A peaceful Sunday morning turned chaotic for Azizi as he was brought to the emergency room. He was in agony, bleeding, and had huge bite marks on him, mostly on his arms and legs. He claimed it was a Boerboel that attacked him, but the doctors doubted the validity of his story due to the size of the wounds.

Meanwhile, the police received an anonymous tip suggesting that a wild animal might be on the loose in the city after having bitten someone. The tipster provided the police with the address of an apartment in Langa, Cape Town. Upon arrival, the police heard a menacing growl coming from inside through the front door. Eager to investigate, they made their way to the apartment next door, grabbed a drill, and started making tiny holes in the wall to peek inside. To their shock, they were met with the unexpected sight of a 200-kilogram African lion lounging in the Langa apartment. The pressing question was: How on earth did the king of the jungle end up there?

Back to Azizi, a 31-year-old part-time driver for a ride-sharing company who had a strong love for animals. He went to the extent of illegally acquiring an infant Cape baboon and a lion cub from an exotic animal trainer in Cape Town and bringing them to live with him in his government-subsidised apartment in Langa. Azizi already had a ball python named Sly living with him in his apartment, and now he also has a Cape baboon and a lion. What could possibly go wrong?

When Azizi acquired the Cape baboon, it was unwell, leading to a short life span. Sadly, the baboon passed away shortly after, but the lion cub survived. Azizi named the cub Shiba and raised him in his apartment, providing him with his own room, a sandbox to play in, and transitioning him to solid food. Their bond grew strong, making them the best of friends.

After two and a half years had passed, Shiba had outgrown his cub days. He had transformed into a 200-kilograms king of the beasts, yet he still resided in that government-subsidised apartment with Azizi and Sly. Azizi supposedly fed him 8 to 10-kilograms of chicken daily, considering his massive size. Lions sure do have an appetite!

If you thought a man and a giant lion sharing an apartment was a recipe for disaster, you wouldn't be alone. However, against all odds, everything was actually going perfectly well.

It was a regular day until Azizi encountered a stray house cat lingering right outside his doorstep. Driven by his affection for animals, he welcomed the cat into his home, adopted him, and lovingly named him Shadow. To ensure Shadow's comfort, Azizi arranged a special room for him, away from Shiba.

After about three weeks, Azizi and Shiba were playfully wrestling, their usual way of playing together. Suddenly, Shadow emerged from his room, and Shiba, catching a glimpse of him, immediately switched into wild animal mode. He sprang into action, pursuing Shadow relentlessly around the place in an attempt to capture and eliminate him. Azizi quickly reacted by positioning himself between Shiba and Shadow, only to end up being tackled by Shiba. Azizi held onto him tightly to prevent him from going after Shadow, but that's when Shiba latched onto Azizi's neck, then his arm, and finally clamped down on his knee, refusing to release his grip.

Azizi found himself in a precarious situation when his knee ended up in the mouth of an African lion. The tense standoff lasted for two long minutes before Shiba decided to release him. Feeling remorseful, Shiba quickly sought refuge in the bathroom. In great pain, Azizi was forced to dial for paramedics, who quickly transported him to the hospital. It was then that he fabricated a story about a Boerboel attack, worried that they would uncover Shiba and take his lion away.

Back at the neighbour's place, the police officers gazed through the hole they had created in the wall and were startled to find a fully-grown lion lounging inside. "Yoh, yoh, yooh!" the officers exclaimed in disbelief. Now, they needed to brainstorm a strategy to safely remove this 200-kilograms beast without becoming its next meal.

A police officer rappelled down the building with a tranquillizer gun in hand. Upon reaching the apartment window, he glimpsed Shiba inside. Taking aim through the bars, he fired a dart, striking Shiba on the shoulder.

Shiba's reaction was clear: he was not happy with the situation, leading him to get angry and charge at the window, repeatedly slamming against it. Fortunately, Shiba eventually succumbed to the tranquillizer, and the police were able to safely remove both Shiba and Sly from Azizi's apartment before relocating them. As expected, Azizi was taken into custody.

Charged with reckless endangerment and keeping wild animals without the proper permit, he was convicted and handed a fifteen-month prison term after a court hearing.

Sly, the ball python, was rehoused in a snake sanctuary in Cape Town, and Shiba was moved to an animal sanctuary in Paarl, where he had the opportunity to run and play with other big cats, including lions.

Until the age of nineteen years and four months, Shiba lived in that location, a significant lifespan in lion years. Sadly, he eventually passed away from natural causes.

Shadow was never seen again.

"Now that I knew fear, I also knew it was not permanent. As powerful as it was, its grip on me would loosen. It would pass."

Louise Erdrich, The Round House

Quick Reads

Love Is Blind
When Raymond, a lawyer with an eccentric flair, stumbled upon a breathtaking woman named Layla, he was instantly smitten. Her beauty left him spellbound, igniting an overwhelming desire to be with her more than anything.

