The underdog...

If the underdog was ordered

By the Powers That Be
To indelibly subsist
He would have no inclination
For the good things in life
The underdog would perpetually lack
The gene of ambition
Succumbing to daily recital:
I am to you like a slave is to his master
Like a court jester to a hangman
A murderer to a judge
An épée to a rapier
An off tune to Mozart
Like the third world citizen
To a first world countryman
Danger to God.
Whatever is admirable,
Delightful, praiseworthy
Would be deemed
Foreign to the pauper
Euphony would make sense
Only to the monarchs
Laughter would never show itself
In the 24-hours of the destitute
Bread would be famous
Only in the fine parts of town
And crumbs
All the rage in the squatter camps.
But are we not all susceptible to love?
We all dance at the sound of music
We all enjoy the fellowship of a friend
We are all visited by chance
At least once in a lifetime
There is an average heart rate
And an optimal blood pressure
A masterful joke coaxes a smile on any pair of lips
A well-wound story kindles hope in any heart
Pleasure is pleasure
Verity is verity
Where is the underdog in God’s plan?
Perhaps there is none.

By; Tebogo G.H Ndlovu (Zimbabwe)

First published 20th Feb: http://theamateursquill.wordpress.com/

picture credits  www,facebook.com/jadiliafrica

Gone are those days.....

Gone are the days of black and white television
Then we gave an undiluted attention
For colour television was never an aspiration
Neither was it an option
But with advanced technology
That had become an apology

Gone are the days of analogue telephony
Then mobile communication was not a honey
But with advanced technology
That had become an apology



Gone are the days when everyone was proud of this nationality
Then all gave a complete loyalty
To the upliftment of this ground
And the development of this land
But with advanced technology
That had become an apology

Gadget created for the good of humanity
Had become an entity
For amassing personal fame and glory
Without care for the well-being of the country

They had become instruments for projecting people's name
Leaving behind shame
Their contribution
To the development of the nation

Gone are those days
When being a true citizen pays

OKU-OLA PAUL ABIOLA (NIGERIA)

Picture credits: www.google.com

Tale of Africa

I wear my scars like tattoos

With no shame or regret for my story

 Will be told through tales and taboos

I was born from the strongest of bones

I will not break

Were Africa herself has kissed my skin

 And marked me as her own

 So even if I spread my wings and fly

My roots will keep me grounded

And like an eagle I will always return back to my nest

Where I learn the soft caress of the sun against skin so dark it glows

A place where the moon shines passionately against clear blue skies

And children run around wearing their nudity without a care

This is the home that I long for,

The place I belong to

 Africa, where my roots run deep

 Boineelo J. Legotlwane  (Botswana)

photo credits: www.facebook.com/jadiliafrika

RAINDROP..

Cascading tears of heaven
Unto earth is given
Breaking her clogs
Pleasing the gods
With more edibles
Upon their tables...
This same blessing
Of late turned to mourning
When an army, hungry,
From these tiny tears, many,
Ate up the whole land
Leaving us with wet sand...
So today again
As the sky begins to bray
And clouds gather to break
Heaven’s shutters
For another downpour
The gods dither...
We mouth much prayer
To the maker

By Adedayo Adeyemi Agarau ( Nigeria)

picture source www.facebook.com/jadiliafrica

Thinking Aloud...

lonely nights
nowhere to rest thoughts
starless skies

tears come to sleep
a moment's step;
an evening's heap

dreams hang on a pole
like memories can make it whole 
it then crushes in to a hole

there,across the road 
silent faces roar
giving up on tomorrow 
in this quietness,
I even hear God think 

Kwabena Agyare. ( Ghana )

Picture source. www.facebook.com/afrofuture

First published ;www.facesnfootprint.blogspot.com

"I Will Sing You A Song"

I see the look in your face
I sense over flow 
Of emotions in your heart 
You mumble as I feel your lips
Endless tap of your feet n
Shake of your hands
Tell a story of restlessness
You don't have to say a word
Your being projects confusion
And hope that is misplaced
I hold you close
But from the looks of it
Human touch is not enough
Only Jah knows the heart
And I don't have powers
To see through human flesh
Or analyse the different
Processes of your mind
A tone can say so much
Better than words I can match
I will sing you a song
Not to make you forget
But to help you overcome
The thoughts holding you back
I will sing you a song
Specially for you
I will sing you a song
To remind you
I'm always here for you

By Zalisile Terrence ( South Africa )

of song, and my love

I want to speak to you through this song, my love
so listen and hear it well
for in its lyrics lie the exact words
that my heart wants to pronounce to you

feel the rythm of my heartbeat
as it jigs along the melody
as it sings along these words
hear me now
as my voice becomes the song
as what i want to say
is what i say
when i sing along to this song

i want to speak to you through this song, my love
to tell you of this burning passion in me
so listen close, and hear it well
for these words i might never express
in the absentia of this our song

let the lyrics quench your heart
the singer is a greater poet than i
he speaks of how i feel for you
in a manner that i was never able to say
but now that i have this song
i have found a voice to say
what my lovestruck heart feels all the way

i want to speak to you through this song, my love
so listen to it and hear it well
as it lets me spread my wings and fly
far acrosss into the worlds
where love knows no boundaries
where you, and only you
are the axis of my happiness
and love consumating this all

so when i play this song
listen to it well
because it is my voice to you, my love

Pardon Gwara ( Zimbabwe)

photo source: www.facebook.com/jadiliafrica

Bonds of brotherhood....

The strongest link in the world,
Is that of brotherhood,
An oath so powerful,
Nothing can break,
The sacred oath,
Link by blood is not enough,
Love, honesty and trust is what it entails.

It's like most phenominas,
Of our time,
Comes with its ups and downs,
Its twist and turns,
Those trivial moments,
Are what makes the oath stronger,

A brother is not just your friend,
He is the one you share your,
Deepest secrets with,
The one who can read you,
In and out,
The one who you,
Can never lie to.

The one who stands by you,
Through thick and thin,
A friend not only in need,
But a friend indeed,
No one's else comes close,
Than your brother,
He loves you as you love him,
So says the law,
That binds you to him,
As him to you,
The law of brotherhood. 

By Segun Kanyinsola Oluwa  ( Nigeria )

Picture sources :   howiviewafrica.tumblr.com

Tomorrow died yesterday......

Tomorrow died yesterday
His corpse rots at the city gate
We mourn for our dead sons
But our histories shed blood

The marauders pillaged our libraries
Books and texts taken captive
No one is paying attention
Everyone is fighting for resource

The great Alexandria fell
Now Timbukutu burns
While the media shows a proxy war
Intellectual pirates rob treasure hub

Tomorrow died yesterday
Our children have no roots
No history, no anchor
How would they oppose the locusts?

Tongues float in jars of silence
Brains stored in alcohol
Fingers are black with berry
Yet we dance in ignorant merry

Tomorrow stands naked in the sun
His story would be told by the slave master
Fragments of our identity scattered
Drifting in imperial waves

On history's mountaintop
Lies the view of the future
Sons of Nubia claim your limbs!
And put breath to your dead future

Tomorrow died yesterday
No petals for his grave
His remains laid to waste
We betrayed him for little grains

By  Nwakanma Chika ( Nigeria )
picture source; theaccidentalfreelancer.wordpress.com