I don't know how I came upon this, but I love it! It says it all!

The Call of Africa

When you’ve acquired a taste for dust,
The scent of our first rain,
You’re hooked for life on Africa
And you’ll not be right again
Till you can watch the setting moon
And hear the jackals bark
And know that they’re around you
Waiting in the dark.

When you long to see the elephants,
Or to hear the coucal’s song,
When the moonrise sets your blood on fire,
You’ve been away too long.
It’s time to cut the traces loose
And let your heart go free
Beyond that far horizon,
Where your spirit yearns to be.

Africa is waiting… come!
Since you’ve touched the open sky
And learned to love the rustling grass,
The wild fish eagle’s cry,
You’ll always hunger for the bush,
For the lion’s rasping roar,
To camp at last beneath the stars
And to be at peace once more.


By kind permission of C Emily Dibb

The Exile
By C. Emily Dibb

I miss the earth of Africa,
The hot dry stones, the sand,
The friendly feel of sun warmed rock,
Beneath my outspread hand.

I miss the smell of Africa,
The fragrance of the grass,
At dewfall in the evening.
In the glades where leopards pass.

I miss the light of Africa,
The glare that hurts the eyes,
The shock of blinding brilliance,
In noonday’s cloud-massed skies.

I miss the sounds of Africa,
The barking of baboon,
And the thunder of the lion’s roar,
That greets the rising moon.

I miss the wind of Africa,
That blows before the rain,
The warm, wet wind of heaven,
I must breathe it once again.

Oh I long to sleep in Africa,
Through a velvet summer night,
And there to dream of days gone by,
Until my soul takes flight.

Then should I wake in Africa,
I’ll hear the bulbul’s song,
And know that I am home at last,
Back home where I belong.

Very nice indeed.

Excellent!! I really enjoyed those poems. Thanks for sharing. AIU

D. To know and have experienced Africa the poem means so much more.

Mike

Just love the poems! Here my favorite by the same author:

C Emily Dibb on the dust cover of Ivory, Apes and Peacocks.

“….There is a magic, a poignancy, a sense of excitement about the bush….of this enchanted land………that is not only gripping, it is addictive. Once bitten by the ‘bush bug’; a person is infected for life……. Bush fever is a kind of madness that compels you to return and return – a longing which will seize you by the throat until you would gladly sell your soul for the sight of a thorn tree against an empty sky, a herd of wildebeest wheeling under their own dust, or the deep rasping ‘augh’ of a lion prowling in the night. The veld has a scent all of its own too, a combination of dust and dung and sunshine, a heady fragrance that fills the lungs and intoxicates the blood like strong wine.”

The lady can write and evoke powerful images and memories of what we all have experienced.

thanks for sharing

I copied all three of the quotes posted here.

Does she have a book I can buy someplace?

....................................................................

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
I copied all three of the quotes posted here.

Does she have a book I can buy someplace?

....................................................................

4 different titles halfway down the page HERE