Our journey continues across the arid Saharan sands and into the dense, emerald heart of the continent, visiting Niger, Chad, Mauritania, and the Central African Republic.
37. The Desert Behind the Desert (Niger)
A Shakespearean sonnet on the Ténéré, the Aïr Mountains, and the nomadic blue-clad Tuareg.
Where wind-carved dunes in golden silence roll,
The Ténéré hides a world behind the sun,
A vast and empty space that tests the soul,
Before the Aïr’s jagged peaks have begun.
The Tuareg, in their veils of indigo,
Guide salt-laden caravans through the sand,
Where ancient fossils of a forest’s glow
Lie buried deep beneath this thirsty land.
The Agadez minaret, a soaring spire,
Still watches o’er the market’s vibrant trade,
While evening brings the nomad’s cooking fire,
And shadows that the Saharan moons have made.
Oh, land of Uranium and desert grit,
The torch of ancient pride is forever lit.
38. The Stone Sentinels (Chad)
A Petrarchan sonnet on the Ennedi Plateau and the shrinking waters of Lake Chad.
The sandstone towers rise from desert floor,
Like giant fingers reaching for the blue,
Where wind has sculpted arches ever new,
And rock art tells of what was there before.
The Guelta d’Archeï holds its ancient store,
Of water where the camel comes to chew,
And crocodiles, a prehistoric few,
Still linger on this arid, rocky shore.
But Lake Chad fades beneath the hungry sun,
A shallow mirror of a greener time,
Where fishermen and farmers find their day.
Though modern struggles have only just begun,
The Ennedi remains in silent mime,
To watch the shifting empires fade away.
39. The City of Libraries (Mauritania)
A sonnet on the ancient desert libraries of Chinguetti and the Adrar plateau.
Between the dunes of Erg Warane’s gold,
The dry stone walls of Chinguetti stand,
Where scholars wrote their wisdom in the cold,
And hid their scrolls within the Saharan sand.
The Seventh Holy City hears the call,
As pilgrims gather on the Adrar’s height,
While dusty manuscripts within the hall
Preserve the stars and navigation’s light.
Though sand encroaches on the mosque’s design,
And silence fills the granaries of old,
The Moorish spirit keeps its ancient line,
In stories that the desert winds have told.
A library in the middle of the waste,
Where time and wisdom are forever interlaced.
40. The Ubangi’s Rapids (Central African Republic)
A contemporary sonnet on the Ubangi River, the Sangha forests, and the capital of Bangui.
The Ubangi rushes past the city’s edge,
Where Bangui sits beneath a canopy,
A green and humid, ancient wooden pledge,
Of nature’s wild and deep-rooted mystery.
The lowland gorilla moves within the shade,
Of forests where the megaliths still stand,
While through the rapids that the floods have made,
The barges carry life across the land.
Though shadows of the past are hard to clear,
The butterfly still crosses o'er the stream,
And hope remains a vessel without fear,
Within a peaceful and a verdant dream.
Oh, Heart of Africa, so lush and grand,
May healing bloom in every forest strand.
We have now covered forty nations.
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