The hopes soared
Of a trip to wonderland
And behold the majesties
Live it in awe
On Scary paths
Through thorns and stones
With bruises greeting his feet
A daring journey began
From Banjui to Dakar
To Bamako and Tripoli
The trip seemed awesome
Then gloomy and fearful
They were parked like luggage
Stuffed in the depth of that boat
Air was priceless
The flight was nigh
Then, the rain began
Every man his life to keep
The swimming contest ensue
Dive or drown for the medal
The participants were curious
Khalifa, Gassama, Abdul, Denja
Bakari, Kofi, Abeji, Abikanile
Aba, Abayomi, Ayodele, Asabi, Marjani, Olabisi
My brothers, where are you going?
On to rekindle dreams of diamond paved streets?
And brush the gold-plated walls with your sweat?
Look at your farm Africa
Just look beneath the soil
And see gold, diamonds, iron, oil
Why are you crossing?
Beneath the ocean where you dived
Did you see the fish, aquariums?
And starfish cross over?
Live your dream my brother
Make your space your dream land
Sackie, Vambah, Enoch, Kwame, Quincy
Dorley, Losene, Nimely
I heard you in a meeting
To join the Olympics
See your brothers gasping in the Mediterranean
My brothers-
And you Mr. Hon
You drive an SUV a hundred thousand
With no buses to ferry students
And my brothers dived like fish
Osman, Abu, Khalifa, Ayodele, those bodies are not Olympic loosers
Not poisoned fish
They are warm blooded mammals
Frozen like ice
My brother is one of them
My brother drowned crossing