He pulled out all the stops to win her heart. From lavish dinners to thoughtful gifts, he spared no expense. Every morning, he would wait outside her house, ready to drive her to work. His efforts paid off, and she finally relented, agreeing to give him a chance, leading to the start of their relationship.

Everything took a disastrous turn when they had been dating for about a year. One evening, during a seemingly normal date, Raymond dropped a shocking revelation: he was already married with children. This news shattered Layla, leaving her furious. Raymond attempted to reassure her, saying, "It's okay, I'm in the middle of a divorce," but Layla was far from convinced. In a desperate bid to regain her trust, Raymond even presented her with what he claimed were divorce papers. However, upon further investigation, Layla discovered that those papers were nothing more than a clever ruse. With a firm resolve, Layla ended her relationship with Raymond for good.

She took some time to gather herself and soon met a guy named Scott. They hit it off and began dating, with Scott proving to be a genuinely nice person. A few months later, Scott proposed, and they got engaged. When Raymond found out about their engagement, he was furious. Instead of accepting reality, he spiralled into obsession, determined to win his Layla back.

He reached out to her incessantly, showering her with letters, flowers, and gifts. In a desperate bid, he even turned to her friends, pleading with them to pass along his messages. Unfortunately for him, none of these efforts bore fruit, leading him to resort to a more sinister approach. He began to threaten her, hurling rocks at her window in an attempt to instill fear, claiming he would send people to harm her. However, his intimidation only pushed Layla further away.

Layla was resolute; she had no intention of returning to Raymond, and her commitment to Scott was still strong. This pushed Raymond into a dark place.

In a fit of jealousy, he plotted to ensure that if he couldn't possess Layla, he would make her undesirable to everyone else by hiring someone to mar her beauty.

On a seemingly typical morning, Layla was having breakfast when the doorbell interrupted her meal. She went to see who it was and found two men at the door, claiming to have a delivery for her. Suddenly, one of them hurled a jar of liquid at her face, and they bolted away as she screamed in agony, feeling the burning sensation of the liquid. An ambulance was called and quickly rushed her to the hospital, where she endured two and a half months of surgeries, leaving her with permanent blindness in one eye and partial blindness in the other.

Following her release from the hospital, she sat down for an extensive conversation with Scott, leading them to the difficult decision to end their engagement. They both felt that Raymond was too perilous and posed a significant threat and feared he might attempt to harm Scott next.

After four long months, the police finally managed to find the two men Raymond had enlisted to assault Layla. One of the suspects started singing like a canary, leading both men to confess to their involvement in the crime. They both claimed that Raymond was the mastermind behind the entire operation.

Raymond found himself in court, ultimately receiving a sentence of at least thirteen years behind bars. However, he faced a significant dilemma: his deep love for Layla remained unwavering, and he was resolute in his decision to fight for her love - even behind bars.

While serving his time, he found solace in writing letters to her, sharing his feelings of longing and his unwavering affection. Yet poor Layla was still facing her own battles. Though her attackers were behind bars, she was grappling with near blindness, financial difficulties, and the loneliness of living on her own. She began responding to him, and when Raymond discovered her financial struggles, he started sending her money. While in prison, he had taken on paralegal work, and he sent her whatever small amounts he earned. She relied on that support, which kept their communication steady. Over the course of twelve years, they maintained their connection, and eventually, the day came when Raymond completed his sentence and was released from prison.

After his release, Raymond reconnected with Layla, and he found himself in the spotlight once more. His past actions had made him a local figure of notoriety, particularly for hiring men to attack and blind his ex-girlfriend. This infamy led to an invitation for a live television interview. During the show, in a surprising twist, Raymond turned to the camera and proposed to Layla, capturing the attention of viewers everywhere. To everyone's astonishment, Layla accepted his proposal. Six months later, she married the man who had caused her so much pain, and they embarked on a new chapter together, seemingly living happily ever after.

More than a decade passed, during which Raymond had been unfaithful to Layla with several women, as one might expect. One of these women eventually came forward, revealing that she and Raymond had been involved for four years. However, she claimed that he had recently begun to harass and threaten her with violence, reminiscent of his behaviour towards Layla. This led her to file charges against him, and the case made its way to court. Surprisingly, Layla chose to stand by Raymond and testified as a character witness, asserting that he would never hurt a fly. Thanks to Layla, Raymond was able to evade most of the charges but was convicted of second-degree harassment. The couple continued their marriage, but tragically, about five years after the trial, Layla passed away.

In a bizarre turn of events, many years later, when Raymond had reached the age of ninety-one, he fell victim to his much younger caretaker, who cunningly swindled him out of his 8 million rands worth of fortune just before he took his last breath.
Lost At Sea
As the elderly couple looked on, they witnessed a peculiar sight: a man crawling through the sand. He was naked, barely able to stand, clutching a knife, and shouting something in a language they couldn't comprehend.

Willem, a fearless fisherman who braved the dangers of the deep sea to reel in Geelbek and Cape Snoek along the cold Atlantic waters. One morning, he made the spontaneous decision to embark on a two-day fishing escapade. With his usual fishing buddy unavailable, he sought out a replacement. That's when a young and inexperienced angler named Ashley eagerly stepped up to the challenge. Together, Willem and Ashley set sail on the Atlantic waters.

