Once Upon A Dream

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Once Upon A Dream

Once upon a dream,
Near far distant Chirundu
(a tiny hamlet off the main stream)
Buried deep within the bundu,
At the end of a potholed dirt road,
Stood a whitewashed farm house,
In reality a very humble abode;
It was there I first heard Strauss,
And where I could watch the sunrise explode,
From an opened out house,
Built on the lip of a granite ledge,
Be moved by the emotions the visions could arouse,
Nurture them in my soul with a whispered pledge;
Yet too scared to venture there at night,
Or anywhere further than the garden hedge,
The darkness diffusing black and white.

As I watched the news today,
Stunned.. I sat and silently cried
Wishing I could find something to say
Whilst a part of me slowly died.

Is this the advent of the African ruins?
daily we find many more places,
Across our continent's face liberally strewn,
Once fertile lands becoming barren spaces;
Africa can still be the world's breadbasket.
From thirty to six percent - Uganda's success against aids,
Proof all our talent need not be buried in a casket,
Inspiration to lend our voices in strident crusades,
For the rise of Africa to the forefront,
Not for black or white, but for each of us,
And only if we are prepared to confront,
Each and every act which dispossess
The right of every African to be an African;
Do we leave our children shells of broken homes?
Lives like the floors, littered as waste belonging in a trashcan
Without power, black and white TV's in silent tombs.

No longer will I sit in silence,
As my emotions and dreams are stirred,
Whilst my continent's being raped with violence,
From now my voice will be heard.

Words 294
40 lines

Chirundu ~ A Zimbabwean border post to Zambia, situated on the Zambezi River. Popular for tiger fishing, camping and game watching.
bundu ~Southern African term for a distant or wilderness region.