Akati, dai ndiri shiri ndaibhururuka
(If I was a bird, I'd fly away)

He awoke with a start, driven by the hope in his heart
Envisioning the road and steeling his soul to depart
The sun hadn't risen, the village was cloaked in the dark
Recalled the words that he was given when they showed him the chart
Said it was marked by the tears of those who had marched, before him
Through lands dry like a throat when it’s parched
As he left the world he knew, where social order falling apart
Lives were cut short by explosions and shots
Thought about those he was leaving with rivers filling in his eyes
His heart's prize was only a season from giving life.
She was both the reason, and a hinderance to his flight
But the seed she had within her needed for him to fight
If he crossed the water he could provide, break the ground for them
He was frightened but he had vowed to pay the price for them
His wizened mother came and she gave him all of her savings
Then she prayed for him, caressing his face he heard her saying

May the winds blow you till you find safety and peace
May the ancestors guide where you placing your feet
May there be kind ears to hear every prayer you speak 
Coz you got a desert to beat, and it ain't for the weak 
Find life on the other side
And don't forget to write from the other side

So he walked through the
Biting cold of the night, sweltering heat of the day
Through sandstorms, on damned soils never kissed by the rain
He walked until his feet were numb and started bleeding through cracks
Walked while others fell by his side defeated by the trek
Until he reached the crooked tree, was told this was the sign
Then he saw the two men in a truck weathered by time
On the ride he thought about what the future could hold
Welcoming his family into a beautiful home
Arriving in the city, that's when he discovered the cost
Required to cross was thrice what was stuffed in his socks
And now he had to find work under hellish conditions
Hardly ate, he put away every cent he was given
Found encouragement from a brother who was also from his village 
Promised to find each other, when they both their journeys were finished
That's the vision, that anchored his thoughts from slowly drifting
While dealing with animals who abuse you because of pigment
The water could be a grave, and crossing was for the brave
And those caught by the patrollers would probably be enslaved
He saved enough for the passage,  was ready to make his way
His friend embraced him, faring him well, he heard him say 


May the winds blow you till you find safety and peace
May the ancestors guide where you placing your feet
May there be kind ears to hear every prayer you speak 
You got the waters to beat and it ain't for the weak 
Find life on the other side
And tell me what it's like on the other side

A hundred or so tense bodies in a black night floating
Over the ghosts below in waters thats close to frozen
Fear trying to choke em, so their worries are unspoken
Conscious of the mortal danger, keeping ears and eyes open 
A child softly cries and his mother tries to console him
Mumbles a prayer that he'd be among the chosen
Lights approaching, they wonder if this is the gates opening 
Or guards to take em to cells with no hopes of due process
Is it life-vests or iron chains
Now will they find rest or die unnamed 
Conquerors of land and water with no power of deciding 
Their own fate, now in the hands of those who find them
Meanwhile, behind them, buyers are invited to an auction 
Where the products are people who found themselves without an option
A prophet once asked "tell me what's a black life worth"
Melanated flesh is still the cheapest on the market 
The sea muffles the solemn cries of stolen lives
Those with stunted wings who dared to dream to approach the skies
He floated to shore, drifted for forty miles
They were too many for the size of the dinghy so it capsized
Its another form of freedom right
Now on the other side, but his mother waits for a letter that won't arrive
Its another form of freedom right
And though his lover cries, glancing at his child and is reminded of his eyes
But business is brisk, smugglers still making a killing
Say they gotta eat and they only taking the willing
Those desperate enough to put their lives on the line
Imagine what they are fleeing from you think their out of their minds
Packed like sardines on vessels never built for high seas
They just tryna live, praying the tears in their eyes cease
While people chant slogans so borders are fortified
They want em all deported, but they ain't thought of the other side