My country has bled so much before,
It coursed through every valley, every hill,
And pain was the word carried in wrath,
For my country held against its will.
My country has broken many bones,
Abused by those who were supposed to care,
They left her stranded alone and lost,
Stripped of hope, broken, and bare.
My country had almost given up,
What hope could she ever claim?
The sores festered at the edges,
All she ever felt was pain.
But they never broke her,
She never rocked, never swayed,
Now she mocks her former captors,
She stands as a jewel newly made,
And we will fight for her,
Her dignity and her grace,
We who are her people,
No matter our gender. No matter our race.
Mathew Lewis
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/south-africa/
