I SHALL STAND

Inspired by Maya Angelou's "STILL I RISE"

TITLE: I SHALL STAND

Though You try to erase my footprints
from the sands of time,
and my imprints 
from the pages of history,
still I shall stand

Oh You whipped 
my back mercilessly
like a beast of burden
and I moan in painful agony,
I shall yet take in the pains
and stand...........

Though you plundered
my Home asunder
rendering me a slave
without a home,
for home I shall yet crave
and pave
a return to my Jungle
like a Gorilla,
I shall stand to defend my Habitat
I am a beauty to behold,
exhuming the richness
of my past 
from the days of old.
Still I must stand

Though you easily forget
the great deeds
of my Ancestors
and their giant strides
in the ancient civilizations,
like the Pyramids of Giza,
I shall live for centuries old 
and stand...........

You stole the relics 
of my culture and heritage,
carting it away
as it is locked behind bars
in your museums
making me a tree
without a firm root,
like the ancient baobab,
I shall yet stand for ages

Though my endowments
were looted
and shared as spoils
in the shady deals and treaties
signed at Berlin,
I shall resuscitate 
from this great loss and stand............

Although I was enslaved in your plantations,
and my back was broken
and wounded,
rendering me helpless
and trapped in a hapless state,
Like a Golden eagle, I shall rise
above this mountain 
in my beauty and strength 
For I must soar

You relegated me to the ground
making me bask in poverty
and lack,
Like a Phoenix, 
I Shall rise from the dust
and stand to take my place.........

Though I was chained
in these fetters
like a toothless bulldog

Oh Gird yourself
I shall stand
I must stand
Still I will stand
and fight for my freedom.............