Abura, wonder of West Africa
And consummate expression of her
ways,
Your boughs like golden candelabra
Upon a multitude of silver trays;

Silver and emerald green and dusky
red,
Quintessence of multi-coloured
majesty,
Of old, and by the Congo river fed.
Antithesis of such that are a travesty

And vile abomination of the earth
The bloated, predatory infamy
That parasite of ever-swelling girth
The illegal logging industry.

But Abura, Abura of my heart
Beloved daughter of the Congo
swamps
At your name alone the reveries start
And thoughts of gratitude the
memory prompts.

Oh to view, while still there is a
chance
Before death intervenes to still my
voice
The glory of Abura trees and the
romance
Imagery that makes the heart rejoice.

Tony Kelly, Crook.