MY COUNTRY

You are the house in which l lived.
You are the old neighbour l loved
Who told me stories of the past
Whose image in my mind will last.

You are the streets in which l walked.
You are the friends with whom l talked.
You are the people who were old
And died but left their shapes in mind.

You are the school to which l went
Whose sweet and bitter tastes are blent.
You are the teachers who taught me
Whose figures in my heart l see.

You are my father and my mum.
You are the shopping with my chum.
You are my failure and success.
You are the wife who shares my house.

Another country may give gold,
But not the past that l have lived,
And not the tissues of my heart
That these old items slowly built.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________