I AM AN AFRICAN
by Okoli Stephen

 I AM AN AFRICAN

I am an African,
Not black
I'm dark, with bright brilliant colour
Bold and strong
Gifted
Talented
And crafty

Dark I am
Not black
So, don't pity me

I am an African
Not a monkey
My colour is a victim
Just like my poor health
Dark I am
Not black
So, don't pity me

I am an African
Not a negro
I'm not helpless
So, don't pity me.

'Twas through your pity,
You milk my cattle
'Twas through your pity,
You harvested my crops
'Twas through your pity,
You stole ideas from Africa
And brought to America.

I am an African,
Not black
So, don't pity me

 IF ONLY HE COULD TALK

History said...
At child birth
The blade was lost
But found it way
Through the face of an innocent child
Revealing his tribe.

Reality reveals...
At adulthood
The wounds healed
But the scars remain
To remind him
The tears he shed
And the blood he lost.

If only that innocent child could talk
He would have said NO!
His looks reveals his tribe
And the scars now signpost
Of his miseries
He now carries tattoos
With scars of hate,
Favouritism
And TRIBALism

If only that innocent child could talk
He would have said No!

About the Author:

ÓKÓLÍ STEPHEN NÓNSÓ is a poet and an essayist from Nigeria. He is the winner of 2014 SOASA AIFCE creative writing competition in poetry, a number of his poems has been published in some online magazine such as praxis magazine,Tuck magazines and some other reputable blogs. His poems come from the heart and a desire to share words of joy and happiness. He believes that poetry can be used as a tools to solving societal ills.