WHY AFRICA?

Explorers came and they took 
They took my people and my tradition
They did not brother to take a second look

It is me who made mankind 
Society claims my riches and my treasures 
But my soil tells me it all mines 

I cry tears of sorrow 
My people are dying my the handful 
~Cause I see no hope for tomorrow
And my soul wonder why me WHY Africa?

I see children starving and violence everywhere
I hear the gunshots and I feel pain
My people shout democracy , but its nowhere 

Society call me uncivilized 
Even though I created the first society 
And My Soul/Soil Wonders WHY.... WHY AFRICA?

This poem was written by Lisa L Williams @ Alabama State University during a class called BLACK Humanities. As an final project we had to write a original creative piece and present it before the class for our project. With a trebling voice and shaking hands I read this poem from my wavy paper afraid.  I said my name "Lisa Williams" I will be reading a poem I called "Why Africa". All of a sudden every eye looked up and starred at me ready for me to speak.  I never looked up I read the poem with fear that was slow to my lips. When I finished everyone was smiling and some even clapped.  My teacher was pleased. But Me, I was shocked. All I wanted to do was run to my seat. I awaited the teacher instructions to leave the podium. When she began to speak, I was ready to run seat down. But instead she said " You should be a writer, that was very good, very good insight, and very good point of view". I looked at her with a grateful but fearful smile and uttered the words " Thank you". Then I rushed to be seated. After class a few students expressed how good the poem was.  I was surprised but did not think I was good enough to be published.  I later wrote poems for friends for fun.  Later I submitted my poem to Poetry.com for a submission. It was chosen to be in the national poem book.  For that moment on I wrote in privacy only for me. 
Now I am ready to write for the world. 
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