Wailing Poem by Phillip Nine Mafunga

Tear drops tumbling down the cliff
Leaving many hopes dashed and stiff
Like imaginary shreds of light dashing through a cleft
As it shines through loveless hearts
Hearts so stone cold and old

That leaves one wondering where the youths are
Young erudite people with great ideas
As we see the future in the hands of those of the past
The young are the synchronized rhythm of society
In the young is the social strength and progress

Tear drops tumbling down the cliff
Leaving many hopes dashed and stiff
Our young are dying in our streets daily
They are dying in foreign lands daily
Absentee continental leadership musing over vanities

Swells of popular anger are building under the seat of power
Like exotic music that will never be
Like galloping sounds of war steeds
Whose riders are in harmony with the sound of an African war drum
That calls for reason and order from atop the mountain

Tear drops tumbling down the cliff
Leaving many hopes dashed and stiff
I can hear the sound of a tempest
Roaring sound like that of floodwaters
Will they survive the sweeping storm this time around?
8 November 2020