Before you close your eyes
And bow out in grandeur
Before you cease to know
That the sun rises to keep the day
And the stars dot the cloud at night
Listen to your voice in me
Life has everything to draw
From the prints of yours upon sand
Times will count down
And shadows will shift along
But the praise of you
Will remain on mortal tongues
Breathe from your South of Africa
To the West where I reside
Until these grains sing Africa proud
Shake this continent from her crust
Let thick dust rise
And fill every space
No, bow not yet
Until you have emptied yourself
Upon these grains you leave behind.
Let your legacy walk the streets
Let your virtue tear down the selfish
Let you voice teach in the classrooms.
Please take a stroll
Round and about my Africa
Break the wings of apartheid
Clad in different shades in our midst
For today it is black against black
While the white watch in total awe
Sure you’ll meet the prisoners
And you’ll give more concern to the one
Bound in shackles for no just cause
Tell him about the twenty seven stripes
That you bore on your back,
Tell him that The Man Died.
The man died to greed,
To everything so selfish kind
The man died to vengeful instinct
That bugs even a tiny infant
The man died to racism
And to its end you embraced white
Roar this day, O Lion of Africa
Stir up the beauty of the black race
So that when tomorrow comes
And you’ve flown with the wind
We’ll still see you all over Africa
Living selflessly for all the lessons learned
*A dedication to our Legend of Africa, Pa Nelson Mandela
Written by: Anyi Charles Egbe
Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson
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