African People

It takes a village to raise a child, 

Every grown man I've known is my dad,  

Every grown woman I knew was my mum so I smiled,  

Every woman and man around my parent's age is my mum and dad. 

Whenever I visited my neighbours they fed me as their own, 

I used to go to people's homes, kneeled near the door before they offered me a seat, 

Respect is something we've always shown even when we've grown, 

We respected everyone including the stranger on the street. 

When there are no empty seats for adults left in the bus, it is a disgrace not to offer yours, 

The behaviour of an African child reflects the kind of home they come from, 

The African child has to be at his best behaviour to go home and find open doors,  

If they misbehaved someone will always go home and tell them. 

An African child is taught to help elders with their groceries and refuse any money offered as compensation, 

Not because that child has lots of money of course, but the lesson is for people to be kind to one another, 

To build a better and a united nation, 

The one that will fight, get out of their way or do anything to help each other. 

An African child is taught not to look someone elderly on the eyes, 

Something we had to unlearn for job interviews as it means something else to the West, 

Africa is not a place you just see it's a place you feel, it has lots of genuine smiles, 

African people don't have much but they surely have more music, more dance and more fun and free spirit than the rest. 

African People