Merry Christmas Guys & Dolls!

“We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas!“

“We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a…“

From all of us at FaraiToday.com, wishing you and your loved ones, the Merriest of Christmas! We are so grateful for your support, prayers, love for FaraiToday.com. Thank you so very much! Because of YOU, we have been able to share with the world and celebrate “our” stories and successes! We salute each and everyone of you for the different contributions you have made and continue to make.

Our countries, our communities have had their fair share of challenges but it is the stories of courage, resilience, triumph behind those challenges, that we here at FaraiToday.com choose to tell! And not just the challenges, as is the norm with mainstream media. Now more than ever before, we realize and acknowledge the need for us to take our place on the global stage to tell “our” stories accurately! We owe it to ourselves and to our posterity!

I share my gift of POETRY with you from my heart as you share your Christmas with your loved ones! Enjoy!

I dream of a place…

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I dream of a place where azure skies kiss the highveldt savannah in the far distance

A place where cheeky wisps of clouds frolic across the African heavens

As intoxicating succulent golden beams of rays radiate from the high noon sun

I dream of a place where the colorful bateleur eagle soars high into the deep red horizon

Emblematic of a past rich with Shona dynasties and grandeur of the monoliths of ancient metropolis

And hilltop acropolis of the kingdom of Changamire and the Mutapa and Rozvi empires that defy time

Here monarchs inhabit chevron and herringbone palaces with divine and celestial beings

I dream of a place where formable mahogany and msasa trees intersperse the vast terrains of Gokwe

The stealth gallops of the kudu and eland across the glistening white stones (amatshe am’hlope, mahwe machena) of Zhombe

The final resting place of vaMuzorori, warrior King, whose loins birthed my dreams

In this place, I hear the melodic hustle of the natives tilling the land for its fruit

I dream of a place where mid-day rainy clouds provide a temperate canvas to cool sun-kissed skins

Whilst sitting on the stoep of smoke-filled huts, bony fingers play harmonies of old on the mbira

Accompanied by raspy incantations of the gallant feats of the Mhondoros of ancient times

Evoking memories of past victories against the Pedros in their quest for the evasive African gold deposits

Or was it for Black diamond souls whose labor would later be usurped in foreign lands afar?

Ah, I dream of a place still, heart beating to the cries piercing through the darkness into the light

Here gushing rivers moisten the tropical evergreens of the Eastern highlands

And the Northern mountains dip into deep luscious valleys holding the secrets of a piece of metal (Mutare)

Along the way, green blankets of maize stalks laden with golden corn cobs cover the earth beneath

Here, I witness stately Jacaranda trees crowned with lavender leaves adorn the streets where they never sleep (Harare)

I dream of a place beyond the majestic Limpopo where clicking sounds herald the city of Kings

A paradoxical place of slaughter (Bulawayo) inhabited by indominable warriors from the line of Lobengula

In the deep South, rises the sweet aroma of families held together by the bastions of Ndebele traditions

I dream of a place built of stones without mortar, the manger of my birth and foundation of my youth

Where the village raised all the children, instilling the ageless values of ubuntu

Here the elders are the custodians of the Shona and Ndebele traditions, orators of times past

Children, the seeds of the future, their potential wrap the roads leading to Mbare, Mbizo, Mkoba & Mpopoma

Brilliant hall-marks of the resilience of Nubian Kings, Queens, Princes & Princesses

I dream of a place…

© Farai Lorraine Gundan – 2007

Special thanks to my (Bulawayo) Dominican Convent School mate, Barbara Mhangami, for her beautiful composition entitled “Christmas under African Skies“. Though my poem was written in 2007, Barb’s 2010 rendition of the way we celebrate Christmas in Africa resonated with me and gave me the courage to publish my work! Cheers Barb! Please check out her blog, On Becoming Barbara, which is fast becoming my favorite online “literary” refuge!

And as Erykah Badu said “I’m sensitive about my sh*t”, so be kind in your feedback! *wink*

MERRY CHRISTMAS!