Old mama, come and let’s listen
To the beat of the rain against the door
It’s a friendly beat
That pounds in my heart
The rain, our friend, old mama
The rain that hasn’t been falling this way
In a long time I heard that Cidade Velha
The entire island becomes a garden
In just a few days
I heard that the country is covered in green
The most beautiful colour
The colour of hope
That now, the soil really looks like Cape Verde
Peace has now replaced the storm
Come old mama, come
Regain your strengths and come to the door
The rain, our friend, sends its salvation
And can beat in my heart
Amílcar Lopes da Costa Cabral (also known as Abel Djassi) was a Guinea-Bissauan and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, writer, activist and politician, widely regarded as one of the most prominent African thinkers of the mid-20th century. Cabral led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands and the subsequent 1962 war of independence in Guinea-Bissau. He was assassinated on 20 January 1973, eight months before Guinea-Bissau’s unilateral declaration of independence.
Culled from: Scottish Poetry Library
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