Tag: poems

Out of the void of anticipation
Out of the time before time began
Out of the fire that sparked creation
Out of the earth that rooted a clan

Africa swirled
Africa spun
Africa world
Africa one

Out of the lava of molten streams
Out of the swamps of fetid earth
Out of the semiotic dreams
Out of the soils of fecund birth

Africa rose
Africa spread
Africa chose
Africa bled

From frothing seas and putrid ponds
With plankton tide and Pisces spawn
Life bloomed and bred and burst with fronds
And oceans glowed with Darwin’s dawn

Africa yawned
Africa breathed
Africa formed
Africa seethed

From fertile plains and sandy shores
Some creatures crept and leapt to flight
With fleeting flanks and razor claws
While others learned to walk upright

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

A Tribute to Morocco

I leave behind the dusty brown
Of narrow streets and sun-fired clay
Back home to England’s verdant town
Of scholars’ spires and skies of grey

I leave behind the market maze
Where every hue is stacked and strung
And count the march of Christmas days
In gleaming malls with carols sung

I leave behind the emerald bliss
Of gardens in the golden sand
And smile to see the blooms I miss
Still traced upon my lover’s hand

I leave behind the hooded eyes
Of faces drawn like timeless maps
And brush the mask of my disguise
With bright new paint across the cracks

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

Africa wakes –
It boils and bubbles
It stews and steams
Swathed and swaddled
In wisps of melting mists
And the feathered blue skies
Of my inner eyes

This Africa –
Drenched in sun and sorrow
Stretched in time and place
Bridging north and south
Cleaving tribe from tribe
Birthing a prodigal progeny –
Alive in my mind

Africa moves –
It spawns and spews
It morphs and multiplies
Enhanced and entangled
In human chains of need greed
And white lightning webs
Of synapses firing

This Africa –
Shadowed in war and want
Bursting with light and longing
Dancing dust clouds around fires
Beating drum songs of desires
Endlessly en-route –
On my famished road

Africa sleeps –
It drifts and disperses
It seeds and suckles
Soothed and silent
In fields of ripening toil
And the wandering blotch-herds
Of scattered thoughts

This Africa –
Whispered in myths and mysteries
Cradling its loves and losses
Chanting with hope and defiance
Hawking praise and prophecy
Woven in patchwork tales –
Echoed in my prose

But is Africa real?
This Africa of mind and magic
This Africa of dreams and dust
This luminous continent
Glowing in the dark interior
Of my gold-threaded caves –
This Africa of my psyche

Is Africa fact?
This Africa of books and bards
This Africa of fables and fiction
This luscious land mass
Teeming with the wild life
Of my untamed frontiers –
This Africa of my stories

Is Africa true?
This Africa of tongue and touch
This Africa of nose and noise
This muddled melting pot
Spicing the pallid palette
Of my doldrum days –
This Africa of my senses

Yes! Africa lives –
Africa breathes and beats and blooms
Africa strives and thrives and jives
Africa shakes and aches and breaks
Africa weeps and rises and leaps
Africa sings and soars on the wings
Of my imagination

This is Africa
This is my Africa
This is my Africa imagined
This is my imaginary Africa
This is my image of Africa
This is my idea of Africa
This is my African idea

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

God bless Africa
For she is the seed of humanity
And I am the future through her
When her roots sprout, I am born
And as her leaves unfurl, I grow
When her branches spread, I learn
And as her flowers bud, I bloom

God bless Africa
For she is the fire of creation
And I am transformed through her
When problems loom, I am challenged
And when solutions hide, I search
When suffering strikes, I ache
And when relief calls, I answer

God bless Africa
For she is the tree of life
And I am alive through her
When her roots are dry, I thirst
And when her trunk is cut, I bleed
As the seasons turn, I change
And as her fruits ripen, I flourish

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

A Tribute to Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk

Divergent paths by twists of fate
Ordained to meet, then separate
High branches grown from different stems
That intertwined to make amends

Who are these sons of destiny
That changed the course of history?
Who are these dons of liberty
That led their people to be free?

Mandela – from the Themba clan
Among the hills of Transkei land –
Was schooled to be a royal chief
But chose instead the golden Reef

De Klerk – of Afrikaaner stock
Who staked their claim to Transvaal’s rock –
Was steeped in National Party depths
And followed in his father’s steps

Both knocked upon unopened doors
Both tipped the scales of unjust laws
And each was raised to lofty heights
By willing hands and vexing plights

Mandela – asked to fight the ground
Where dignity was beaten down
De Klerk – compelled to guard the fort
Of privilege the past had bought

The stage was set for black and white
To go to war or lose the fight
There was no neutral ground to stand
Each corner backed their leading man

Mandela raised the nation’s spear
The State replied midst rising fear
The ‘Pimpernel’ was put on trial
And banished to the Cape’s bleak isle

For twenty seven years and more
The battle raged upon the shore
Until De Klerk set Nelson free
To take their place in history

Negotiations followed swift
To heal the wounds and mend the rift
And even while blood soaked the ground
A partnership was sought and found

Until the day – that happy dawn –
A rainbow nation’s dream was born
We owe a debt of thanks and praise
To those who led us through the maze

Mandela brought great unity
And showed that truth can set us free
His lack of spite inspires us still
To strive to serve a higher will

De Klerk’s great gift was letting go
And having faith that trust can grow
He showed that change is like a seed
That knows no bounds of race or creed

And so we raise our voice and say:
We celebrate upon this day
Two heroes of democracy
Who rescued our humanity.

