Written piece
Thread and Quilt the Commonwealth
Julie Angeyo Lanyuru
United Kingdom
About this piece
Poem- Thread and Quilt the Commonwealth.
The thread highlights the lifeline that runs through all 56 nations of the Commonwealth. Finally, a quilt is woven where all is gathered under as one strong body. It shows the need to share and address issues such as poverty, child labour
Thread and Quilt the Commonwealth
Let us celebrate a day of sharing and find
Flavour in all goodness of a united people and purpose
Important matters that cater for community health
The willingness to give all, appeasing laughter
The time is ripe to emphasise the common ground
Collect, we must come to the cradle ground now
Let us dig for true values hidden in the mound
And hear valuables click to the twelfth hour
Time to pay more attention to the contents weighing
Of so many lines of granaries in the homestead
Standing still like soldiers on parade, waiting
Yet empty, yawning, to be filled with hopes
Money does not grow on trees, we are told
Yes, money does grow on trees, on many trees
We have been planting, cutting and picking for decades
What about those dug from the backyards
Some like rocks, and some like the life stream waters
That glitter and dazzles, but only for a moment
Before they fly away, and further away
Look at the eyes of the piteous young child labourers
The honest workers, covered in tatters and foamy dusts
Tomorrow, they will sit under a mango tree
Whose shades keep running away from them
Their days begin with memories of precious stones
They were told it would turn into schools and hospitals
There, they sit and fight over pieces of paper and pencils
As they try to graduate a step away from writing in the sand
The time has come for people to be under the quilt
Let’s make the thread a little longer to knit the nations
The Commonwealth is a powerful name, good to hear.
The common man should walk side by side, to bring it home
As we share songs in different tongues in the merry-go-round.