I just spent the last two weeks revisiting some of the places I visited some 30 years ago ...in 1988- some of my blogs are banned from some sites because I sometimes tell it like others don't want to hear it... and this blog isn't going to be any different... but if the truth resonates... you will know. My overall view point of Mozambique now is ...not much has changed - but there has been some change … the BIGGEST stumbling block to progress in this country is that it is filled with people who do not care about the people... and continue to rape their own...the product of nearly 50 years of socialism is a country still broken emotionally , psychologically and physically. Despite this ..there are some good news stories... one of them is FOREIGN INVESTMENT - Mozambique has received this year alone TWICE its GDP in foreign investment - but you wont hear about that- neither will the people...why? because this is a country where TRUTH IS IN SHORT SUPPLY... a land where its MOST - oblique - moz- oblique... where what you hear and what you see is generally not the same... but nonetheless... it perseveres through all the abuse it receives from its own...
MOZ- OBLIQUE – MOZAMBIQUE
THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT !
Warm winds whispering through green-needled pines
Ghosts of Glories past ill-defined;
Streets of pink gemstones with statued shrines
Somewhere over the ocean Indian hard to find
But What spirit brought these men from those distant climes?
That came for gold - for land-for slaves and good drinking wine....?
Long ago once upon a time in the Sagres those adventurers came...
Diaz, Da Gama and more of the same
On a Sacred Quest to unveil the world beyond Time and Name
For fortune, for romance, for Maria and for fame...
These great sailors of the 7 seas, these Portuguese...
Conquerors and killers, saints-colonizers and fleas!
-I wander the Lonely night amongst the Beauty of the dapper decay;
Tropical breezes, flickering lights and neglect paving my way...
Where once prince's and kings feasted heartily - now in Graves they lay-
Gone their lands, gone their thrones, gone their immortalized day...
Sunset has come upon their Earthly dust
Their hopes, their dreams, their bitterness -their distrust...
Gone the kingdoms of can -and will- and should- and must... !
Crumbled with the mortar and the stone, gone with metal and the rust
Valiant Victors of those promised lands –Victorious and Grand -
Eternal their light, their gallant stories, their will to overcome- to understand...
What daring exploits, what trials and tribulations , what ambitious plans...?
Whats left?- What remains?- What stands?
What was always here.... It's people!... It's people....
Still swimming in the warm azure blue waters upon sun-kissed sands....
Still laughing- still singing- still dancing- still playing... In poverty or not....
This is their life -and their living on the Mozambiquan island...
FREE!
Paul R. Denton
June 30th, 2019
And this is what BOB DYLAN had to say ...
I like to spend some time in Mozambique
The sunny sky is aqua blue
And all the couples dancing cheek to cheek.
It's very nice to stay a week or two
And maybe fall in love just me and you.
There's lots of pretty girls in Mozambique
And plenty time for good romance
And everybody likes to stop and speak
To give the special one you seek a chance
And maybe say hello with just a glance.
Lying next to her by the ocean
Reaching out and touching her hand,
Whispering your secret emotion
Magic in a magical land.
