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Bring Back Natal Food
Bring back the food of natal lands,
Where mothers stirred with loving hands,
The pots that whispered stories old,
In scents of spice and simmered gold.
Revive the taste of cassava bread,
Where yam and millet softly led
Our childhood steps through memory’s door,
To hearths that echo evermore.
Where groundnut stews in clay pots dance,
And jollof rice, a bold romance
Of fire, oil, and tomatoed dreams,
Still bubbles in ancestral streams.
Bring back the fruits from village trees—
Guava, tamarind, mangosteen,
That fell like blessings from the skies
And stained our lips with sweet replies.
Let bitterleaf and okra sing
Of harvests, hands, and offering.
Let palm oil gleam on woven plate,
A sunlit mark of family fate.
Too long we’ve chased the foreign taste,
In borrowed kitchens, fast-food haste—
Yet still our tongues recall the song
Of meals that made our spirits strong.
So bring it back, the natal flame,
The food that calls us home by name—
To chew our past with present grace,
And find ourselves in every taste.
Thank-you for reading.
Much love and Light,
Brenda Marie Fluharty
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It shouldn’t be so expensive to eat well. I really like this part: “Bring back the fruits from village trees—
Guava, tamarind, mangosteen,
That fell like blessings from the skies”