My country, my motherland,
My home!
No home, like home
East or west
Sudan is the best
The Sudan is a home
Never to be abandoned
Not forgotten
Till death be passed
My longing, my yearning
For thee
The land of our ancestors
The lands of our forefathers
The land of my birth
True home is the Sudan
In despair my live shall ever be.
I left you.
When I was young and strong
In search of peace, security
And freedom.
Shall I ever see you again?
Those beautiful landscapes.
I vividly see mountain Gumbiri
Standing elegantly high
And pompous
As if directing river Motutu
As it reluctantly meanders
In search of Nile
Eating the soil, as it creeps
Leisurely to pour our rich
Soil and precious water
To give life in distance lands
And mountains Imatong boldly
Guarding the borders
While mountains Boma
And upper Tanga vigilantly
Watch in defense.
The swamps bursting its banks
Sounding the battle cry
And throbbing the war drums
The echo evaporating loud
And clear in Zande land
The Nba Mountains explode
With anger
Rejaf confused wondering
Why the Nile flows by unconcerned
The sand dune of Darfur remembering
Ali Dinar supervise the warriors
Hinterland
Oh How I miss you
I wonder how you look now?
Do you really miss me?
As I do
How I long to walk on your soil
To feel
And consoling live and warmth
The freedom of the Sudan
So soothing to me
Till death be passed
My longing, my yearning
For these shall ever be
In despair my love shall be
Till death be passed
Though now
Poverty stricken
I still cling to thee
Your potential resources
Un-exploited there is
Scrambling for thee
Thoughts memories
Animosity is tearing
My heart apart
As days, weeks, months
And years drift by
They set my memories ablaze
My eyes are red and wet
My nose flooded in tears
My mind drowned in thoughts
As I run through the African jungles
To hide no afraid or ashamed of you
You the one I so much love
My land
My soul
My everything
I have nothing to you
But only my love and blood
No matter, how long
I will always be there to defend thee
Fleeing through African jungles
Crossing streams rivers and desert
And mountains where I drunk
And sheltered under our trees
I saw horizons of hope
I came to learn
New tongues and re-discovered
My roots, my distorted identity
Latio Lo’ Jaden
1996
2011 FREEDOM IS COMING SOON !!! 25th DEATH ANNIVERSARY
To commemorate the 25th anniversary(AUGUST 6th) of our fathers death and the coming of freedom to Southern Sudan ,we have published the two poems written by Richard Lo' Latio.The first DEATH OF A WARRIOR/DEATH STRIKES/MOURNING IN EXILE/ HE WROTE IN December 1986 immediately he learnt of his fathers death.The second one THE WARRIOR he wrote in 1994 after some reflection in his own life and the impact of losing his father become more apparent.
Friday, May 6, 2011
A FREEDOM FIGHTER
I am a freedom fighter
Fighting for our freedom,
For too long
We tolerated
To co-exist
For inequality
All in justice vain
We had looked
Beyond tomorrows
To a none racial
Just equalitarian society
Where religion
And the colour of the shin
Forms no point of reference.
Our hospitality
Submerged in heaps of abuses
We have run our of patience
We have now decided to go
On our own,
We can not beg for our rights
And freedom.
The only opt lion left
Is for us to fight
For our rights
And freedom.
Latio Lo Jaden
4/06/1994
Fighting for our freedom,
For too long
We tolerated
To co-exist
For inequality
All in justice vain
We had looked
Beyond tomorrows
To a none racial
Just equalitarian society
Where religion
And the colour of the shin
Forms no point of reference.
Our hospitality
Submerged in heaps of abuses
We have run our of patience
We have now decided to go
On our own,
We can not beg for our rights
And freedom.
The only opt lion left
Is for us to fight
For our rights
And freedom.
Latio Lo Jaden
4/06/1994
Thursday, January 6, 2011
DEATH STRIKES / MOURNING IN EXILE /THE DEATH OF A WARRIOR
Far away from home
and alone in exile
I learnt you were gone
I ran to the house.
Locked the doors
and took refuge
in a room.
Away from the strangers
In the streets.
Alone
I cried
I cried and cried
sobbed wept and cried
looking around me
with my cloudy eyes
I saw no one
there was no one to say
take it easy
death comes to us all.
But there was none
No one to console me
as I cried
for my beloved father
the walls
the ceiling
and the windows
watched in silence.
The floor flooded
with tears
raining from my eyes.
Once again
I looked around me
my eyes
showering and tears flowing like rivulets
I saw no one to console me
As I cried
for my beloved father alone.
my mother
my sisters
my brothers
my relations
my friends
scattered like
unwanted seeds
I did not see
how they cried
for my father
I wish I could be there
to see how my mother
my sisters
my brothers
my relations, my friends
cried.
As loneliness engulfs me
I saw my reflections
on the tears
flooding the floor
visions slowly
and deliberately
pass my memories
as I recall my father's love
and kindness
I even saw him smile.
Days and night passed
then this woman came
I remembered her at once
How is your father? she asked
son I believe he is as old as I am
she said smiling
I kept silent.
Staring blinkingly
into the world.
my voice choked
by emotions.
I could feel
the clouds
of tears gathering
in my eyes.
And thunder stroms
echo in my brain.
‘’ You know
he used to tease
me and jokes
that one day
I would go home
in freedom
And that he
would teach me
how to read and write.’’
‘’You know son’’...............she continued
‘’Oh how I long to go home to Sudan’’
before the first tear drops
I broke the news
‘’Mama’’
‘’ Mama’’ .............I called
‘’Yes son’’
My voice was heavy
the words could not come
she stood up.
‘’Son is something wrong?’’ she asked
I nodded silently
with difficultly
I finally managed to say
‘’Father is no more’’
‘’ What?’’ She asked
He is no more.
