My Africa

MY AFRICA A dusty street, commuters meet A taxi crowded, a route decided Street vendors sell, plastic from China Fresh fruit, dead meat, flies from hell A cellphone rings, a message pings Africa, my Africa, I know so well Populations swell, polluted wells Children dying, old man crying Nobody cares, everyone stares Gold, coal, a bloody diamond Everything's traded, lives degraded Africa, my Africa, I know so well Guns blazing, wars a raging No rain, no grain, population with hunger pain Wilderness retreats where humans meet Malaria, mosquito born hysteria Hyena calls, a lion roars Africa, my Africa, I know so well Witchdoctor belief, the mans a thief Muti making, money taken, knuckle bones shaken, Throw the bones, skinny man quaking Superstitious dread, powdered vultures head Goats throat cut, ancestor pleasing Africa, my Africa, I know so well Habitats shrinking, a duiker drinking Rhino horn, elephants tusk, money lust Charcoal making, our forests forsaken Aids, ebola, a broken molar Africa dying, nobody crying Africa, my Africa, I know so well Dictator for life, a stupid wife Life is cheap, broken bodies in a heap A leopard coughs, a baboon bark Gangsters fighting, drug addicts scoring Corruption, consumption, businessmen laughing Africa, my Africa, I know so well The rains have come, a cowhide drum Wildebeest mating, zebra migrating The grass is green, landscape clean Thunder clap, lighting strike, a stole bike People sowing, maize a growing Africa, my Africa, I know so well Choking dust, untamed lust Political lies, rugby tries, meaty pies Little round huts, kids in the dust Fat cows, little black pigs, a cockerel crowing Turtle dove calling, a blood red morning Africa, my Africa, I know so well