Timbuktu, Timbuktu,
River brown and sky so blue,
Upon the desert sea you stand,
A city made of sand.
Within your high and mighty walls,
Wisdom walks your shadowed halls,
Goods exchange in traders' meets;
And angels walk your streets.
Peoples come and peoples go,
'Round you, kingdoms ebb and flow,
Empires rise and empires fall;
Yet you outlast them all.
Ghana passed with salt and gold,
Then Mali with her warriors bold,
And Songhay with its golden grains;
Still Timbuktu remains.
Moors then ruled with sword and blood,
France toppled mosques of sun-dried mud,
Bamako brought the desert nigh;
And yet, you will not die.
Umoja's peace is come at last,
And quiet, from the ancient past,
The music of a thousand years,
Timbuktu still hears.
-Princess Mahlowi Sisse Keita Toure
March, 2037
copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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