45. The Perfume Isles (Comoros)
A Shakespearean sonnet on the scent of ylang-ylang and the Karthala volcano.
The scent of ylang-ylang fills the night,
Across the Grand Comore’s volcanic slope,
Where Karthala’s fire casts a jagged light,
On islands built of history and hope.
The white-walled mosques of Moroni face the sea,
Where dhows still drift upon the azure swell,
A bridge of Arab, African, and French decree,
Within the coral and the clove-enticing spell.
From Anjouan’s heights to Mohéli’s quiet shore,
Where sea-turtles return to golden sand,
The Perfume Isles open every door,
To those who seek a secret, sacred land.
A Moonlit jewel within the Indian Deep,
The dreams that volcanoes in their silence keep.
46. The Gate of Tears (Djibouti)
A Petrarchan sonnet on the Ghoubbet straits and the salt-crusted Lake Assal.
Where Africa and Arabia almost meet,
Across the Bab-el-Mandeb’s narrow gate,
A land of lava and of burning fate,
Where salt-white shores reflect the desert heat.
The Lake Assal lies far beneath the feet,
A turquoise mirror in a crystalline state,
While Afar and Somali tribes await,
The caravans that make the salt-trade complete.
The modern ports hum with the world’s demand,
Where steel and glass arise from ancient dust,
A strategic jewel within the shifting sand.
To every traveler, you offer trust,
Beside the Tadjoura waves and coral strand,
A stronghold that the desert winds entrust.
47. The Water Tower (Guinea / Guinea-Conakry)
A sonnet on the Fouta Djallon highlands and the Bauxite hills.
From Fouta’s heights the great rivers are born,
The Niger, Senegal, and Gambia’s flow,
To feed the plains with every golden morn,
And help the forests and the orchards grow.
The Bauxite mountains hold a silver prize,
Within the red earth of the coastal plain,
While Conakry’s lights toward the ocean rise,
To catch the rhythm of the humid rain.
The djembe speaks with a volcanic sound,
As Sosso legends tell of ancient kings,
Who kept the sacred and the mountain ground.
With every song that Guinea’s spirit sings,
A strength of will is in the people found,
And every day a new awakening brings.
48. The Archipelago of Estuaries (Guinea-Bissau)
A sonnet on the Bijagós islands and the Carnival of Bissau.
The Bijagós wait within the salt and silt,
Where hippos swim within the ocean wave,
A matriarchal world that nature built,
With sacred forests that the people save.
The Carnival parades through Bissau’s street,
In masks of bulls and spirits of the deep,
Where Creole songs and rhythms are so sweet,
To wake the cashew orchards from their sleep.
Through mangrove maze and winding river track,
The brave resistance echoes in the air,
With pride that never once has looking back.
From Bolama’s ruins to the market square,
A tapestry of color, green and black,
A resilience that only the bold can wear.
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