TRIBUTE TO NELSON MANDELA
For a man who gave away 27 years of his life
So that his people could be free
For the man who gave away 27 years of his life
So that his nation could be free
For the man who could have been a king
Ruling over an adoring and submissive subjects
For the man who could have been
Another brutal African dictator killing his people
For any or all reasons imaginable.
For the man who voluntarily gave up power
To become an elder statesman In the continent ruled by ruthless big men
Who rather stay and die in power
Such a man is a rare breed of leaders
On the continent that has seen the worst leaders.
As he came to the end of earthly journey,
There’s question in the air everywhere
Who to step in his big shoes
Who to become the next moral leader
Since the grand old man is no longer around?
They killed Patrice Lumumba
They killed the dream of Kwame Nkrumah
They killed Thomas Sankara and Steve Biko
They killed Modibo Keita, Ken Saro Wiwa
They killed Malcolm X, Martin Luther King
But they could not kill the people’s president
27 years of apartheid’s ruthlessness could not kill his spirit.
His spirit was too black, too strong and indomitable.
The apartheid regime could not withstand the pressure
It had to crumble just like the Berlin wall
The spirits and legends of Africa stood by
This great African warrior leader called Madiba
Who maintained great strength and courage to the very end.
For too long Africa has suffered defeat and humiliation
For too long Africa has known hunger and starvation
For far too long Africa wants to be free
Our desire to be free lives in our memory
Of the great Madiba, Nelson Mandela.
For too long they killed all our heroes
But they could not kill this one, this warrior son of Africa.
East Lansdowne, 12/11
