Salute To the Tortoise

Citadel of wits and tricks Who appears wimpish; But your back is stronger And harder than Olumo rock, And the great walls of China; Citadel of wits and tricks Who staggers like a Kampf panzer, Through thick and thin, Rough and tough terrains unscathed You who have no foundation, But, your house is sturdier Than Buckingham palace, I salute you You, Whose legs are short But covers miles without refueling... You, who stump, trump, trample, Hustle and bustle Where the high and mighty Fear to thread I salute you The day a swart of hungry crocodiles Stumble on you, Their knife-like fangs become obsolete When a swarm of starving lions encounter you, They go home angry and hungry A black, insidious mamba Retreats and recoil When it confronts you The day a stray elephant Steps on you, It looses balance The panzer who cannot fire a cannon But repels a thousand loose cannons With it's impregnable back, I salute you Citadel of wisdom, wits and tricks Whom our sacred African oracles rely on, I salute you!