Mother Africa - Ribka Sibhatu

Cradle of mankind
baobab of the soul,
in your savannahs
and sacred forests
death dances.

You hear the echo, the scream
of the mother
who delivers diamonds
and receives armoured tanks.

O dying land,
that for decades
has met the elders,
the elders who keep
the ancestral treasures.

When will dawn break
for generous
Mother Africa?

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Ribka Sibhatu (born 1962) Eritrea
Translated by Andre Naffis-Sahely and The Poetry Translation Workshop
Source: The Poetry Translation Centre