TIGRAY: The Holy Land, I long for You

 

(Dr.Yohannes Aberra, Novemeber,2020)

 

In the direction of the Morning Star,

Craving for you from too…too…too far.

 

Homeless in a big house, foodless in a banquet;

Friendless in a crowd, criminal in a Kangaroo court.

 

I feel lonely, away from you, in a place I wrongly called my own;

I am demonized, I am ostracized, for working hard until dawn.

 

Always suspected, frequently jailed not for what I do but for what I am;

Living like an antelope in the wilderness where the wolves roam.

 

I dream about your mountains Semayata, Gerealta, Alequa, and Tsebet;

The grand Tekezze which binds you from Waja and Mai-kenetal to Wolkait.

 

You are close to God and Allah from the beginning of time;

The blessed domiciles of the almighty in Axum and Wukro they shine.

 

I feel hungry for himbasha and tihlo; I feel thristy for duquwa and mes;

The wisdom of ayatantna in my head and the beauty of Tegaru women in my tears.

 

Your greatness spans to Rome, Egypt, Persia and Indus;

The Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean can witness.

 

Every piece of your land is strewn with relics soft and hard;

Heroes for battle, scholars for development you are endowed.

 

Mourn not; rejoice, beat the drum, and dance to the tune of awris;

The time is close at hand to see the bright days of bliss.