mark the battles you've won
Let your beauty mark the beginning of a great journey, but not the end
poem by Thobile Masondo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Oh It Is Africa
Oh it is Africa
Oh Africa it is my mother land
land of milk and honey
land of natural beauty
Oh Africa land is where i live
Oh Africa is
A land blessed by God himself
On the day of creation
God threw diamond like stone
gold like rain
He dropped crude oil like rain
Oh Africa
land of milk and honey
Oh Africa
Guns and bombs, tears and mud
Luxury limos race through blood
But bound by debt to hopelessness
poem by Lizzie Davis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Roundabout
Roundabout
(jon anderson/steve howe)
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The muses dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Next to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Roundabout
Roundabout
(jon anderson/steve howe)
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The muses dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Next to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Spirit of Africa
To
visit Africa,
to spend time
to notice
beauty of the land.
To feel its heat,
to drink it’s waters,
to observe, to marvel,
at its creatures,
great and small.
To see the diversity
of its people, in all
their rainbow shades,
to feel their warmth,
their love, their
big-heartedness.
Means Africa,
has touched your soul,
you have breathed in
a love of Africa, a love
that never ceases,
a love that never
goes away.
you have been
delighted, charmed,
have become
enchanted by
The Spirit of Africa.
For Africa is a
land of spirits,
they occupy dirt,
soil, trees, flowers
fruit, food that feeds;
the mountains, streams,
rivers, seas, oceans,
air, the breath of life, and
all the people of its land.
Africa believes,
that before time,
before,
things began,
there was nothing,
save for a void,
a sphere of spirit
that knew no limit;
it did not have a name.
This one spirit split
broke up, spread,
to change, to
create our world,
and all that’s here.
This one spirit
known to us as love
stays the same, to
invade all it made,
all that visit, especially
those that stay.
Now if you leave,
you’ll always
yearn, you’ll hunger
you’ll always
have that longing
to return.
14-07-2009
poem by Bob Blackwell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Roundabaout
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Nex to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Roundabaout
Ill be the round about
The words will make you out n out
You change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they
Stand there
One mile over well be there and well see
You
Ten true summers well be there and
Laughing too
Twenty four before my love youll see Ill be
There with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
Even in the valley
Chorus
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching
Down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees
The rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather
Spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more
Than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers
By in our hand
Nex to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a million years
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
Chorus
Ill be the roundabout
The words will make you out n out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and
In and out the valley
Chorus
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Africa's Calling
Take me back to Africa
where Hippos and Lions roam.
Where Giraffes and Zebra live in harmony
making Africa's tundra their life, their home.
Rains come not often to drench dry thirst of land
not as often as one would like.
Locus clouds plague the land
while devouring everything in sight.
Uglyness yet beauty of this land
only the stong can and will survive.
Scavenger birds picking bones clean
all that was hunted, killed and died.
Africa calling, this land inbred in me.
Just take me home to Africa
Africa's calling again to see.
poem by Linda Winchell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Voices Cryin Out
Voices cryin out, voices cryin out
Voices cryin out in the night hear them call
Voices cryin out hear them call
Its a night
Like no other night
Its a day
Almost turning grey
Its a heart
Like a broken heart
Its a wheel
At the end of day
Its the plight
Of a boy whos scared
Of the waves rushing out
And the wind in the air
Its the sight
Of one longing to taste
Of life
Voices crying out in the night hear them call
Voices from some foreign shore
Visions that seem an incredible dream
Echoing for more
Voices crying out in the night hear them call
Voices crying out hear them call
Its a song
Of a love unsung
Its the pain
Of just being young
Its a cry
Of a voice unheard
Of a face
Speaking silent words
Its the hope
That the time goes by
Take you upon a wing
Teach your soul to fly
Its a wish
That youll live your experience life
Voices crying out in the night hear them call
Voices from some foreign shore
Vision that seem an incredible dream
Echoing for more
Voices crying out in the night hear them call
Voices crying out hear them call
Oh do you know how it feels to be free
Walking your path of life
Embracing destiny one day at a time
Voices cryin out...oh cant you hear them
Voices cryin out...listen please, listen to the future
Voices cryin out...millions and millions and millions of voices
Voices cryin out...oh oh oh oh
Voices crying out in the night hear them call
Voices from some foreign shore
Vision that seem an incredible dream
Echoing for more
Voices crying out in the night hear them call
Voices crying out hear them call
Voices crying out in the night hear them call
Voices from some foreign shore
Vision that seem an incredible dream
Echoing for more
Voices cryin out
Voices cryin out
Voices cryin out...
song performed by by Donna Summer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To The Land
To the land of bribes,
To the land of telephones,
To the land of corruptions,
To the land of trains,
To the land of shops,
To the land of thieves,
To the land of connections,
To the land of drugs,
To the land of trucks,
To the land of cats,
To the land of Banks,
To the land of dogs, To the land of footballers,
To the land of dragons,
To the land of hope,
To the land of ice-cream,
To the land of potatoes,
To the land of chocolates,
To the land of tomatoes,
To the land of apples,
To the land of coffee,
To the land of lights,
To the land of ships,
To the land of birds,
To the land of tigers,
To the land of carpets,
To the land of pillows,
To the land of lions,
TO the land of toys,
To the land of horses,
To the land of beds,
To the land of roses,
To the land of love,
To the land of passion,
To the land of romance;
I never new women do snore until i married one.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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