Ode to Anthony Ampe
Aye, forgot to tell ya Old Anthony he died Great man, great clan Reduced to rubble For the want of metal
Oh how he mourned The death of his valley The possum and the parrot No more but dust and oil No land, no soil to till or toil
King Narungsi he became To escape the stark reality His mind did flip to learn Six feet beneath his feet He never could own
Thousand profanities he hurled The government and company have stolen my land, he sang as he roamed the land he loved Never could he ever find solace
Like headless chooks we run around After money and greatness Buried in vanity, blind to reality Yes our kings didn’t wear crowns To be seen or heard from afar
Mother Hideous, helpless, naked to the sun you were Conceived and born of a woman In excruciating pain she doth Brought forth humanity As sure as all must die one day None came another way
Soaked in blood, wrapped in her love You came to face the light of the day Scale the heights if you must But never you forget The pain you owe another For she is none other Than your mother
No matter how big and tough Invincible and brave you seem In her womb and on her bosom You were just a child to her For she is a durable, ever loving All-weather Mother
A Story to Tell Before I am hard of hearing and sight failing Before I am old and gray and my teeth have fallen I shall for you write a story A tale not of glory but gory
I shall paint your name in blood of the innocents Having laid bare this for all to see I shall pass on To meet my ancestors on the other side hoping That my people shall Be free to make choices Rest I shall not until lump in my throat is healed
My brother he walks beside me a last having Made peace and embraced in reconcile Healed and renewed We walk side by side No longer shall we shed blood for what is ours
I Brandish Hope I brandish hope That one day soon We shall climb the wall Of ignorance and arrogance And on common ground we shall meet To plant a seed Of understanding, love and respect That had eluded us for so long
We shall cast aside our pride, our differences Relinquish those delusions that hold us captive To unravel what’s in store for us We shall embark on a journey Of self-realization and discovery To believe and achieve Our dreams and goals for tomorrow