Over the course of two days, they dedicated themselves to fishing and managed to accumulate a total of 500 kilograms of fish. This impressive catch would bring in a tidy profit once they returned home, equivalent to a week's earnings. Unfortunately, their journey back took an unexpected twist as they set sail homeward. Without warning, a massive storm descended upon them, filling the boat with water. Panicked, Ashley grabbed a bucket to scoop out the water while Willem fought to steer through the turbulent waves. Luckily, the storm eventually subsided, revealing land on the horizon.

They were approximately two hours from the shore when the boat's engine began to stutter and eventually stopped. Willem quickly grabbed a two-way radio and contacted his boss to inform him about the engine failure. His boss enquired about their location, but their GPS had malfunctioned. As if things couldn't get any worse, the storm began to gather strength, causing the boat to be violently tossed around by towering waves, lifting them up to 10 meters high before dropping them back down. Upon realising that the 500 kilograms of fish they had caught were making the boat unstable, Willem made the decision to dump it all out. They continued to throw overboard anything else that was not useful, such as extra ice and fuel, in order to lighten the load and restore stability to the boat.

When the two-way radio suddenly went silent, Willem and Ashley had already been working tirelessly to remove water from the boat for a couple of hours. Despite their best efforts, the engine remained stubbornly inactive. Willem's anger boiled over; he was seething with rage and completely lost control. He grabbed a club typically used for killing fish and violently smashed the boat's engine. In a fit of frustration, he tossed the dead GPS and radio into the water.

With nightfall and dropping temperatures, the two men had no choice but to huddle under an overturned cooler for warmth and shelter.

Meanwhile, back on land, a search party was organised to find the missing duo. However, the relentless storm continued to rage on, making visibility extremely poor. After three days of fruitless searching, the decision was made to call off the search.

Five more days dragged on before the storm ceased its fury. Willem and Ashley were left disoriented, realising they were in the middle of nowhere. Hunger gnawed at their stomachs, and there was no food or water left on the boat. With Willem's tools lost at sea, he had to improvise. He spent time honing his skills at catching fish with his bare hands. They had no choice but to eat their catch raw and drink their own urine to stay alive.

One fortunate day, a seabird landed on their boat, giving them a stroke of luck. Willem wasted no time in seizing the opportunity and swiftly took the bird's life. They managed to sustain themselves by consuming the bird for a couple of days until rain finally poured down, allowing them to gather water to drink. For approximately two months, they survived by eating raw fish and collecting rainwater whenever possible.

With each passing day, Ashley underwent a transformation that deeply affected his demeanor. Sinking into a state of despair, he rejected any form of sustenance. The mere idea of consuming raw animals repulsed him to the point where he abandoned eating entirely. His condition worsened, prompting Willem and Ashley to fear the worst. In a desperate move, they made a pact: if Willem survives, he will reach out to Ashley's mother with a message intended exclusively for her. He reluctantly agreed to the plan.

One rainy morning, following over three months of being adrift at sea, Ashley succumbed to starvation. Willem was heartbroken to find himself alone. The bond they had formed during their harrowing ordeal was strong, leaving Willem feeling incredibly isolated. He found himself conversing with Ashley's lifeless body, unable to let go. After six days, he came to the realisation that it was not healthy to continue pretending the corpse was still alive.

He shoved Ashley's lifeless body into the ocean, then continued to survive on his boat adrift at sea. Another month passed, and Willem was still there, living off the land, catching fish, drinking rainwater, and talking to birds and dead fish.

Suddenly, Willem spotted a new type of bird - not the usual seabirds, but land birds. In the distance, he could make out a mountaintop, which turned out to be connected to an island. It was a glimmer of hope that maybe he could keep his word and deliver the message to Ashley's mother.

The island was approximately an hour away, and Willem steered his boat in its direction. As he neared, he plunged into the water and swam for dear life to the shore. Upon reaching it, he found himself too feeble to stand, completely unclothed, and armed with a knife for safety. He laboriously crawled onto the beach and into the jungle, where he came across a house occupied by an elderly couple. They saw him crawling around naked with a knife, shouting in Afrikaans. The elderly couple ended up helping him get to the hospital.

So what is this island that Willem finally landed on after being lost at sea for more than four months? Willem had drifted almost 2800 kilometres all the way from coastal Cape Town to the Tristan da Cunha island.

A month later, after being rescued and coming back to Cape Town, South Africa, he paid a visit to Ashley's mother and was able to pass along Ashley's last message to her.

His incredible story landed him a book deal, but then Ashley's family sued him for two million rands, claiming half of the book sales.

Don't let your heart stay broken
Do not stay fixated on what could have been
Focus on all that was deep

Be thankful you smiled
Be thankful you cried
And be thankful you loved and were loved
Because no magician is strong enough to conjure the magic you've created

So don't let your heart stay broke
Don't focus on the darkness
Or things that did not last
Don't look back at your pas
When your future is that bright..

