The Call of Africa

When you’ve acquired a taste for dust,
The scent of our first rain,
You’re hooked for life on Africa,
And you’ll not be right again,
Till you can watch the setting moon,
And hear the jackals bark,
And know that they’re around you,
Waiting in the dark.

When you long to see the elephants,
Or to hear the coucal’s song,
When the moonrise sets your blood on fire,
You’ve been away too long,
It’s time to cut the traces loose,
And let your heart go free,
Beyond that far horizon,
Where your spirit yearns to be.

Africa is waiting… come!
Since you’ve touched the open sky,
And learned to love the rustling grass,
The wild fish eagle’s cry,
You’ll always hunger for the bush,
For the lion’s rasping roar,
To camp at last beneath the stars,
And to be at peace once more.

Emily C Dibb