A voyage of liberty—A poem from Makena
by Ilutwa Makena
Verily, Verily, we say to you occupier The Barotse freedom train trundles Onwards and gaining momentum Listen to the mesmerizing turn, turn rhythm Of the royal drum, Ililimufu, sending a thrill in the air, as Availed by the Ku-omboka day frill to a visitor, In the interim, nothing seems to make sense to a reveler Hurriedly, paddlers walk up and about, Hearty greetings expressed with laughter and shouts, but Let the Luwabelwa led by Mutwaleti give matching orders All shall rally behind Minya-Litunga to the Nayuma, In unison, like the feet of the millipede The zebra clad paddles drive the Nalikwanda To sail in a stately manner A voyage to the Promised Land, the freed Lyondo lya Ñuwa Pursuing the passage to honor and glory Enroute to actualizing our statehood conceived in liberty There is no longer an exit point, Because A point of no return has been reached As the vibrating sound of Manjabila fills the air It is too late for the faint hearted And cowards to change their minds, inevitably Over ambitious paddlers, in a bid to outdo each other Miss the tune, whilst visionaries remain on course, Like Nokushimba, new curriers Always think they are the best carriers No past, only present, no future Like elsewhere, jostling and shoving form part Of the floating wonder, Nalikwanda, Njonjolo mukulwamato mu lyambai The docking point is never known by the lead paddler As they take charge of the Imutusi, Interchangebly Leading the Maoma, Lishoma and Manjabila melodies, and Think the revelers only see them, But The mesmerized onlookers only see the millipede, Yet The new free state of Barotseland is forth, on the face of the world The birth of a new state from an old nation is imminent