Poems I wrote

Africa Beloved Africa

Africa oh beloved Africa
You are a paradox of time
Laden with riches that will
Never be mine.

For I slog all day
for a crust of bread
digging for gold
till I’m almost dead

Rubber and Diamonds
Slick oil too
Fresh fruits and vegetables
In the markets for you

But the wages I earn
They can never be
Enough to feed and clothe
My young family.

My children are hungry
My wife is depressed
But what can I do
With all this unrest?

People start fighting
For a better life
Whilst the rich get richer
We are left in strife

Yet I love my home land
Fertile and green
The most beautiful place
I have ever seen

Will the wars cease?
The fighting end
Will my sons grow up
And make amend?

Who knows the future
Of this paradox place
Only God knows
Not we the human race.

Written by Anna Malita Osayamen 19th Nov 2009


Trading in Malawi

Trading in Malawi
Or maybe Timbuktu
Culture and resources
To please both me and you

Markets full of people
Boats for fishing too
Yam and maize are cooking
Plus a catfish stew

Aromas all around me
People talking loud
Cars are moving crazily
Beneath a large black cloud

The sky sizzles with the lightning
Yet no thunder can be heard
People laugh and talk on merrily
This is quite absurd

I find a little shelter
To keep me from the rain
Oh the place is flooding
What happened to the drain?

I make it to my compound
And rush in through the door
I lay upon my mattress bed
It’s placed upon the floor

Now I lay there listening
To the sound of falling rain
Slapping at the mozzies
That causes itchy pain

I don’t need no malaria
Or a flashy car
But electric and clean water
They would go quite far

To make my life more comfortable
It’s not a lot to ask
For I sit and carve for hours
small wooden tribal masks.

Anna Malita Osayamen 19/11/09

Plight of Illegal Imagrantl

I may be black, but my blood is red
the same as yours, it must be said
I am human just like you
Yet you can’t see it, so what to do?
You force me back, to a criminal state
Where I alone must face my fate
Do I stay or do I go?
I ponder deep and do not know.
Safety in the Promised Land,
Or empty dreams blown in the sand?
My life is not my own I know
For you hold it in your hands for show.
Am I not of the human race?
This is the dilemma that I face.
My wife and my child are my sanctity
And so I stay illegally.
What kind of man would I be
to allow them to die for their love of me?
My wife and I we fell in love
Is this not sanctioned from HE above?
Yet tribal ignorance is all too rife
Causing violence, and so much strife
That caused me to run away
for my wife had a baby on the way.
One had died by their meddlesome hands
And my home had been torched upon their lands.
So forgive me I beg. I beg to stay
For our health and safety this is all I pray.

Written by Anna Osayamen 19/11/09


The Road Trip to Benin

The road trip to Benin
Was a very strange affair
Piled up with luggage
Not much room upon the chair

The bus was full of people
Like dumplings in a stew
But we sat there waiting
For a straggling few

A few hugs and kisses
Before we set of for the day
Along the long and treacherous road
on which we made our way

Just leaving Lagos
We saw a dreadful sight
Collapsed walls of Market Stalls
Demolished in the night

People saving people
From the falling walls
Whilst we sped on by regardless
of their mournful calls

Dependent on our driver
We had little say
For our bus continued onward
Without any more delay.

Village after village
We passed on our way
Swerving round deep pot holes
And just anything, come what may.

Armed police peered through our windows
Demanding money from one man
And in the heat I opened
My battery operated fan

Along the road we travelled
Over bumps and dodging logs
Until an over turned oil tanker
Emerged from clearing fog.

Our driver pulled out round it
Almost crashing to the side
I closed my eyes and held on tight
My rising fear to hide.

We moved on and on along the road
Till a detour came
That took us down a muddy road
That almost looked the same

Soon we pulled in to a stop
To take a bite to eat
I went into the toilet
Finding water at my feet.

Back on the bus again
We drove along the major road
Till a lorry in front of us
Began to shed its load.

Oh what a journey
Such a frightening day
Only one of many
So what can one say

We finally reached Benin
Oh what a relief
To stand again upon the earth
Restoring my belief

That we reached there in safety
Despite the agonising day
Our luggage set around us
Watching a small child in his play.

Welcome to Benin

By Anna Osayamen 19 Nov 2009