By George Ngwane
Take away my intellectual chain and let me speak
Get me away from this cultural drain and let me be
Break away my economic shackle and let me eat
Free me from my political mannacle and let me live
Let met speak the words of wisdom to
a people that are in a political bondage
Let me be a soldier in the army of
the people that are in a cultural crusade
Let me also eat the bread from the table
which my sweat and toil have made
Let me live the life that I ought to live
to give my children a love that won't fade
I shall speak, for in the beginning there was the word
I shall be for in the creator's image, I was born
I shall eat even if man does not depend on bread alone
I shall live until when God shall call me home
Originally published in Bate Besong (Or the Symbol of Anglophone Hope, 1993
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