Songs of Anisha
“Ebony Speech,”
by Princely Hope Glorious
Moons and moons ago
we would go to the mountains at night
and dance softly in the moonlight,
like the flames beneath a brewing pot
we would speak in song
with whistling willows in the glorious
tongue of my forefathers,
which kissed the heart
like whispers floating in the wind
but that was moons and moons ago
Tonight, my pen croons in alien speech;
and though I wear the same ugly scars
that were on my late brother,
I have no speech of ebony with which
to pull down the walls in my mind:
I am no reincarnation –
all that was moons and moons ago
now all I can do is sit by my window
on a four-legged bed, with pen in hand
and in the morning, hope to catch a cup of dew
and at noon watch the rain wash
my distorted world back to me again
but in my prayers and in my dreams
of moons and moons to come,
we shall go back deep into the forests
chattering with the birds in ebony speech,
our hearts crowned with their plumes,
and adorned in lion’s manes—
proving our manhood
(Ebony Speech is a nostalgic poem, glorifying the Chagga’s (a Tanzanian tribe) and Africa’s rich
cultural and – particularly – linguistic history while comparing it to a dull and lifeless present
where Africa’s glory is being replaced with some sparkling global nothingness. It is a call to Africa
to arise, look at its past and with one hand emulate it, while keeping the other hand busy carving
a road to a brighter, truly African future.)
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