Africa
Mias Strydom 1947 (Bloemfontein)
Dark, cruel and merciless have men called you
but that was from afar and in same fashion said
as of women that they loved but conquered not
Wise men have ventured to your deserts
striding fast and proud and laughing
thinking this was love they found
It was not love, for love asks nothing, giving all
and still their bones stare dumbly at your silence....
Oh Africa, when will men begin to see?
When will they admit:
To wed a bride of purest spirit, worthy they must be?
When will they listen with their souls
and hear your rhythmic chant:
I- AM - THAT - I - AM - I - AM - THAT - I - AM ...
spelled out by drums beating from your deepest heart?
Do they fear your call as Jonah feared his destiny?
Are you perhaps the final test?
Are you perhaps the final puzzle?
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Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXX XXXXX AXAXX X X A XX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 762 |
Words | 149 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 5, 5, 1, 1, 1, 2 |
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"Africa" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100309/africa>.
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