Sorrow Of Africa

Omar Talib

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I will see the children cry
I will see their Papa starve and die
I will see their Mama trying to try
I will see all this and sigh.

I will drive by this everyday
I will think to myself, there is a way
I will go to my home, a world away
Sit by my fire with Mozart to play

I will see the children toil
I will see mama dig the soil
I will see Papa ‘neath his cross
His legacy and life, a loss

I will leave at dusk to fly away
Looking forward to another day
I will meet my friends and have a drink
Pink Champagne, who has to blink?

I will see mama under the sun
Her bleeding fingers hope the day is done
I will see mama under the moon
Tears of resolve forestall their doom

I will see my glass, bubbling pink
I scold myself for how much I think
“Relax” I say, “It’s not your fault”
Sip away and worry naught.

I will leave at dawn to fly back home
I will see the children all alone
I will see mama ‘neath her cross
Her Legacy and life, a loss

I see my face in a mirror
What stares me back is a horror
My life, my wealth, my sheer pleasure
Africa, her children waste in squalor.