I Came in Shackles

By Clement Odia

I came in shackles,
To a land where dreams wither before they bloom,
Like water used to wash the feet.
Promises trampled by beasts in power,
Like a headstone crushing an ant,
A trumpet blast shattering the eardrum.

I came in shackles,
Yet I defy the odds laid before me,
A mountain of impediments,
I gaze beyond,to the horizon,
Where grains flourish in famine,
Dreams stretch beyond dawn.

I came in shackles,
Foisted upon me by birth,
In Africa’s backwaters,
A land of dreams and promises,
Where youths perish in a sea of wealth,
Our natural resourses,now our shackles.

I came in shackles,
Like a child raised in a coral sea,
Yet suffering malnutrition of every kind
I will arise to the bright sun of unfading beam
I will breathe and flourish,not in these shackles,
But in a new fountain where we reclaim our commonwealth
All our children will one day return home covered in laurels
To take Africa to new heights.

* Dr Odia teaches English at the University of Benin, Benin City