DEPARTURE

From east to west we sway our hands,

Like leaves that rustle in the breeze,

On platforms broad we perch our feet

And gaze with flooded eyes the sky,

As birds of iron glide and land,

And scale the skies with our hearts so true.

Some eyes do drip the drops of fear,

For to worlds unknown their hearts are bound,

Some eyes do drip the drops of sorrow,

For parting sings of painful tunes,

Some eyes do drip the drops of joy,

For the earth when viewed from the moon,

The best presents its shape,

So farewell my braves, farewell my sons,

Forget not your land, forget not your mother.

But what sorrows sweet this parting brings,

Sweet love, sweet land,

We leave you not this glorious day,

For weariness, nor for your fallow lands,

Is it not from you we tapped our lives,

And from your teats our lips did suck,

The milk that in our veins do flow.

Yet like birds that fly,

To seek for food to bring our young,

To stuff our brains with what we lack,

To fill our streams with rainbow fish,

We take our leave of you this day.

So, weep not for sadness,

But that for gladness,

This earth my love,

This earth my mother.

At Kotoka International Airport 1985