The Water of Africa by John Hermon

There is a proverb which says,
“The one who drinks the water of Africa will one day return”.
So, did you drink the water of Africa?
The water of Africa will feed your memories and fuel your dreams.
Do you remember how you stood in the warm dusk and watched the clutching thorn trees stretch to pluck a full-orbed moon from the clear sky?
Do you remember how you silently scanned a heaven of myriad stars and heard the urgent drums resound in worship of the Creator?
Do you remember how you trembled while the thunder cracked and sudden lightning bolts hurled threats against the canopy of trees?
And did you drink the water of Africa?
Do you remember the dusty road trod in the heat of the sun or in brief twilight‘s sweet relief?
Do you remember the sweetness of mangoes cut fresh from the forest tree?
Do you remember those cratered unruly streets where men and bikes and buses vie for place – and danger lurks?
Do you remember the turmoil of the city market-place, driven by life clung to the edge of life itself?
And did you flee the snake and fear the mosquito’s bite and curse the flies which preyed upon your flesh?
And did you sense the pulse and thrust of youth, the vision of the possible yet unfulfilled?
Was it then that you drank the water of Africa?
The water of Africa will feed your memories and fuel your dreams.

By John Hermon