Describing My World part. 1

every 60 seconds in Africa...

a minute passes

                                         - breaking the winter ice

you hear about the continent

but do you actually listen? 

you’ve adopted culture 

that sprung up from there

yet you know nothing about the locale

i’ve read books you say 

i follow social media,

i know my geography 

and i am savvy with world history

but little did you know

the authors you frequently laud 

share your unfamiliarity

as they go on and on 

telling stories 

they truly know nothing of

                                        - ignorance is(n’t) bliss 

my homeland is a widely misunderstood scene 

the motherland holds the roots to trees of wisdom 

trees such that if you cut them for wood, the only thing you gain is nothing 

                                        - don’t cut something that grows

history books speak of tales 

but the truth lies in the soil

which my people toil

for seasons on end

                                        - words sell short the reality of a story  

lest i forget where I'm from 

lest i forget those who raised me strong 

i'm forever thankful 

                                         - African son

if it was up to me

i'd be somewhere in beloved Zambia

sitting under a tree

writing poetry 

                                        - wild and free

race & ism 

how tragic would it be

if mortal mankind couldn't see 

beyond the colour of another beings skin 

                                       - the complexity of complexion 

pleasefindthis  

the words in my writing

are merely a way of connecting with you 

when my tongue fails to say

the things my heart would like to express 

neither do i know why i sketch 

nor do i know whom i address 

but if you are reading this 

my job is complete 

                              ⁃ iwrotethisforyou