Robiin M

Bookshelf

This poetry book is filled with all things sunshine without ignoring the storms. Pain is real. Anxiety is real. Depression is real. Hardships in life are real. I hope when you pick up this book you feel heard and comforted. Even if it doesn't seem like it right now, your sun will rise once again.

Jennae Cecelia

LIFE is like a guidebook, offering insights on navigating through the highs and lows, twists and turns, and obstacles we encounter. It is filled with warmth, understanding, and valuable lessons that illuminate the joy found in simple moments. This book teaches us to embrace a life brimming with tranquillity, joy, and courage.

Donna Ashworth

Have you ever felt stuck in a labyrinth of unresolved pain, playing over and over in your mind?
Lysa TerKeurst has wrestled through this journey. But in surprising ways, she's discovered how to let go of bound-up resentment and overcome the resistance to forgiving people who aren't willing to make things right.

Lysa Terkeurst

With a focus on self-love, self-acceptance, growth, and healing, "Dear Self" is an effortlessly flowing compilation of kind reminders and affirmations. This collection takes you on an introspective and contemplative journey that leads you to discover all the layers of yourself that are just waiting to be loved.

Patience Tamarra Davis

Born White Zulu Bred narrates the experiences of a white youngster and his brother brought up in poverty in a Zulu community in rural South Africa during the apartheid period. Creina and Neil Alcock, their exceptional parents, abandoned a life of privilege to live and serve the impoverished people of Msinga, making their welfare their primary concern.

G.G. Alcock

Botho Pere must leave his wife Nthatisi and their two kids in Lesotho after landing a job as a miner in South Africa. Following nearly three years without hearing from Botho, the industrious Nthatisi is left to look after their family. Ultimately, though, the fragile thread that has been holding them together could come undone by their secrets. Some of Botho's troubles are of his own making, while others are rumored to be caused by witchcraft, especially with the mysterious Mokoto always lurking on the periphery. Then one day, Botho decides to take control of his own fate.

Tebello Mzamo

After a government edict cut his father's job, Eniola's family has been struggling to survive. His secondary school teachers beat him because of his unpaid fees, and his parents are behind on the rent and cannot pay for his apprenticeship at a tailoring shop. Nevertheless, he strives to make himself useful, folding wrappers and trying to forget about how he's taunted by schoolmates.
Wuraola, the daughter of the tailoring shop's most valued customer, is an exhausted young doctor who can barely catch any sleep as she works long hours in a public hospital. After her boyfriend proposes, their relationship accelerates towards marriage even as his darker side is exposed, risking her family's spell of good things.
Meanwhile, Eniola becomes caught in a tangle of decisions that will bring him into collision with the political forces in the city and harm his family and Wuraola's in the process. Following the lives of Eniola, Wuraola, and their relatives, the novel traces the entwined fates of two families in a Nigerian city, one with all the fortune in the world and one that cannot catch a break.

Ayobami Adebayo

This compilation showcases 34 potent narratives crafted by the finest emerging and award-winning African writers, offering readers both enlightenment and enjoyment. Furthermore, the anthology includes nine new stories that delve into the enduring struggles stemming from colonialism's legacy, nations ravaged by civil war, and the escalating AIDS crisis.

Nadezda Obradovic

"'n Versameling van 100 gedigte oor verlies en vertroosting deur van Afrikaans se bekendste digters. Dis verse die dood, rou, afskeid, verganklikheid en menswees. Die lewe is 'n asem lank is die ideale geskenk aan iemand wat 'n geliefde vir altyd moes groet ? veral wanneer 'n mens nie die woorde kan vind om te troos nie."

Frieda van den Heever

Tears of Disinheritance offers a comprehensive analysis of the land-related issues faced by the Maasai people. Dr. Koissaba explores the history of the Maasai community, highlighting their cultural heritage, spiritual practices, and movements across the Rift Valley in Kenya and Tanzania.

Ben R. Ole Koissaba

"If sharks were men," Mr. K. was asked by his landlady's little girl, "would they be nicer to the little fishes?"

"Certainly," he said. "If sharks were men, they would build enormous boxes in the ocean for the little fish, with all kinds of food inside, both vegetable and animal. They would take care that the boxes always had fresh water, and in general they would make all kinds of sanitary arrangements. If, for example, a little fish were to injure a fin, it would immediately be bandaged so that it would not die and be lost to the sharks before its time. So that the little fish would not become melancholy, there would be big water festivals from time to time because cheerful fish taste better than melancholy ones.

"There would, of course, also be schools in the big boxes. In these schools, the little fish would learn how to swim into the sharks' jaws. They would need to know geography, for example, so that they could find the big sharks, who lie idly around somewhere. The principal subject would, of course, be the moral education of the little fish. They would be taught that it would be the best and most beautiful thing in the world if a little fish sacrificed itself cheerfully and that they all had to believe the sharks, especially when the latter said they were providing for a beautiful future. The little fish would be taught that this future is assured only if they learnt obedience. The little fish had to beware of all base, materialist, egotistical, and Marxist inclinations, and if one of their number betrayed such inclinations, they had to report it to the sharks immediately.

