There is a world that exists
No one knows about it
They have civilisations, structures, wars and hierarchies
Just like everywhere else
The continent is vast and newly discovered
Landscapes varied and awesome, and yet
Its beauty is recognised but by only a few of the adventurous
The richness of the soil and the treasures that lie beneath are unnoticed.
Who would dare to go inland?
It is the people who become the commodities
Try to find them now but you won’t
They are lost of that world … forever!
The Trade Winds blow
An island of great and obvious beauty has risen up
The surface of the soil is evidently good
For cash crops, sugar, spices
The people have risen up, great in number
The chains are removed.
Yet, little did they know they are no longer lost
This is now home.
The odd African arrives from somewhere far away
“Don’t associate with him, if you can help it, he’s not one of us” they say.
These people now have a land of their own
But do they really own it?
Manage it at will
A land of springs, woods and waters
Rocks of dizzying heights with a sheer drop to the ocean
Hidden waterfalls leading out to abundant seas.
The port towns bustle.
Ships come and go from far away places
Joyful sounding songs from the ships are left on the tongue:
Blow Billy Boy Blow
Yes the trade winds have blown
And look what has blown in
Tales of chains and shackles reach inland
Told with romantic nostalgia
Taught by rote.
Could this be the lost of that land far away?
That land is long forgotten.
Frequent tales of history orated through legends of how
Two brothers arrived on a ship
Made a small fortune which by now has dwindled
“That is how we got our name”
The Trade Winds are no more
The lost people make another move
En mass to a land that is green and pleasant
Filled with sights and sounds, structures
And peoples of all diversities.
This is where we are.
Here and now
In the green and pleasant land
Masters of literature
Broken from a continent of literary masters of the western hemisphere.
What is this place of so many diverse origins now called home
A city of people who have prevailed through the millennia against all odds,
A remnant.
Who of us really knows the history
Yet
It is here that we first begin to learn the truth about Africa.