Below is an excerpt from my upcoming debut novel HALF A LION. Stories and songs have been favored staples of the oral African traditions passed down the generations. In this book, I combine two of my great loves; history and poetry. Happy reading and watch this space.
***
Mansah loosened
his sword in its scabbard
and checked the arrows in his quiver.
Then he wrapped his robe tighter
around himself and settled
down to listen to a group
of warriors chant A Song of
Blood and Feathers.
“Long ago, lived
a warrior with dreams untold
With hair of glowing
coal, eyes of a fiery gold
His blade was
fine and bow of pine
Into the darkness, he braved the cold
The White Garden
held a fate unknown
For what was beyond,
he longed to own
A haunted boy
ached for honor's sake
And in the jungle, you wish
you take
Blood on stones, pinch
of scathing daggers
The warrior
climbed, each step on weak boulders
The Garden fought
back with flashes in the dark
Yet willing
hearts triumph where strength staggers
Under the moonlit shower, the injured
bird lay
Words unhurried, to beg and pray
For a chance
to see the eagle dance
And the moon blinded
in a feathery trance
Far away, a
dozen winged beasts soared
And in the twilight,
the great warrior
roared
They came
swooping to answer a master's call
Where no one dares,
there you will find your all.”
“Feels good to
hear the words of our forefathers,” someone said behind him.
Mansah
looked over his shoulder to see the chief frowning. He had not even heard the man approach. He sighed. “The songs always
talk of glorious victories, but never of untimely deaths, my chief,”
he said, thinking
of the tribesmen who had screamed
for help as the bushfires seized them.
Kheng sat down beside him, his armor creaking.
“The songs are not meant to
remind us of death, but to
celebrate a great life,” the chief said. “The skyfather makes some people
faster, some louder, some stronger.
But in death, one skeleton
is the same as the other. It is the gift of life
that matters, the hearts given to each of us, and what we
do with it. When it is all
done, the skyfather will ask you what
you did with that strong heart he gave to you, that keen nose, that sharp eye. The songs of the tribe will answer for you.”
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