41. The Kingdom in the Sky (Lesotho)
A Shakespearean sonnet on the high-altitude peaks and the iconic Basotho blanket.
Above the clouds, the Maloti summits rise,
Where winter snows can dust the Thaba Bosiu height,
A fortress kingdom under sapphire skies,
That guards the southern stars throughout the night.
Wrapped in the Basotho blanket’s wool and wool,
The rider on his pony threads the pass,
Where mountain streams are crystal, deep, and cool,
And wind sings through the hardy highland grass.
From Katse’s waters to the Maseru street,
A nation forged in rugged, rocky pride,
Where ancient traditions and the modern meet,
With nothing but the mountain's soul to guide.
Oh, Land of Water, may your peaks stay high,
A sovereign island in the African sky.
42. The Valley of Heaven (Eswatini)
A Petrarchan sonnet on the Ezulwini Valley and the Umhlanga rhythm.
The Mlilwane hills are green with morning dew,
Where zebras graze beneath the granite peak,
A land where ancient customs loudly speak,
In every dance and every Sibhimbi view.
The Reed Dance brings the nation’s youth to you,
With songs that echo through the valley’s cheek,
A heritage that modern days still seek,
To keep the spirit of the fathers true.
From Mbabane’s heights to Manzini’s trade,
The kingdom keeps its steady, royal pace,
Within the peaceful laws the elders made.
A tapestry of culture and of grace,
Where even in the shifting global shade,
There is a home for every Swazi face.
43. The Volcanic Coast (Equatorial Guinea)
A sonnet on the island of Bioko and the mainland's jungle Rio Muni.
Malabo sits within a crater’s rim,
Where Spanish arches face the humid sea,
And ocean mists make every shoreline dim,
Beside the Pico Basile’s majesty.
The Mainland’s heart is thick with ancient wood,
Where Fang and Bubi spirits guard the path,
A wealth of oil and timber understood,
As fruits of history’s long and trying wrath.
From Bata’s lights to Oyala’s rising wall,
The nation builds its future in the sun,
Responding to the global, modern call,
While ancient forest rivers still must run.
A bridge of islands and of jungle deep,
The secrets that the Gulf of Guinea keep.
44. The Garden of the Sea (Seychelles)
A sonnet on the granite boulders of La Digue and the Vallée de Mai.
Where Coco de Mer fruits in shadows grow,
Like ancient carvings in a garden’s breast,
The Seychelles islands in the ocean glow,
A scattered pearl upon the indigo’s chest.
The Granite boulders guard the silver sand,
Where giant tortoises move slow as time,
A piece of heaven dropped into the hand,
In every island’s salt and sunny rhyme.
From Victoria’s clock to Aldabra’s reef,
A Creole soul that sings of sea and palm,
Beyond the reach of sorrow or of grief,
In waters of a deep and blue-hued calm.
The sentinel of all the Indian Sea,
The island heart of African liberty.
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