Under the sun that burns so bright,
Africa struggles in its eternal plight,
"Developing," they say, a softer phrase,
But the truth speaks louder through a hazy gaze.
We crawl through fields meant for harvest and gain,
Where seeds fall on soil, yet yield nothing but pain,
Dependence on others; the nations that lead,
While we kneel and pray, they sow and they feed.
Religion, a comfort, a spiritual balm,
Yet the church holds too tightly to its holy psalm,
Praying for riches without sowing the land,
Forgetting God gave the seed, but we must till with our hand.
Can maize grow on mountains where our tears fall like rain?
Can wealth bloom in hearts without sweat or strain?
The principles are simple, like seasons we reap,
Yet we beg the divine, while our fields fall asleep.
Our dreams lie not here, but beyond distant stars,
Eternal life promised, as we ignore earthly scars,
Joy, joy, joy, in heaven we'll find,
As the world that we walk on is left far behind.
Children are taught in classrooms to sing,
That joy’s up above, and here it’s a fleeting thing,
And so the spirit soars, yet the body is bound,
To earth left untended, with no progress found.
Where is our creativity? Our spark in the dark?
Where is the fire that the world should mark?
We teach to conform, to wear flattened shoes,
To wait for a desk, not paths we should choose.
For in many a home, a father will say,
"Work for the state, let that be your way,"
While in other lands, children are told,
"Forge your own path, let your vision unfold."
The minds that once built, with hands rough and worn,
Now sit and await what will never be born,
While those across seas dream bigger than land,
We grow content, a future unplanned.
Yet hope glimmers bright, as horizons draw near,
Awakening spirits from their sleep of fear,
For I believe, perhaps we all may see,
That Africa’s fate lies in our hands, bold and free.
The prayers we sing, let them be for rain,
And the work of our hands shall lessen the pain,
From soil to sky, our roots will reclaim,
And a continent rises, unbound from its shame.