"If sharks were men, they would, of course, also wage wars against one another in order to conquer other fish boxes and other little fish. The wars would be waged by their own little fish. They would teach their little fish that there was an enormous difference between themselves and the little fish belonging to the other sharks. Little fish, they would announce, are well known to be mute, but they are silent in quite different languages and hence find it impossible to understand one another. Each little fish that, in a war, killed a couple of other little fish, enemy ones, silent in their own language, would have a little order made of seaweed pinned to it and be awarded the title of hero.

"If sharks were men, there would, of course, also be art. There would be beautiful pictures in which the sharks' teeth would be portrayed in magnificent colours and their jaws as pure pleasure gardens, in which one could romp about splendidly. The theatres at the bottom of the sea would show heroic little fish swimming enthusiastically into the jaws of sharks, and the music would be so beautiful that to the accompaniment of its sounds, the orchestra leading the way, the little fish would stream dreamily into the sharks' jaws, lulled by the most agreeable thoughts.

"There would also be a religion if sharks were men. It would preach that little fish only really begin to live properly in the sharks' stomachs.

"Furthermore, if sharks were men, there would be an end to all little fish being equal, as is the case now. Some would be given important offices and be placed above the others. Those who were a little bigger would even be allowed to eat up the smaller ones. That would be altogether agreeable for the sharks, since they themselves would more often get bigger bites to eat. And the bigger little fish, occupying their posts, would ensure order among the little fish, become teachers, officers, engineers in box construction, etc.

"In short, if sharks were men, they would for the first time bring culture to the ocean."

Bertolt Brecht, Stories of Mr Keuner

Poems

Bitterbessie dagbreek
bitterbessie son
'n spieel het gebreek
tussen my en hom

Soek ek na die grootpad
om daarlangs te draf
oral draai die paadjies
van sy woorde af

Dennebos herinnering
dennebos vergeet
het ek ook verdwaal
trap ek in my leed
Papegaai-bont eggo
kierang kierang my
totdat ek bedroe
weer die koggel kry

Eggo is geen antwoord
antwoord hy alom
bitterbessie dagbreek
bitterbessie son

Ingrid Jonker

No end of story has been told, several legends have been born; tiny runnels have wiped out into the Nile; massive water courses had gorged the Indian and the Atlantic.

Africa is the native land of all mankind species, our cherished fatherland is the continent of Africa; you are always welcome to Africa.

Jewels are found in the stain atop, pure beauty is found in our hearts; giving hope with full-blown vision.

For many people of the world, Africa is time and again seen through a spare monocle, purified curtain abodes of indigence, deprivation, illness, dearth, and blues.

Yes, we have our threat, it's true, but we are a people of physiques, resilience and faith; African elevation comes alive as a cloud nine.

Africa is a continent of countries, clans, of peoples; each with its olden days, its voice, its rainbows; its bounty of rituals, the diversity of its arts; and the charm of its civilization.

Africa is a nook of titanic conceivable of chow that is appetizing, fervent and sweet; Africa is not a spot of shadows, but a distance of light of a nightmare and opportunity; Africa is not a hole of pity, but a place of influence and self-respect.

We are the offshoot of a proud continent, Africa is where the sun steps up and bents with a scorching effulgence; making it a place where every day is a sunny season.

Yousif Ibrahim Abubaker Abdalla

With promise of job,
he lured her into a cane field.
His gentleness a veil of sanity.
Lurking in his mind,
a perversion of sex instinct:
'Bind her! Torture her! Kill her! '

Deep within comfort zone
suddenly brandishing his bludgeon,
countenance wearing mercilessness -
sight of which imported terror into her spine.
Desperate plea for mercy fueling his excitement.
Menacingly, her clothes he demanded.

Hissing in agony like pine tree,
gnashing her teeth before the incubus, she stripped.
Her nudity assaulting his senses,
eyes flaming with lust,
he took stock of the bared flesh:
'Beautiful! Submissive! Horrified! '

Bound and gagged,
fantasy translating into reality,
all hell broke loose...
Urge gratified,
with her undergarment around her neck,
he sealed her fate.

Sixteenth victim of the unhinged mind:
Single mother of two horrendously maimed.
Not quite long,
no sooner had he got home
than long arm of the law tapped his shoulders:
DNA found on victims had matched his.

Karma forced to be lenient,
he lives albeit in confinement.
No Death Penalty In Mzansi.

Chinedu Dike

We are the miracles that God made
To taste the bitter fruit of Time.
We are precious.
And one day our suffering
Will turn into the wonders of the earth.

There are things that burn me now
Which turn golden when I am happy.
Do you see the mystery of our pain?
That we bear poverty
And are able to sing and dream sweet things

And that we never curse the air when it is warm
Or the fruit when it tastes so good
Or the lights that bounce gently on the waters?
We bless things even in our pain.
We bless them in silence.

