Africa

My hips have danced
the rhythm of the Congo and
From my womb
Have come forth empires and tribes:
Egyptians, the Ashanti, the Dinka, and the Ibo.
When I cried
my tears filled the Nile and
Upon my laughter,
birds sang
and lions roared
and locusts danced.
As my eyelashes beat,
the grasses of the Savannah swayed.
My skin,
in its beautiful brown,
kissed by the heat of the Heavens,
Created the sands of the Sahara and
the fertile ground for growing yams.
From my scalp
came the thick, coarse roots
of the jungles.
These eyes
are of the reddest suns
in times of my wrath;
Of the bluest moons
when peace takes me over.
I am Africa—
Earth, Air, and Heaven.
I am the Motherland;
the sweet daughter of Nature.
I am Africa.

Camesha Mitchell, age 17
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Chamblee Charter High School (Chamblee)
Teacher: Diana Lynn Farmer