Drumbeat of Africa

Cercle Nautique Bujumbura

painted

by

Gina Archer

Pulsing through my heart is the drumbeat of Africa,
It calls me back to the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
My eyes yearn to see the bourganvilliia blossom and the mango tree,
My senses seek the sweet fruit of the papaya and Burundi tea.

I recall the rythm of those reggae songs we heard,
Drinking through the night at Half London with our senses blurred,
Never to be forgotten nights when the music never ends,
In Kampala with like-minded strangers and other close friends.

Oh my mysterious Africa, how will I ever forget,
The crickets clicking at night or your crimson sunset,
Your verdant hillside forests, the thorn bush on your grassy plains,
Your rusty red dust in my eyes or your tropical rains?

Oh Africa! Land of the lion, the leopard and the elephant,
No other land entices me with such enchanted scent,
No lover is more seductive nor captivating in her charms,
As you Africa, when you enfold me in your arms.

The gorillas in the mist, I would not have missed,
Nor the aroma of your coffee or the girls I kissed,
Nor the Eland grazing, the Oryx, or the Fish Eagle's screech,
Nor your palm fringed beaches, shining stars, beyond my reach.

Masai drummers