TANZANIA


Tanzania, I am longing to see your Baobab trees again
The trees that grow fatter on the virtue of their patience
Tanzania, I am longing to see your sands again
The sands that grow redder within the shadow of your country’s history
Tanzania, I am longing to drive your roads again
The roads that can take you through the mobile phone villages from the end of Malawi to the beginning of Kenya
Tanzania, I am longing to eat the fish in Dar es Salaam again, the fish that is caught by the husband of the woman who sings in the kitchen
Tanzania, I am longing to visit the Mountain on the bira again, Mount Kilimanjaro that comes for the morning then hides behind cloud
Tanzania, I am longing to visit the Pangani again,
The river that goes from mountain to sea, the oldest history book of your country
Tanzania, I am longing to visit the Masai Mara
The Masai Mara the plains that animal and man cross to find their destiny
Tanzania, I am longing to visit your spice islands again,
Zanzibar, your elusive city full of history’s scents and secrets
Tanzania, I am longing to visit your animals again, your animals that are living poems (OH! How I long to see your black and white horse again!), no science, religion or mathematics could do them justice.
Tanzania, I am longing to visit your town of Arusha again, Arusha where the Jacarandas line the streets and the schools tortoise is its mascot
Tanzania, I am longing, to visit The Usumbara Mountains again, The Usumbara’s where the German’s once summered and great men found birds for us to one day find
Tanzania, I am longing to visit your craters, your lakes, your towns, your markets, the things that define your land, your beauty, your charm and your grace
But the thing I long to visit the most are your people, your smiling, laughing, beautiful people,
Your people Tanzania! black, white, family, friends, all one tribe, sitting in your red dust, your white sands, your black earth, they are what I love most about you Tanzania and I will return to see you, them and the vast sky above us all.

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