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FORGIVE US MA, FORGIVE US

Ma, you brought us up the way mothers do,
With love, care and kindness too,
Under your watchful eyes our bodies and minds grew,
From when we suckled till we could chew,
You carried us to school barefoot in the morning dew,
For deep down you knew when time would be due,
We would come home and sing to you,
We grew up so fast and developed our own ways and conscience,
We saw the city and forgot the village,
We learnt to steal, kill and pillage,
We got our own families and erased your image,
Forgive us ma, forgive us,
The pain and agony we’ve caused you knows no bound,
Every morning with the pestle and mortar the grain you pound,
Looking at the roads expecting your prodigal sons to come round,
You return to the house in the evening without a sound,
Give up not on us ma,
For when the wind blows across the plains,
Listen close and you shall hear our calls so faint,
When from the hills come the rains,
Come out and wait,
For then you shall hear our laments and our pains,
Forgive us ma, forgive us,
We have not been the saints you bore,
We’ve not been the good children of before,
Have not upheld the communal values of the yore,
We shall make this right,
We shall wake up tomorrow and board a flight,
We shall land into your house with all our might,
For we are the chosen sons of the land,
We shall kiss, hug and hold your hand,
We shall kneel and ask for reprieve in the sand,
Wave in front of our eyes the magic wand,
Show us that we are your children again,
Forgive us ma, forgive us,
We shall make this all right tomorrow



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