She our pride
With a dark radiant skin
A skin where beauty bide
She my African pride
Even if shackled shines
Turns pains to gains
A heart warmer than a furnace
Wilderness and tenderness
Soft on the inside
But not a weakness
In love she resides
She my African pride
Ferocious she’s a tigress
Loving so kindhearted
Nothing can bind
Her my African pride
This realization
Drives me to a conclusion
To praise without preclusion
Nothing matches my African women’s adoration
She our pride
With a dark radiant skin
A skin where beauty bide
She my African pride
Even if shackled shines
Turns pains to gains
A heart warmer than a furnace
Wilderness and tenderness
Soft on the inside
But not a weakness
In love she resides
She my African pride
Ferocious she’s a tigress
Loving so kindhearted
Nothing can bind
Her my African pride
This realization
Drives me to a conclusion
To praise without preclusion
Nothing matches my African women’s adoration
Mother of Strength: An African Ode
With every dawn, African mothers rise,
Their strength a flame, that burns with gentle might.
Through trials and tests, they stand as one,
Their love a shield, that guards their children well.
In village markets, they weave and they sell,
Their entrepreneurial spirit, a story to tell.
With hands that nurture, and hearts that care,
They tend the garden, of life’s tender share.
Through societal norms, they navigate with ease,
Their resilience a beacon, in challenging seas.
They preserve our heritage, with every tale,
Passing down traditions, with love that prevails.
With ankara prints, they wrap their love around,
A vibrant expression, of motherhood profound.
Their beauty shines, like a sunrise bright,
Illuminating paths, through life’s darkest night.
With every step, a legacy unfolds,
A heritage of strength, that never grows old.
Their hearts beating strong, with a love so true,
A testament to African mothers, forever anew.
THE CELEBRATION OF AFRICAN MOTHERHOOD
With hands that nurture, hearts that care,
You tend the future, with love to share.
Refrain: Mother Africa’s love shines bright,
Guiding her children, through day and night.
Your strength is rooted, in tradition deep,
A heritage of wisdom, your children keep.
Refrain: Mother Africa’s love shines bright,
Guiding her children, through day and night.
With every step, you pave the way,
For a brighter future, a new day.
Refrain: Mother Africa’s love shines bright,
Guiding her children, through day and night.
Your love is fierce, your heart is true,
A bond that’s unbreakable, forever new.
Refrain: Mother Africa’s love shines bright,
Guiding her children, through day and night.
In your arms, your children find their home,
A sense of belonging, a love that’s known.
Refrain: Mother Africa’s love shines bright,
Guiding her children, through day and night.
*The Baobab’s Embrace*
Her hands, a roadmap etched with sun and toil,
Tell stories whispered on the wind-swept soil.
A mother’s gaze, a deep and ancient well,
Where love and wisdom constantly dwell.
Resilience blooms where hardship casts its shade.
Across the savanna, through bustling town,
Her spirit rises, never bowing down.
She carries burdens with a steady grace,
A smile that paints upon a weathered face,
And hope, a beacon in a darkest night.
She sings a lullaby to weary souls,
Her voice, a river that forever rolls.
She nurtures dreams within her children’s eyes,
And teaches them to reach for sunlit skies,
With strength instilled by generations past.
From fertile valleys to the desert sands,
Her strength echoes in the waiting lands.
She weaves a tapestry of life anew,
With threads of courage, vibrant, strong, and true,
A legacy of spirit, burning bright.
Oh, African mother, your unwavering heart,
A masterpiece of love, a work of art.
Your resilience shines, a guiding, sacred flame,
Forever whispering your powerful name,
Across the continent, a song of praise.
Forged in silence, drowned in the weight of tomorrow,
Harder than Titanium, unyielding to sorrow,
Through fire and burden, she glows still, like a quiet art,
A mother with a tungsten-made heart.
She stands still, working while it rained fire,
Yet beneath the surface, the pain wouldn’t retire,
Her silence weighs more than Iron,
A mother with a tungsten-made heart.
She hums through pain, her spirit undone,
Sings, though strained, her voice carries a burn,
A furnace couldn’t stand in her way,
A mother with a tungsten-made heart.
