This hub features unique African art work, an African poem by me and African poetry books. The poem featured in this hub is inspired by an African metal painting that I did titled, "Mother Africa." The art piece is an African Art mask depicting a female figure. It resembles a woman with her shoulders weighed down hence the title and subject of the poem. African masks have commonly been depicted in fine art. The most famous art work depicting an African mask is probably Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, by Pablo Picasso. The art piece that I used for this poem is created using a unique form of art that consists of painting on metal and embossing it. The most commonly known African paintings on metal are those done on copper in the Congo DRC and Zambia. Metal painting is more commonly found in Mexico and India where it is usually combined with embossing of the metal. I learnt how to do metal art work from an Indian artist residing in my home country of Kenya. I then developed my own unique style of painting and embossing the metal. I hope you enjoy viewing the African Art work depicted in this hub and reading the African poem.

Mother Africa: The Weight of the World On Her Shoulders
An African Poem by Injete Chesoni

The world is on her shoulders,
The burden weighs her down,
She has borne many children,
Scattered around this world.
Her sweat has watered this earth,
Many times over,
And it continues to drip,
even as her children cry in hunger.
The fruits of her labor,
Seep through the ground,
Bleeding out from her,
To feed a hungry world.
She is a beast of burden,
Born to serve this earth,
Her life was written
for her,
before she was ever birthed.
Her teardrops
feed and nurture,
The parched earth beneath her feet,
She cannot stop crying,
for her tears ensure she lives.

Mother Africa: African Poems from the African Poetry Series by Injete Chesoni

Copyright Notice - All works of art and writing within this web site are protected under U.S. copyright laws and international conventions. No portion of the artist’s works or statements may be used, downloaded, reproduced using any means, copied, linked to, or transferred electronically, without prior written permission from the artist. You can use this work for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the artist Injete Chesoni and include a link to this website.