A Ugandan Dream | Teen Ink

A Ugandan Dream

November 2, 2010
By arianna1273 SILVER, Great Falls, Virginia
arianna1273 SILVER, Great Falls, Virginia
5 articles 0 photos 0 comments

How the Ugandan sun desiccated our final trickles of hope
Until our dusty hands ached emptily beneath the drought’s semblance.
A thousand tears to rain once more
Upon my grandfather’s dreams, once vivacious as daylight.

Through the cracks of the earth did my village crumble,
While hunger scintillated in salient hues of arid gold.
Robbed of dignity and fooled by the games of fate,
Every tribesman stood for himself.

“Together we can,” I told my people,
“To rise, to redeem, to rectify our love.
Merge hearts and feel the warmth of your brother’s veins
In the name of the home we once knew so well.”

How hope then flooded in boundless waves,
As each huntsman joined hands with a desolate farmer.
A thousand lineages to unite once more,
Upon my grandfather’s smile did such dreams resurrect.

With greater poise than the prowl of the African lion,
With stronger vigor than the pulse of the Bantu drum
Did the village revitalize through a bond so firm,
As each man lived to witness the Ugandan dream.

The author's comments:
“A Ugandan Dream” describes both an ancient and modern anecdote of the importance of unity, and how its impact can truly change not only a small village, but an entire country. The prose poem is narrated through the eyes of a Ugandan man who is witnessing the drought, poverty and depression of his land. The turning point is when the he calls for all Ugandans to joins hands, whether they are huntsmen or farmers, to work to together to yield the deteriorating course of their fates. They are then able to witness the joy of the “Ugandan dream,” or a united and passionate community in which they finally find solace within.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.