Beyond boxes and cages

I wrote this poem last year and thought I’d repost it. I’d also like to dedicate it to Marie, one of my blogger friends, on her birthday which she celebrates today. Have a wonderful birthday Marie. ❤️

Little girl take care

Don’t let the world tie you down

Shove you in a box

You were born with wings

Spread them out– take to the sky

You were born to fly

Step out of the box

That will confine how you think–

Limit your worldview

Beware of the cage

That barricades your thoughts with bars

Of doubts and fears

Find the pearls within

Shake off the grey shells of doom

You were born to bloom

Hoist out of your own petard…

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It’s your time

Liberate your mind–

you are much greater

than you think you are

Define who you were–

before you became a slave

to extraction and contraction

Start to know yourself–

prescribed by your own story

in the language of your tongue

It’s time to know your worth–

the value of your golden soil

your ample rivers and sun

You lose it everyday–

just giving it all away

with handshakes of bonded strife

Remember your name–

come into your own light

be the centre of your own universe

Africa, it’s your time!

Author’s note: This poem was inspired by a public lecture delivered yesterday by Kenyan nobel prize winning writer and  Professor of English, Ngugi wa Thiongo,  entitled: “Secure the base: decolonise the mind”

The map depicted in the image above illustrates how large Africa is in terms of space in comparison to other major powers. It is also blessed with a wealth of resources yet Africa remains one of the poorest continents in the world. It is still primarily  the dark continent in terms of electrification. As a continent that was colonised by many European countries while its people became  victims of slavery and oppression, there is a school of thought towards freeing our minds from colonisation and reclaiming  our identity and place in the world.