Green leaves on trees
The tall carob trees that bear long oblong fruit
black as the hands of a Gambian, sweet as sight
of the snow-clad mountain reaching the blue sky
when lost for weeks in the African hinterland
flanked the asphalted lane meandering among
the trees that had massive crowns of thick leaves
cooling in the summer heat.
Sitting at the root of a tree seeing the lush grass
that still has pearls of morning tears on venation
a mild zephyr softly moved the tree leaves and
shadows and sunlight synced in perfect harmony
until soldier ants emerged, biting the intruder.
The girl with long black hair
She ties it in tail-pair
Which flies in air
As she jumps from chair to chair
The black girl that grows
Those
Beautiful rose
Oh! those
Beautiful rose
Where the water flows
Near the lake
Every morning as she wake
And swim in the lake
She water those
Beautiful red rose
Dance like a snake
On the rock near the lake
Black is what she take
Her identity she never fake
My Black girl
My Gambian girl
My West African girl
My African girl
She give me a grain of love
We share like dove
In her heart I live
My heart I give
My yesterday
My today
My tomorrow
She wipe my sorrow
My Black girl
My Gambian girl
My West African girl
My African girl
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.