A TRIBUTE TO MY HERITAGE
If you want to know who I am
look with me
at the bubbling waters of the Limpopo
you will see my image
blacker than the night
darker than my shadow
for I was drawn in Africa/eden
coloured by the sun black
I dyed my hair in the Black Umfolozi River
it was combed by the Mozambique current
I circumcised in the Kilimanjaro
I emerged reborn
I climbed to the top of the Egyptian pyramids
to be transfigured by the stars
I solved the riddle of the Great Sphinx
by speaking in an ancient language
I have known the man in the moon
since time immemorial
he illuminated my path
as I wandered in the Namib desert
on the banks of Uthukela
I danced ubungoma
with the ancestors
I was humbled
by the beauty of the Zulu maidens
in the Umhlanga Reed Ceremony
in the mystic Lake Funduzi
I was initiated in the ways of prophets
I passed with distinction
I am the slave that survived the Middle Passage
to become master of my soul
and inscribe my legacy
on the Senegalese sands
on the back of Sarah Baartman
I carried the cross of her descendants
who lived
to tell the story of crucifixion
I lead the way with the stuff of Zulu kings
in the Holy Mountain of Nhlangakazi
I inherited
the Kingdom of Ezulwini
on the chest of Ukhahlamba
I played umlabalaba
with the stones that rained
from the prayers of Queen Modjadji
in the royal court of Moshoeshoe
I freely dispensed justice
with the wisdom of Solomon
in the winter of the Zimbabwe Ruins
I basked in the summer
of the colourful Ashante cloth
from the clear sky blue heavens
I drained the rain
to water the eden vineyards
the tales I told in the fireplace
are longer than the Nile
they remain tattoed in blood
in the caves of the Khoisan
I am the regeneration of the spirit of Hintsa
in my veins flows the blood of the Massai warriors
I am the warrior spirit
that guided the Cetshwayo regiments
in the War of Isandlwana
before the snake ascended the altar
the lion and the lamb
grazed on corn and seeds
on the palm of my hand
I caught the mopani worms
before the earliest birds
and composed with them the first melody
before dawn
together we sang Imbube
choreographed the wind and the trees
and navigated the distant horizons
I planted the seeds of the Morula tree
and showered under waterfalls of milk
from Cape to Cairo
I carved the path for future generations
and spiced the Indian Ocean
with the salt of my sweat
I sprayed Bhambata with war intelezi
and shielded him in the forests of Nkandla
I am the Father
the San and the Khoi spirit
I came before sound and light
when God discovered Eden
I discovered God
September 4th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
powerful umbongo!
September 4th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
What a powerful poem,full of wisdom and history. I’m humbled.