That is why our music is so sweet.
It makes the air remember.
There are secret miracles at work
That only Time will bring forth.
I too have heard the dead singing.

And they tell me that
This life is good
They tell me to live it gently
With fire, and always with hope.
There is wonder here

And there is surprise
In everything the unseen moves.
The ocean is full of songs.
The sky is not an enemy.
Destiny is our friend.

Ben Okri

Pot of love,
Dot with life!
Spot of peace,
Hot like the sun;
Love Brewed In The African Pot!
My identity,
My continent,
My Country,
My land,
Love Brewed In The African Pot!
Mama Africa,
Africa! Africa!
My identity,
The Colour of my Skin,
The muse of life,
The muse of my mind,
Africa! Africa!
Cultures and Traditions,
My continent,
My Country,
My land,
My identity,
Love Brewed In The African Pot!
Mama Africa,
The continent of my birth,
With the muse of my mind to the world so sweet!
Poetry,
Way of life;
Presenting my works to the world,
From Africa!
Being an African,
Born and raised in Ghana,
My identity,
My life,
Love and art!
Love and life,
Peace and joy!
Mama Africa,
Africa! Africa!
Mama Africa,
Love Brewed In The African Pot!
With the fragrance of life and the romance of nature;
The beauty of creation,
The Harmony of life,
Mama Africa,
The Symphony of the truth!
With righteous morals;
Africa! Africa!
Mama Africa,
The colours of life,
With the aroma of creation;
Love Brewed In The African Pot!

Edward Kofi Louis

A wind is ruffling the tawny pelt
Of Africa, Kikuyu, quick as flies,
Batten upon the bloodstreams of the veldt.
Corpses are scattered through a paradise.
Only the worm, colonel of carrion, cries:
'Waste no compassion on these separate dead!'
Statistics justify and scholars seize
The salients of colonial policy.
What is that to the white child hacked in bed?
To savages, expendable as Jews?
Threshed out by beaters, the long rushes break
In a white dust of ibises whose cries
Have wheeled since civilizations dawn
From the parched river or beast-teeming plain.
The violence of beast on beast is read
As natural law, but upright man
Seeks his divinity by inflicting pain.
Delirious as these worried beasts, his wars
Dance to the tightened carcass of a drum,
While he calls courage still that native dread
Of the white peace contracted by the dead.

Again brutish necessity wipes its hands
Upon the napkin of a dirty cause, again
A waste of our compassion, as with Spain,
The gorilla wrestles with the superman.
I who am poisoned with the blood of both,
Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?
I who have cursed
The drunken officer of British rule, how choose
Between this Africa and the English tongue I love?
Betray them both, or give back what they give?
How can I face such slaughter and be cool?
How can I turn from Africa and live?

Derek Walcott

One of the last (if not the last) of Africa's
tallest trees has fallen
Yes, Kofi Anan breathes no more
Death has stolen one of the last true sons of the soil
Death has stolen one of the last of Africa's favorite sons
Africa is weeping!
Africa is mourning!
Africa is weeping!
Africa is mourning!

One who was an embodiment of integrity is no more
Africa is mourning!
One who was Africa's pride and joy breathes no more
Africa is inconsolable!
One who was a compass of morality is late
Africa is weeping!

Oh Africa! Was Kofi your last born?
Is any of your favorite sons still alive?
Corruption is rampant
Integrity is not in any of our leaders vocabulary
Moral decay stinks up to the heavens
God and His angels must be closing their noses.

You join your fellow brothers
You join other favorite sons of Africa
You join Jomo Kenyatta
You join Patrice Lumumba
You join Julius Nyerere
You join Steve Biko
You join Nelson Mandela
One of Africa's tallest trees has fallen
Kofi Anan breathes no more.

Qiniso Mogale

O fleece, that down the neck waves to the nape!
O curls! O perfume nonchalant and rare!
O ecstasy! To fill this alcove shape
With memories that in these tresses sleep,
I would shake them like penions in the air!

Languorous Asia, burning Africa,
And a far world, defunct almost, absent,
Within your aromatic forest stay!
As other souls on music drift away,
Mine, O my love! still floats upon your scent.

I shall go there where, full of sap, both tree
And man swoon in the heat of the southern climates;
Strong tresses be the swell that carries me!
I dream upon your sea of amber
Of dazzling sails, of oarsmen, masts, and flames:

A sun-drenched and reverberating port,
Where I imbibe colour and sound and scent;
Where vessels, gliding through the gold and moire,
Open their vast arms as they leave the shore
To clasp the pure and shimmering firmament.

I'll plunge my head, enamored of its pleasure,
In this black ocean where the other hides;
My subtle spirit then will know a measure
Of fertile idleness and fragrant leisure,
Lulled by the infinite rhythm of its tides!

Pavilion, of autumn-shadowed tresses spun,
You give me back the azure from afar;
And where the twisted locks are fringed with down
Lurk mingled odors I grow drunk upon
Of oil of coconut, of musk, and tar.

