ODE TO THE HUNGRY STOMACH
Ghelawdewos
Araia
That
Ethiopian belly once again starving
My
people once again dying
The
Ethiopian nation altogether crying
That
Ethiopian mother for her children mourning
Though
she herself fails to appease the dust
Struggles
in vain to survive that won’t for sure last
She
may even wish to make the transition fast
For
she would become hopeless, helpless without trust
Oh!
Mother Ethiopia who gave birth to the hero in
agriculture
The
repository of complex rich culture
The
protagonist in early horticulture
What
an irony to die of man-made drought and not of
nature
The
Ethiopian peasant, reservoir of human faculty
He
who incorporated divine power of fecundity
Legend
in handicraft, pottery-making infinity
Now,
your soul is compromised by famine lack of
alacrity
You
master of granary, now starve and go hungry!
Witnessing
the demise of your cattle, defying veterinary
What
a cruel testimony and a bizarre twist of history
That
enrages me, makes me mad and angry
You
master of the soil, terrace, and landscape
You
master of the cattle on all land and cape
Sadly,
you are unable to skip death and escape
What
an agonizing ordeal that I wish I could fake
You
master of the honeybees that furnish bactericide
I
can’t believe you are let down to genocide
Those
who brought you death don’t contemplate suicide
They
may want to superimpose on you the culture of
homicide
But
you are indefatigable master of self-sacrifice
You
don’t even bring your cattle for sacrifice
I
bow in your honor once, twice, and thrice
You
master of gallantry, Ethiopia’s pride
You
probably don’t know the culprit that hide
All
the food that you produce including skin and hide
You
are then devastated by the famine tide
It
is simply unfathomable, unconscionable
To
see my Ethiopian hero seek any food edible
This
to me is beyond comprehension, incredible
A
shattering encounter, an ordeal so terrible
You
master of the waters, architect of shallow well
Now
with a hungry stomach you have faced a dreadful
spell
The
world is focused on you; people have a story to
tell
While
you countenance that earthly hell
An
earthly hell in the Ethiopian pastureland
Now
an arid zone degraded soil wasteland
Could
there be some mystery too grand?
A
chemical that undermines fertile arable land
Chemical
fertilizer can cause soil acidity
As
opposed to manure dung organic tranquility
And
our hero knows it from his daily activity
Although
cynics emphasized on his stupidity
Our
hero knows why he is starving
Despite
the disillusioned public but caring
They
think that nature impeded him from grain buying
And
they wrongly assume that he was destined to dying
Early
on the Ethiopian land degraded by ecological
disaster
Coupled
by the introduction of chemical fertilizer
Globalization
that makes the Hero a panhandler
Lack
of comprehensive development it engender
Oh!
My Ethiopian hero in agriculture, animal husbandry
I am
sorry to see your pasture and farm dry
The
whole of Ethiopia grief and cry
I
will extend my hand; I won’t let you fry
I
will, we will come to your aid
Before
the time elapses, the Sun fade
We
will avenge you before other culprits invade
We
will expedite famine relief and development
upgrade
Hang
on my peasant hero, stay alive
With
your vision and our commitment, you will survive
With
development and appropriate technology, you will
revive
And
you will harness nature, the time will arrive.
Copyright © IDEA, Inc.
2002/2008. This poem was first published on
various Ethiopian websites on December 2002. Dr.
Ghelawdewos Araia can be contacted for educational
and constructive feedback via dr.garaia@africanidea.org
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