Written piece
NO APOLOGY FOR THE UNBORN
Ron Muphuwa
Malawi
About this piece
NO APOLOGY FOR THE UNBORN is a poem by Ron Richard Muphuwa from Malawi. It bemoans the tendency by Africans to demand self-rule only to end up stealing from their own nations, thereby creating nations that give no hope to future generations.
No Apology for the Unborn
They have been loud;
with hearts bleeding raw with anger,
mouths foaming while denouncing the West,
with big words flung like missiles across Iran’s fragile skies,
each word a raging spark seeking something to burn.
They have been agitating;
For gates of independence to fling open,
for chains of colonial rule to unshackle,
be given the open field to manage Africa’s resources,
The latitude to chart the course of Africa’s future.
But when the grip loosed,
And they grabbed the baton, they surged forth,
Some staggering, some lost in the steam of self-rule,
drunk on the illusion of boundless powers,
The desire to enrich themselves and their cronies.
They speak of leadership like an inheritance,
and with borrowed tongues criticize Western correction.
Yet from Bretton Woods’ institutions, they borrow for consumption,
Only to cradle corruption like a cherished child,
and plunder the nations’ storehouses.
They feast while their nations’ foundations lay in ruins,
Drink from exploited rare metals and pensioners’ funds,
Laugh at thousands wallowing in poverty,
While their shadows dance on the bones of a wounded nation.
Doesn’t shame stain their faces, when they repeatedly violate the nation’s soul?
Don’t their ears catch the earth’s bitter shrieks as it weeps under their corrupt feet?
See how power brews in their veins, as they smile where grief should reside,
and shamelessly they steal Malawi’s tomorrow
and leave no apology for the unborn.