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

The roots of Africa are deep
Her branches spread wide and low
Her fruits are bitter-sweet
She is the vine on which we grow

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

Music is the heartbeat of Africa
And as we drum
So we are drummed
By the pulse of Africa

We celebrate
As we stamp our feet
We celebrate
As we join the beat
The beat for Africa

Music is the harmony of Africa
And as we sing
So we are sung
By the melody of Africa

We celebrate
As we sing our song
We celebrate
As we hum along
We hum for Africa

Music is the glue of Africa
And as we bind
So we are bound
By the unity of Africa

We celebrate
As we join our hands
We celebrate
As we link our lands
We link for Africa

Music is the movement of Africa
And as we move
So we are moved
By the life of Africa

We celebrate
As we band for Africa
We celebrate
As we stand for Africa
We stand for Africa

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

A Tribute to Tanzania

Jambo!
Greetings from Dar Es Salaam:
Eternal harbour of peace.

Dusty roads and diesel fumes
Pungent fish and fragrant blooms

Cauldron markets, bubbling trade
Vibrant fabrics, crafts handmade

Karibu!
Welcome in Zanzibar:
Exotic island of spice.

Azure skies and brooding clouds
Baking sun and thunder shrouds

Coastal mangroves, palm-lined shores
Exotic spices, wood-carved doors

Rafiki!
Friend of Africa:
Continent of passion.

Shaking tops and swaying hips
Clapping hands and whistling lips

Frothing rhythms, stamping feet
Pulsing music, living beat

Kwaheri!
Farewell to Bagamoyo:
Place of crushed hearts.

Ancient merchants, trading routes
Bartered treasures, plundered loots

Faded portraits, shadowed past
Rusted shackles, free at last

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

A Tribute to the Fish River Canyon, Namibia

I. Stop the Clocks

We descend through aeons
Layer by layer
Swallowed by the ancient snake
Wandering along the arteries of our thirsty Mother

Stop the impatient clocks!
Enter into geological time
Strip off the manic masks of civilization
Step into soul land

Invisible life weaves the fabric of our path
Footprints upon dusty spoor
Clawed and cloven

Scorching sun
Refreshing river
Rest brings relief to muscles strained
Untrained

A symphony of silence settles
A veil of red rays ushers in the bride of darkness
Her black dress laced with sequin stars
Her shadowed neck hung with lunar pendant

We dance into our dreams …
And awake to a new world

II. We Are Alive

We winch ourselves out of cosy cocoons
Creaking with rusted joints and aching limbs
Until motion oils and massages us forward
On our wilful march

Slipping and sliding
Splashing and crashing
Stumbling and tumbling …

We bruise
We bleed
And know we are alive

‘Cross shimmering stone and shifting sand
‘Neath searing sun and crumbling cliff;
Through the barren bad-lands
The sombre sad-lands
The curséd mad-lands!

Every drop of energy sucked and sapped
‘Til at last we call a halt

The swallows dip and dive
The fish eagle cries
We have survived!

The fire licks our wounds

III. That Sinking Feeling

The scenery blurs beneath the unforgiving blaze

Quicksand tugs at our ankles
Rock shards stab at our feet
The elusive horizon taunts us
The eternal “why” haunts us

A regal heron and nervous hare take flight
Bright, cheerful flowers bloom
Where there seems no right to life

Then the desert erupts into a gushing waterfall
Flowing down to majestic pools and through intricate channels
With the fluid hand of a master sculptor

Inviting respite from pain and progress
The icy river injects life back into our numb senses

The sun bows out to thunderous riverine applause

IV. A Promise of Out

Over the hump and into the canyon funnel
As sentry baboons bark: “Intruder alert!”
And klipspringers glide across the ragged stage like graceful ballerinas –
The wasteland blues are behind

Our ephemeral thoughts and mood are lighter
But our feet must still plod painfully onward
Through unforgiving terrain
Every step a burden of weight and pressure

Spiral etchings on the glossy plastic jet-black rockscape
Hint at travellers gone before
Perhaps ancient

A pair of fish eagles ride the thermals
With mocking grace and ease
At peace with land, water, sky

The watchful crags let slip their eroded disguise …
Sphinx, tusker, leopard, ape …
Then shimmy back to inanimate rock once more

At last, the distant peninsular summit
Explodes into expectant view:
Home on the rise
A promise of out

V. The Final Ascent

We rise early
Teetering on the fragile cusp between night and day
With finishing fever pulsing in our veins

The towering landscape flows beneath our eager tread
As we succumb to the magnetic pull of civilisation
Amidst vivid visions of all that is familiar and comfortable
Human prints and scattered litter show the way

The gift of orange seems heaven sent
Our turbo fuel for the final ascent

Step by step, we drum
The slow, steady rhythm of the climb
Driven by an unquenchable inner fount
Of strength and hope

Peering faces over the ledge
Are all the reassurance we need
To soar on chill-wind and chain
And clasp our holy grail

We are done
We have endured
Our old life back
Is our reward

Yet after the canyon of mirrors
We see through new eyes

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

Far from the cities
And far from the streets
Far from the people
Is where my heart beats
It beats in slow time
In the vast open space
It beats out the rhyme
Of an African pace

With the sun baking down
And the buzz of blue flies
With chirping cicadas
And gentle breeze sighs
There’s no need to rush
No deadlines to chase
Just the slow steady pulse
Of an African pace

The cool of the morning
The heat of high noon
The balm of the sunset
The silk of the moon
The stars’ steady march
The rivers’ etched face
The life loving rhythm
Of an African pace

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems

This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.