She sunk deeper into the chair
jumped up
threw herself on the floor
rolling here and there
the news took her like a bombshell
Oh Jaden
Oh my brothers
my son
my love
our crying suddenly
became rhythmic
as we cried together
that humble
that humane
kind man. She murmured
No God,
Why God?
for hours we cried.
so Jaden
is no more
Your father is going to be
buried in your absence?
I nodded
Oh Jaden
Do you know that your father
is a very unique man?
Are you sure about the news anyway
people are not reliable
these days
then we resumed our crying
as days passed
the warrior
was confirmed dead.
I am sure
many cried in Khartoum
very many in the village
I am also certain
that many puppets
shaded crocodile tears in Juba and Malakal
while their heart
laughed
I wished I could see
them
the AB's
I wish I could be there
to mourn with the clan
for you
and to see the puppets too.
So
Goodbye
Daddy
good bye for ever
now I have only
times.
To remember
and cry,
As I recall your love to me
kindness
your words of advice
your letters
your face
your smile
but to forget
how can I
Rest in peace
Daddy
Rest in peace
Jaden.
Latio Lo'Jaden
December 1986
and alone in exile
I learnt you were gone
I ran to the house.
Locked the doors
and took refuge
in a room.
Away from the strangers
In the streets.
Alone
I cried
I cried and cried
sobbed wept and cried
looking around me
with my cloudy eyes
I saw no one
there was no one to say
take it easy
death comes to us all.
But there was none
No one to console me
as I cried
for my beloved father
the walls
the ceiling
and the windows
watched in silence.
The floor flooded
with tears
raining from my eyes.
Once again
I looked around me
my eyes
showering and tears flowing like rivulets
I saw no one to console me
As I cried
for my beloved father alone.
my mother
my sisters
my brothers
my relations
my friends
scattered like
unwanted seeds
I did not see
how they cried
for my father
I wish I could be there
to see how my mother
my sisters
my brothers
my relations, my friends
cried.
As loneliness engulfs me
I saw my reflections
on the tears
flooding the floor
visions slowly
and deliberately
pass my memories
as I recall my father's love
and kindness
I even saw him smile.
Days and night passed
then this woman came
I remembered her at once
How is your father? she asked
son I believe he is as old as I am
she said smiling
I kept silent.
Staring blinkingly
into the world.
my voice choked
by emotions.
I could feel
the clouds
of tears gathering
in my eyes.
And thunder stroms
echo in my brain.
‘’ You know
he used to tease
me and jokes
that one day
I would go home
in freedom
And that he
would teach me
how to read and write.’’
‘’You know son’’...............she continued
‘’Oh how I long to go home to Sudan’’
before the first tear drops
I broke the news
‘’Mama’’
‘’ Mama’’ .............I called
‘’Yes son’’
My voice was heavy
the words could not come
she stood up.
‘’Son is something wrong?’’ she asked
I nodded silently
with difficultly
I finally managed to say
‘’Father is no more’’
‘’ What?’’ She asked
He is no more.
She sunk deeper into the chair
jumped up
threw herself on the floor
rolling here and there
the news took her like a bombshell
Oh Jaden
Oh my brothers
my son
my love
our crying suddenly
became rhythmic
as we cried together
that humble
that humane
kind man. She murmured
No God,
Why God?
for hours we cried.
so Jaden
is no more
Your father is going to be
buried in your absence?
I nodded
Oh Jaden
Do you know that your father
is a very unique man?
Are you sure about the news anyway
people are not reliable
these days
then we resumed our crying
as days passed
the warrior
was confirmed dead.
I am sure
many cried in Khartoum
very many in the village
I am also certain
that many puppets
shaded crocodile tears in Juba and Malakal
while their heart
laughed
I wished I could see
them
the AB's
I wish I could be there
to mourn with the clan
for you
and to see the puppets too.
So
Goodbye
Daddy
good bye for ever
now I have only
times.
To remember
and cry,
As I recall your love to me
kindness
your words of advice
your letters
your face
your smile
but to forget
how can I
Rest in peace
Daddy
Rest in peace
Jaden.
Latio Lo'Jaden
December 1986
THE LONELY WARRIOR
Jaden,
Had you wanted
To be a puppet
Who would complete
You choose not to be
You lion heart
You Iron man.
Motherlands freedom
Our people's aspirations
Your only wish
Your riches
your possessions.
Puppets shed crocodile tears
Some laughed
Some mocked
While others admired
To die poor
like Aggrey Jaden
Angleo B. said
He cannot
So he opts to be
A sale out agent
And pledged his total and unswerving loyalty
To please his masters.
He licks their feet
He licks their shoe
He licks their sweat
He licks their asses
Knees before them
And their mistress
Misused finally gets
A kick on the ass
Useless, Shit.
But a puppet
You choose not to be
You Iron man An exemplary
You clung proudly
Till death parted you
From the people
From you Motherland.
LatioLo'Jaden(the late)
26/6/1994
Had you wanted
To be a puppet
Who would complete
You choose not to be
You lion heart
You Iron man.
Motherlands freedom
Our people's aspirations
Your only wish
Your riches
your possessions.
Puppets shed crocodile tears
Some laughed
Some mocked
While others admired
To die poor
like Aggrey Jaden
Angleo B. said
He cannot
So he opts to be
A sale out agent
And pledged his total and unswerving loyalty
To please his masters.
He licks their feet
He licks their shoe
He licks their sweat
He licks their asses
Knees before them
And their mistress
Misused finally gets
A kick on the ass
Useless, Shit.
But a puppet
You choose not to be
You Iron man An exemplary
You clung proudly
Till death parted you
From the people
From you Motherland.
LatioLo'Jaden(the late)
26/6/1994
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