Homecall

HOMECALL Echezona, she calls me home Remember the grounds upon which you suckled Remember the voice that weaved your dreams Remember the warmth that spun your wake I am the mirror of your future And I am the shadow of your past Echezona, she calls me home I know that back upon which I bestrode I revere the arms that shook with the melancholy of the uncertain And yes! I know the voice that hummed the melody of my dreams I sniff the fragrance of your smell It is smoke and camwood and ash It is also the sweat of decades of tilling Echezona, she calls me home She calls me to the root where my cord is buried See I set out on a homeward bound journey I carry my vagrant feet, weary with years of turbulence I drag myself to that place Where the flames of my fathers lie smouldering I return; I walk the paths I learnt to live Echezona, she calls me home See, the rain of fortune falls right here Upon that roof your searching eyes failed to meet Your strength lies beneath those skies Upon that soil you fought your first fight The laughter of the sun is generous It brightens the threshold that housed your naked years Echezona, she calls me home Forget not the songs of your warrior ancestors Forget not the dance of victory that thumped the soil you thread I am drawn to this homestead; this land of many tears and laughter I return to dance the dance of the great I return, a sojourner bearing songs that sprout upon my soil