You are your heart whose courage and faith beat down mountains
and built a straight narrow glorious road of stone;
You are the voice of calm amidst windy storms and the bitter cold-
of the otherness that comes with being different.
You are the taming of trying times in your resilience.
You are …
You are the new Africa, the new dawn
pressing encouragement onto the pursuers of restraint
to pre-empt the pitfalls of youthful haste.
You are haters of hate.
You are the black Knights and black Queens; lovers of all mankind.
You are your revolutionary receptiveness to change;
singing that ONLY truth makes us all human.
You are stars and constellations that glisten Nile’s night into wonder.
You are creation;
You are peace once in the making now come to completion.
You are hope for the economic emancipation
You are Africa; nappy hair, oil wells, diamonds and gold
You are the opulent land of old;
The sea deep crimson sacrifices before the victory,
A victory not to be tamed, never to be maimed.
You are the surrender unto the Light that
defeats the darkness that lurks in the hearts of man;
You are the voice of Africa’s founding fathers;
You are your eyes open wide,
The incorruptible dream,
A destiny almost at reach.
You are God’s son; God’s daughter
You are your best thing;
Your identity written and wrought by your Maker’s very Hand.
Atang Mantutle is a Mosotho man who appreciates poetry.