Revelations: Africa in Poetry

Troubles of my heart

76 Troubles of my heart I My heart bleeds My head aches My stomach rumbles When I remember what they did to my forefathers They labeled them black when in fact they are chocolate They labeled themselves white when in fact they are pink All to associate themselves with purity They pushed them to the barren sand soils And they called this development They tipped on themselves the land full of minerals And they called this exploration They forced them to despise their own culture And they called this civilization What development? What exploration? What civilization? My heart bleeds They called them a dark continent When in fact they were the cradle of mankind They called them the silent majority When they in fact were the murmuring discontented majority They called them tea boys When in fact they were fathers to their own children 77 They called them house girls When in fact they were mothers to their own children They called them terrorists When in fact they were fighting for the will of the majority Sons and daughters of the soil Resisting oppression of the majority by the minority Fighting for everyone’s peace them included Fighting for the land of their forefathers, sons and daughters of the soil To clear away sins of the imperialists they pitted against the innocent of this land No wonder: My heart bleeds When I remember what they did to my forefathers II Now that minority rule has gone Reconciliation has been preached Democracy has replaced autocracy Peace has replaced war Unity has replaced segregation Love has been preached Let this world be one With a common goal Of promoting unity between races Of promoting lasting peace Of denouncing oppression of man by another man Of upholding unconditional love 78 It is only after this That a bleeding heart heals That a caricatured persona forgets That discontented majority are contented That those who fight for true peace down their tools Otherwise my heart will always bleed ...