When we commemorate Heroes’ Day
When we commemorate the Heroes’ Day What comes to mind? To me it brings to mind The dedication The endurance The self sacrifice Gifts given to us By our heroes
To you the academic Who has broken the barrier of ignorance? You hold several degrees; you are laden with titles, They are laden with poverty please remember Remember they gave you The key to those achievements They opened doors to those achievements They gave you the key to Zimbabwe They took you out of the Rhodesian bondage Be careful it is easy to forget Remember to day some of them lie in unmarked graves And others struggle to make it through the day When you research about their revolutions Remember our own revolution The revolution that liberated our country To the politicians who always say to us “yes we can’ Can you spare this moment To remember the young men and women Who said “yes we can fight” For our country and freedom Can you also say? “Yes we can work together” For a better Zimbabwe For the unity of our people Our heroes died believing you can
Beneficiary of land acquisition It was not free Someone paid for it Paid for it with their lives Their lives the only commodity they had Remember when you misuse it The life that was sacrificed for it Spare a thought for those who survived The war of our independence Spare a thought for those Who where maimed for life A sobering thought That a person who fought so that You get vast acres of land, Lies in an unmarked grave somewhere Her/his mother has no access Wakagara wakati teshe
Mupurazi uchimwa zvinotonhorera Who do you think made it possible? Do you know where Zwata’s grave is? Do you know where JD’s grave is Do you know where Assaf’s grave is Do you know where Jane, Audrey, Mulefu, Chauke, Sakupwanya’s graves are They had brothers, sisters and relatives Let us all help them close the chapter
As you count your profits ZIPRA and ZANLA count their losses Losses of life not profits They liberated Zimbabwe So that there could be opportunities Our heroes sacrificed their lives So that the wealth of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe reclaimed through their blood The bloodshed for a better Zimbabwe The blood that concealed Rhodesia and wrote Zimbabwe
AmaZimbabwe, the people of Zimbabwe The owners of our liberation struggle The sponsors of our revolution You owned it when you invested Your sons and daughters for its success You sponsored it by Being the water and our heroes the fishes You received and treated us all As your biological children You gave unconditional love We deserve the same from us We beg for your appreciation Your appreciation gives us legitimacy Your happiness gives us satisfaction Your satisfaction gives us authenticity Yet your dissatisfaction makes us highway men Our heroes rest peacefully in their graves Because they have served you well
Oh mighty God Oh God of our land Teach us to be humble Teach us to respect our people Our people the owners of our liberation struggle Teach our youth to emulate our heroes The heroes who sacrificed their lives for our emancipation Teach our leaders to guard the gains independence Teach us to be proud Zimbabweans Zimbabweans who guard their sovereignty jealously. of our