Bleeding Red: Cameroon in Black and White

A Place I Called Home

25 A PLACE I CALLED HOME I used to know a place called home And when summer came it was our Rome Where by the door Papa would his arms stretch And the blessings he poured had no stench But one day the phone rang Bringing news bigger than the big bang He heeded a call from far above Turning down all our hopes and love And to bit him farewell, we got home Home was not home Rome was far and gone And stolen was the Sun The Sun that our summers did brighten Echoed news of how frighten The nation once was as news came The dictacrat washed down the drain, fame. Yet, I knew home was still home For sweet, sweet mother built a honeycomb From the waves that did dry our tears ’N America the gates flooded with tears & fears Tears and fears, in arrears we had Not just in war torn Iraq and Chad; Today, go not there with this in mind Go not there hoping for a find For heart and head of home having stopped Of joys and hopes we are robbed; And beyond the still buildings some call home Nowhere near papal bliss in Rome; Life is a million light years. 26 But closer than close to fears and tears With only tyrants to set the rules Hoping to work to death the willing mules In this once upon a time place called home The boys in green the streets roam Where parents would not they’re grown And they in them keep the calm away blown Where Peace and military are antithetic For the latter birthed a bomb atomic; Yet, our soldiers here keep the Peace By hook or by crook and breaking one apiece. Away from that coxcomb Order home like hair with a comb Letting just wind touch the scalp But beating like flax the soldier’s slap. A war mongering lord his rule set And De Gaulle might have said: “Get ready for war to attain Peace.” So, the reverse of courtship for peace. And away from home, the globe, our village Has the waves set on rage Stealing the peace the kid I was knew But, won’t stop my dream of home anew! By mom and dad supported By that ring disappointed And by the dictatcrat and war mongrel robbed Anguish and despair for the idyll are bobbed! Countrymen, willing mules, those laws Into you forced like tiger claws 27 Into its prey forced, ’bide not by Contain pains with no cry! A cry, tyrants won’t even hear Or in which they’d only read fear Displayed by weak and feeble mules cowering For not the left and right knowing Then shall tyrants see need for growing To feed peace loving mules their blessing And home shall be home sweet as honeycomb Sweet honeycomb sweeter than bliss in Rome. And gone has been that ring That news of bigger big bang did bring And farewell we’ll bid tyranny To have a phoney free story. Once again, this place will be home Where children feel the smoothness of chrome And dreamers will freely dream And mornings will joy on faces beam And why won’t home be home once again When pains mules stood are now a gain? And once again the sun will for all shine Leaving none not even the blind. 05-13/07/08 Last 6 stanzas composed 19/09/08 ...