I have crossed continents to reach Africa

But the day never came

          when mountains were hills

          when rivers were streams

          that could be leapt over

I have not reached you my love

You are a distant star

It's as though a wall of darkness

          has risen up between us.

When I grasp you, my hands grasp nothing

but a corpse that died with no justice

          as if I cradled a stone veined with my blood

          in a house flooded by a storm

          that stands alert through the night

          and is marooned in the morning

                                                    waiting by the road.

 

The years have stretched between us: blood and fire

the bridges I tried to cross turned into walls

and you, you have sunk to the bottom of the sea

                                                    so I couldn't touch you.

Oysters have skinned me, slicing the veins in my arms

And I call out:

                   You, Africa

                   the love of my soul

                   friend of maggots and darkness

                   I have wandered many years searching for you

                   and my journey has never stopped

                   you who have covered yourself in death your whole life

 

I have crossed continents to reach Africa

but the day never came

when those bridges could be crossed.

You who sleep by my side

are like a distant star in the sky

a door bolted from inside

And I stand outside

                           I wait in the cold.