The veins of Africa …





interwoven veins, crisscross this land,

this continent, connecting the north to the south,

the east to the west, veins infusing life, binding peoples, wrapped in the canopies of the forest, buzzing in the cacophony of the cities, silent in the arid deserts,

meandering between the mangroves, flowing gracefully into the oceans, knitting us together,


despite the slashing of these veins,

the plunder of these lands,

the desecration of the peace of the ancestors,

tearing these veins open,

pilfering the continent’s innards,

gold and silver and copper and platinum and diamonds and so much more,

so much more painful in the millions of souls herded as cattle,

packed onto the slave ships, doomed to live and die in shackled misery,


oh yes, these veins have felt it all,


these veins that continually, silently, peacefully, benevolently,


spread the precious gift of life across these lands, this continent – Africa …