By Alinane ‘Naphi’ Mphande
Slowly I watched it grow
From a speck to a row
Mesmerized I watched as they came
One, two, three, four, scores and scores of them
Fascinated I beheld them build it
Fashion and mould it
Giving their time, and energy to it
Risking all…..even their lives for it
Carrying twice, maybe thrice their own size
Dragging, lifting, stumbling, falling
So their dream they realize
But soon their labour was rewarded for the row
That single line was no more
It changed, always re-forming
Continuously morphing
There were others near-by working as diligently as they
Every single day
They had no time to play
From sand, sticks and clay
they built their display
Soon there were joined by the ones from before
And still others joined them until…….
Until…..
In awe
I saw
From a speck
They could make
A mound, a hill, a mountain!
So I called to my brothers
Shouted to my sisters
Come! Come!
Let us like the mighty___ army___ of tiny___Termites
begin to build!
Come let us begin to fight
They weren’t each
Able to do much
But these small soldiers teach!
Like them let us harness the power of us
The strength of ‘we’!
Each in their own way,
Starting today
Let us obey
The voice of mother earth as she calls us to become
A TERMITE ARMY
Breaking down barriers,
Rebuilding bridges
Fighting the forces of hate and discrimination
Rebelling against oppression
Dealing a fatal blow to segregation
Let us create a new reality
Cultivate new hope and become
AN ARMY OF TERMITES
Where there was nothing, let us be something
Where there was a menace, with love we shall replace
And when our mountain has risen high and brave
Let us too take our place
Our fate embrace
Do it with a smile on our face
And a song for our dance
Then we will be
AN ARMY OF TERMITES!
