I have never been to Africa
But my soul has touched her shores
I have smelled the waters of her white beaches
And lost innocence in the shadow of her horizons
I have knelt before a tribal king
And dutifully danced for his guests
I have washed clothes in a river with chanting children
And listened to their wide-eyed stories
I have dug a mother’s grave
And nursed her orphaned baby
I have hid in the bush from a soldier’s rage
And ambushed his companion with my peers
I have watched a burning field
And kept secrets in my heart
Africa is truly my homeland
Yet their gods could never be mine
But my God they revere