A long time! always! my hand in your hair
Will sow the stars of sapphire, pearl, ruby,
That you be never deaf to my desire,
My oasis and my gourd whence I aspire
To drink deep of the wine of memory.

Charles Baudelaire

Africa Africa Africa!
Oh the once mighty and heroic Africa
Why has thou grown so cold?
Why has thou remained thus numb?

A fremd is here in thy enclave
Battling thy home without mercy
And battering thy all in thy all
Before thy very eyes, oh Africa!

Thy peace is stolen
And fear injected in thy veins
With thy activities all at halt
All by same unwelcome visitor.

Thy hands are caged
And thy mouth silenced with mask
While thy children die in numbers
Before thy very eyes, oh Africa!

Hunger is dire in the land
Yet thy children are home and docked
For the fear of the fremd
And thou dost nothing.

Thou keepest quite, oh Africa!
In the midst of all these
Waiting for the Whites to solve thy puzzle
And the world to come to your rescue.

When hast thou grown lazy, Africa?
Where are thy ecumenic powers?
Where are thy roots and thy foods?
What happened to thy herbs?

Why art thou dependent on the Whites?
Why hope on them for solution?
Why look akimbo, oh Africa?
Can't solution come from thee?

Are thy bushes there in vain?
Thy creatures and powers to create
Africa, recall thy deeeds in the past
And mights and beauty in the days of old.

Arise, oh Africa, to save the world
For a fremd has trapped the earth
And the key with the earth remains
Arise oh Africa, and find ye the key.

Arise, Africa, Arise
Leverage thy powers and flowers
The world is waiting for your
Arise, oh Africa, arise

Izunna Okafor

The sun sought thy dim bed and brought forth light,
The sciences were sucklings at thy breast;
When all the world was young in pregnant night
Thy slaves toiled at thy monumental best.
Thou ancient treasure-land, thou modern prize,
New peoples marvel at thy pyramids!
The years roll on, thy sphinx of riddle eyes
Watches the mad world with immobile lids.
The Hebrews humbled them at Pharaoh's name.
Cradle of Power! Yet all things were in vain!
Honor and Glory, Arrogance and Fame!
They went. The darkness swallowed thee again.
Thou art the harlot, now thy time is done,
Of all the mighty nations of the sun.

Claude McKay

Comments


To the readersnook.africa Owner.
Nov 02, 2025

Hello, We’re ready to promote and sell your goods to our customers. Some clients want to order immediately. Please contact us on WhatsApp: +1 226 266 3276 Sincerely

Interesting short reads
Jun 03, 2025

Awesome, good read!
Nov 19, 2024

Shiba was tamed until he was not. So Shadow varnished into thin air πŸ€”

I can't find The Republic 😭😒
Nov 11, 2024

I remember reading "The Republic" from this website but now I can't find it. 😒😒

Enjoyed reading Love is blind
Oct 11, 2024

In Love is blind, Layla should have left Raymond immediately after the first incident. Or maybe Raymond used muthi πŸ˜ƒ

My go to nook for quick reads
Oct 07, 2024

Interesting reads. I enjoy the games as well

Love in the skies
Sep 25, 2024

Cheating Koutney, she cheated to her demies. Lessons to be learned. If only she remained loyal to her husband.

Love is blind
Sep 11, 2024

Rayray is a savage.

Love triangle
Sep 09, 2024

I enjoyed Love In The Skies. ... I can relate :(

The Republic - Part 2 ???
Aug 24, 2024

Mzizi wa Kenya

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, The more places you will go.

What To Read Next?

African Short Stories

"The International Society of Literary Fellows (Lsi) is the society of creative writers and scholars from African and the world with a critical interest in current developments around modern cultures of indigenous and foreign language expressions. In partnership with Progeny international, the Lsi aims to assess and promote the emergence of works of visionary creative impetus in the genres of modern African fiction, non-fiction and visual arts. 38 stories are included in this anthology."

Chin Ce (Editor)

Notes on Grief

Grief is a cruel kind of education. You learn how ungentle mourning can be and how full of anger it is. You learn how glib condolences can feel. You learn how much grief there is about language, the failure of language, and grasping for language.
The best-selling author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun shares with us a personal and powerful essay on loss from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

An African Story

"The pioneers in my family went to Rhodesia just before the Boer War in 1896, travelling on one of the first trains to Bulawayo. My father and uncle left home in 1928 going up to Northern Rhodesia to work on the copper mines. My grandfather opened up new gold mines in Penelonga and built the house at Manchester Gardens in the Eastern Highlands of Rhodesia. He ranched, mined, gambled and raised a family of five boys and a girl in an Africa that was very wild and primitive. My great grandfather was born in England, travelled in the Wild West of America before ending up in Cape Town where his daughter married my grandfather and travelled north. My mother arrived in Africa from England in 1936 under the auspices of the 1820 settlers club and travelled up to Northern Rhodesia where she met my father. My friends and I went to boarding school in Lusaka and many of us went on to achieve great things in life. The mining towns of the Copperbelt and the many old characters that lived in Rhodesia form a large part of the backdrop of my life. My wife, on an impulse, accepted a job with the copper mines in Zambia in 1968 as a young girl. She knew many of the characters in these stories and knows how likely the unlikely tales are. Out of all this comes a wealth of reality and myth that cannot possibly go untold."

