hall I weep for this country? My own dear native land, Of differing tribe and tongue Amalgamated a century gone, and Convinced to live in brotherhood, By stranger lords and ruler guards.

Shall I weep for this country
Of green pastures and fertile land,
If selfishly, we trampled our grass,
Plucking the fruits of green gardens,
And failing to plant replacing seeds,
Even when the land begged for crops?

Shall I weep for this country
Of milk and honey so richly blessed,
If we sucked it dry in ominous greed,
Seeking to please our appetite,
Insatiable like a pack of gluttons,
Incorrigible like a bunch of brats?

Shall I weep for this country
Of many wise and prudent men,
If we refuse to install or crown wisdom,
But choose leaders of narrow goals,
To run affairs of a complex populace,
To suit character of tribe and region?

Shall I weep for this country
Of giant rank in African leadership,
If we sold our rights and parts of us
To feeble neighbors for cheap support,
And later wish to gain that part,
Long surrendered and relinquished?

Shall I weep for this country
Of talented and knowledgeable men,
If we encouraged our soldierly men
To take the reins of leadership,
Rather than guide the nation's own,
And protect our sovereign state?

Shall I weep for this country
Of great women and fruitful wombs,
If we raise our gifted children
In biased hatred of one another,
Teaching them the wrong anthem,
"To steal and share the national cake?"

Shall I weep for this country
Of a hundred and twenty million,
If compatriots disown their kind
For political and religious reasons
Wishing to kill and maim their kind
For an illusionary peace and unity?

Shall I weep for this country?
For the heroes of this motherland?
For the true nationalists gone before?
For the patriots amongst us today?
For the children, our future generation?
Or shall I just weep for myself?

I shall neither weep nor shall I despair,
But I shall smile at the sun today,
For the little peace that we still enjoy,
For the freedom to walk the streets,
For the comfort of a quiet night sleep,
And for the hope to live tomorrow.

I shall smile for what I still have,
A country to own and call my own,
I shall smile for waking up once again,
With a chance to make things better,
I shall smile like a proud Nigerian,
And there are still many of us.

I
Shall
Smile
For this
Country.
I will indeed.

Oliver Mbamara, Esq. © 2002

Oliver Mbamara, Esq., is an Administrative Law Judge with the State of New York.