Black Smile

16th February, 2018.

Pain of you fly away,
fly away and cast your glory
upon the faces of numbed souls
Beaming with dreams and love
souls wear strides of integrity and passion
blanketed by compliance and frailty

Shackled through borders and the oceans
of the planet
Lands of creation wail
as empathy is defiled
truth stripped upon humanity's existence
The sun laments woes of man's ache,
her blinding beam reflects upon the sea
ripples of oppression and racism

The breeze sends her waft of hope
to soothe the wounds of time
as she glides through summers watch,
with her wishes dancing
to tomorrow's emancipation
From the breathe of their core
they gasp at the promises of the hummingbirds serenade
when lashes form maps of home
Days gone by
lashes create bruises of perseverance

Noons hour arrives with showers of
golden confetti to nudge my ancestors
not to relent for the pangs they live
would crown tomorrow's history
Trancing them into a culture of nothingness,
bereft of life's energy
they inhale faith to renew their allegiance
for the love of nature's embrace

Smile
Smile they say
to the tears that paint victory
Creases of toil form beautiful
expression of a black tradition
Eons ago, dearth of hope
they tread through uncharted lines
creating a path of love
Years of screams, placards, protests and movements
conceive soulful memories,
yet match they did to freedom

Smile they say
to the laughter that seared
dreams to create a mosaic of history
Pain of you fly away
for today you amplify the power endowed
in them to express a voice of truth
Smile they say
Smiled I did
I smile to love
I smile to the black voice of wisdom

NB:
Written and read at the Black History Month in Abuja, Nigeria on 16th February, 2018.