I Am Not Your Trophy

LOCATION: HWANGE NATIONAL PARK, ZIMBABWE

I was forged from the land and soil,

From winds and fires from the heavens above.

I have grown from this land and seeded my roots.

I have fed from its deliverance of natural abundance.

I have thrived from its opportunities,

And when my time does come,

I shall return to it and nourish it too.

To allow the wildflowers to blossom and the grazers to grow.

I shall give what I take and I shall teach the young.

Let them learn and live,

Through guidance I shall share my wealth,

My power and my ancestor’s roar.

For they are the successive future,

The ones to carry this land forward.

To protect it, care for it and guard it when we are gone.

To allow balance and harmony to reign supreme.

So where amidst all of this do you find the moment to conjure this thought?

The thought that I am yours to take.

I am not owned for I am born free on this earth,

I am not your prize,

And I am not your trophy.

I am a king, a guide destined by the mother,

To watch over this gracious and soulful land.

Hear my voice and live as one with me,

As we are brothers built from the stars.

Enlightened embers of distant solar flares,

Dressed in sensory skins.

And with a guiding light emanating monumentally,

We souls burn bright like our Earth’s majestic core glowing gold.

So let us be one,

Let us heal this land.

Let us not step over, but walk in step,

For we will all leave footprints,

So let us make them count.

Let us leave legacies of light and life for our futures to be.

Oil on Canvas

60in x 40in

Life-size Subject