he is the face of Africa
imparting immediacy to undiscovered worlds,
an exotic confection who walks
with the solemn dignity of his tribal roots.
dark chocolate eyes begged me to dive
into molten delight -
as different as the Masai Mara,
as familiar as my name
I sighed at his touch,
those gentle palms the delicious shade
of homemade strawberry ice
while savoring the scent of sweet cherries
on skin of silken sheen
rendering mine unfinished, underdone.
I hear his voice in shifting siroccos;
lilting speech adding piquancy to
everyday expressions,
and whisper to the wind,
“Nakupenda”
Author notes
to Rasheed, who will always have a place in my heart.
Nakupenda: "I love you" in Kiswahili
I tried to incorporate both prompts into this poem.
A contest entry
- ... Femme Noir...Leopold Senghor by Peteskid.
1000 points, ended April 12, 2008, 9 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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Congrats, Liz! This was such a deserving piece, so full of marvelous description and heart. Kudos to ya, gal!
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Ahh... Lovely piece. Wonderful opening, "he is the face of Africa" Excellent imagery. Thank you for your author's note. Write on, poet. One.
Dez
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Simply delicious, gal! I loved every line.
Particularly enjoyed these:
an exotic confection who walks
with the solemn dignity of his tribal roots.AND
lilting speech adding piquancy to
everyday expressions,I think I know just what you mean.
Sweetly done.
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Absolutely breathtaking. Truly wonderful in expression, word usage and choice making this a most visual work of art. Just superb. ~Pamela
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wonderful metaphor "he is the face of Africa", very well used imagery and wonderful word choices, open accessible words that reveal so much, excellent work here, tender and expressive. Thank you for this fine entry into the contest and best of luck in the judging...PK
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