FROM A RIVER IN AFRICA

The birds gliding higher and higher,

To fly but never tire,

The great beyond,

escape,

Or remain adorned in bonds,

The mind seeks its freedom,

Like the river,

Gliding to fall lower and lower,

The great abyss,

jump,

Or refuse death's sweet kiss,

The mind weeps,

For what it knows not,

The heart knows not to keep,

Joy but only rot,

Up the mountain steep,

Down the valley even steeper,

Mr. Sun spare me your stare,

Your wrath is too much to bear,

Do you know my sin?

Do you know my sin?

I killed a lion,

They clapped,

I killed a snake,

They clapped,

I killed a man,

They did not clap,

They hunt for me,

The killer that I be,

So I beg you river fall,

Claim me and cleanse me,

Before God and all.