Her tongue holds power, one, till the very end,
She bleeds, but like molybdenum, never bends,
Breaks, rebuilds and sets a motion for the trend,
A mother with a tungsten-made heart.
If the world ever forgets what strength looks like
Let her name be written amongst the stars waiting to strike,
To defend her people and strangers alike,
A mother with a tungsten-made heart.
Calloused Crowns:
(Encomium of African Motherhood & Resilience)
By: Zosu Selome Elisha
(Penname: Quill Scribbler 🪶)
Contact Information:
Email: selomelisha@gmail.com
Phone: 08164597315
Calloused Crowns
(Encomium of African Motherhood & Resilience)
By Quill 🪶
She does not wait for dawn—
dawn waits for her.
Her hands are calloused crowns,
palms carved with sacrifice.
Her back bends, yet does not break.
She has buried sons to hunger,
daughters to silence,
dreams to the hunger of nations.
Still she rises, still she sings—
still she will not break.
African motherhood is not softness;
it is steel wrapped in tenderness.
A river that carves valleys of stone,
a drum that beats even cracked.
Her song says: we do not break.
The nation forgets her often,
yet it is on her chest it has slept.
Her milk, her sweat, her blood—
the verses of survival.
Still she whispers: we do not break.
So let this be her encomium:
not of crowns, but calloused hands.
Not of thrones, but cooking fires.
Not of kings, but mothers—
mothers who do not break.
Writer’s Bio:
Zosu Selome Elisha writes under the pen name Quill Scribbler 🪶. An African storyteller at heart, his work leans into the raw edges of life—grief, resilience, love, and the quiet power of memory. His style blends raw emotion with vivid imagery, often weaving ordinary life into timeless metaphors. He believes words can hold both wounds and healing, both silence and song. Through poetry and prose, he seeks to honor the unseen, give language to survival, and remind readers that even in the darkest night, ink can still bloom into light.
A city built on glittering stone nurtures,
a mixture with mineral prizes.
African mother shapes our colour with dignitaries.
Creating peace from the cold side of the savannah,
Strife builds Africa with peace and love.
African, built with rich culture and traditions,
African mother embraces children with discipline.
She produces geniuses and lays a tent of recognitions.
Their strength is rooted like iroko trees.
Blessed with colourful vegetation, honoured with fame and power,
blessed with natural strength, having a great history of love.
African mother has a valid reputation of colourful glory.
Living in this circuit is a pride.
Engaging with African mother is a blessing.
A covenant with African mother is a bound of wealth and hope.
May your image continue to stand as hope for us forever.
A city built on glittering stone nurtures,
a mixture with mineral prizes.
African mother shapes our colour with dignitaries.
Creating peace from the cold side of the savannah,
strife builds Africa with peace and love.
African, built with rich culture and traditions,
African mother embraces children with discipline.
She produces geniuses and lays a tent of recognitions.
Their strength is rooted like iroko trees.
Blessed with colourful vegetation, honoured with fame and power,
blessed with natural strength, having a great history of love.
African mother has a valid reputation of colourful glory.
Living in this circuit is a pride.
Engaging with African mother is a blessing.
A covenant with African mother is a bound of wealth and hope.
May your image continue to stand as hope for us forever.
Mother, you are good, steadfast and sure,
You loved and gave love to all who would receive it,
You bore suffering more than your fair share,
O Mother, your strength is our sunrise.
Mother, you are good, that is all you’ve strived to be,
Deserting yourself for your children’s sake,
Standing by us when the world fell away,
O Mother, your strength is our sunrise.
Mother, you are good, a good Christian,
A faithful wife, a guardian of culture,
Wading through life’s waters with courage,
O Mother, your strength is our sunrise.
Mother, you are good, but too good for yourself,
Your own dreams laid down for ours to rise,
Scars carried in silence, love carried in strength,
O Mother, your strength is our sunrise.
As a result of your tireless, unseen care,
A legacy blooms beyond your youth’s imagining,
Our Africa stands taller because of you,
O Mother, your strength is our sunrise.