Edgar E. Evans

Story of an African Farm

The Story of an African Farm is an 1883 novel by a South African political activist and writer, Olive Schreiner. This novel, which explores feminism, atheism, and the impact of British imperialism on South African peoples, is acknowledged as a groundbreaking piece of philosophical fiction and Bildungsroman.

Olive Schreiner

The Struggle for Land and Justice in Kenya

Since 2012, new land laws have been put in place in Kenya, but why is there still more land grabbing happening? Why haven't the laws been able to fix the unfair land distribution issues that have been around for a long time? This book says that fairness should be a big part of any talks about changing land ownership in Africa.

Ambreena Manji
β€œ

Every day is a good day. There is something to learn, care and celebrate.

Amit Ray

Adopted at the Congress of the People, Kliptown, on 26 June 1955

We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:
that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people;
that our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality;
that our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities;
that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all their birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief;
And therefore, we, the people of South Africa, black and white together equals, countrymen and brothers adopt this Freedom Charter;
And we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.

The People Shall Govern!
Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws;
All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country;
The rights of the people shall be the same, regardless of race, colour or sex;
All bodies of minority rule, advisory boards, councils and authorities shall be replaced by democratic organs of self-government.

All National Groups Shall have Equal Rights!
There shall be equal status in the bodies of state, in the courts and in the schools for all national groups and races;
All people shall have equal right to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs;
All national groups shall be protected by law against insults to their race and national pride;
The preaching and practice of national, race or colour discrimination and contempt shall be a punishable crime;
All apartheid laws and practices shall be set aside.

The People Shall Share in the Country`s Wealth!
The national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people;
The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the Banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole;
All other industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the wellbeing of the people;
All people shall have equal rights to trade where they choose, to manufacture and to enter all trades, crafts and professions.

The Land Shall be Shared Among Those Who Work It!
Restrictions of land ownership on a racial basis shall be ended, and all the land re-divided amongst those who work it to banish famine and land hunger;
The state shall help the peasants with implements, seed, tractors and dams to save the soil and assist the tillers;
Freedom of movement shall be guaranteed to all who work on the land;
All shall have the right to occupy land wherever they choose;
People shall not be robbed of their cattle, and forced labour and farm prisons shall be abolished.

All Shall be Equal Before the Law!
No-one shall be imprisoned, deported or restricted without a fair trial; No-one shall be condemned by the order of any Government official;
The courts shall be representative of all the people;
Imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance;
The police force and army shall be open to all on an equal basis and shall be the helpers and protectors of the people;
All laws which discriminate on grounds of race, colour or belief shall be repealed.

All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!
The law shall guarantee to all their right to speak, to organise, to meet together, to publish, to preach, to worship and to educate their children;
The privacy of the house from police raids shall be protected by law;
All shall be free to travel without restriction from countryside to town, from province to province, and from South Africa abroad;
Pass Laws, permits and all other laws restricting these freedoms shall be abolished.

There Shall be Work and Security!
All who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers;
The state shall recognise the right and duty of all to work, and to draw full unemployment benefits;
Men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work;
There shall be a forty-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave, and sick leave for all workers, and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers;
Miners, domestic workers, farm workers and civil servants shall have the same rights as all others who work;
Child labour, compound labour, the tot system and contract labour shall be abolished.

The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall be Opened!
The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life;
All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by free exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands;
The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace;
Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit;
Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan;
Teachers shall have all the rights of other citizens;
The colour bar in cultural life, in sport and in education shall be abolished.

There Shall be Houses, Security and Comfort!
All people shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security;
Unused housing space to be made available to the people;
Rent and prices shall be lowered, food plentiful and no-one shall go hungry;
A preventive health scheme shall be run by the state;
Free medical care and hospitalisation shall be provided for all, with special care for mothers and young children;
Slums shall be demolished, and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, creches and social centres;
The aged, the orphans, the disabled and the sick shall be cared for by the state;
Rest, leisure and recreation shall be the right of all:
Fenced locations and ghettoes shall be abolished, and laws which break up families shall be repealed.

There Shall be Peace and Friendship!
South Africa shall be a fully independent state which respects the rights and sovereignty of all nations;
South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation - not war;
Peace and friendship amongst all our people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights, opportunities and status of all;
The people of the protectorates Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland shall be free to decide for themselves their own future;
The right of all peoples of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognised, and shall be the basis of close co-operation.
Let all people who love their people and their country now say, as we say here:

THESE FREEDOMS WE WILL FIGHT FOR, SIDE BY SIDE, THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, UNTIL WE HAVE WON OUR LIBERTY

The People of South Africa
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