A New Dawn

"A New Dawn" is a powerful protest poem that speaks to the enduring struggle against oppression and the reclamation of identity and freedom.

After the storm comes the calm,

After the darkness, the light.

This is the natural order,

The flow of nature's might.

 

Before the brightest of days,

There are always the turbulent and darkest hours.

Joy comes in the morning, or so they say,

But this dark night has lasted for centuries.

When will joy finally arrive?

Are we to live on mere promises of a better future,

While a certain class of men play messiah and wield power?

 

We’ve been in the dark for so long,

We’ve begun to forget what sunlight feels like�"

To live as free people, liberated.

 

For so long, they’ve told us we are a primitive race,

Our culture belittled; our history erased.

We were snatched from our motherland,

Kidnapped and taken from our homes.

For so long, they’ve taught us our ancestors were apes,

Lies written in history books by those who never lived our lives.

They tell us we were discovered,

As if we didn’t exist before they came to steal and claim.

They speak of discovering the River Niger and Nigeria,

As if we weren’t there to give it life.

For so long, our fate has not been in our hands. No longer.

 

No longer shall we wait for a messiah to save us.

Once, we were free people with free will.

We are descendants of kings and queens, inferior to none,

With royal blood running through our veins.

It's time to break free from the colonial mental cage,

To take back our land from oppressors,

And bring back the golden years.

Let's rebuild our nation, stronger than before.

We that rise daily before the sun,

Awakening to a new era.

Behold, a new dawn is upon us.

 

Our oppressors preach salvation,

Their favorite weapon to keep us docile.

They've always tried to put us down, to silence us.

But like Dr. Maya Angelou said, "Still I Rise."

Still, we rise,

We rise above all oppressors.

 

Though they try to suppress us,

They can never keep us contained.

 

I’m raging with an anger I can’t contain,

Pouring my heart out in these lyrics.

No longer will we sit quiet and timid in the dark,

For the light awaits us.

We have waited for the light for a long time.

Behold, the prophecy is at hand.

Behold, a new dawn is at hand.

 

Oh yes, still we rise.

For it is a NEW DAWN.

Yes, it is!

Wake Up and Step into the light!