BY ALEM HAILU G/KRISTOS
I) Taytu Betul as a leader
Ethiopia is famed for being
A peaceful, hospitable
And warrior nation
How come then it failed
To come to your attention,
As bees whose hive is threatened,
Citizens are ever alert to
To foil provoked aggression!
The 1889 treacherous
Wuchale treaty
I will tear apart
a messenger, with a tail
between your legs,
before you depart.
The Italian version
That tries to put Ethiopia,
A sovereign state, a pawn
Under Italy’s protectorate
Is completely opposed to
What Ethiopia’s
Versions indicate.
Till we meet
Your colonizing troops
At a showdown,
As a punitive measure to
A cheater or a clown
I will be tempted to smack
Your face
To ram home, valorous,
For fear we have no place.
II) Taytu Betul a strategist
To deny the invading
Italian troops, advancing
from Eriteria,
Advantages of logistic
We could do
The following trick
Indeed, we could shift
The battlefield
From Adigrat to Adwa
Also we could cut them
From a key water point
Till for truce they plead.
To this end,
A battalion
I will personally lead.
What is more,
I will inspire
Women, combatants, too
To fire!
Parallel to that
our injured soldiers
to nurse back
wounded in the attack
also dry foods
to prepare and pack.
III) Taytu Betul as a wife
Though independent,
With lots of love to
Emperor Menelik II,
My king and beloved husband
I will lend a cooperative hand.
IV) A beacon of independence & standard bearer
True to my name Taytu
— A sunshine—
I will flicker
A ray of light
The oppressed for
Freedom to fight!
Women
For a military prowess,
Leadership and intelligence
Have acumen!
The Battle of Adwa
BY SENAIT G/HIWOT
It was a battle of victory
Against modern Italy
King Menelik II had the vision
To make Ethiopia a nation
That is free and united
His passion was unlimited
To make the country powerful
His mission was successful
He made the country united
Italy was then defeated
Ethiopia became an icon
For another African nation
The idea of sovereignty
And living with full dignity
Was proved by our nation
In a time of colonization.
Adwa
BY KFLEYESUS ABEBE
Shields
Bows and arrows,
Spear, sword, dagger,
It was taken for gurranted
It was a game decided before played
For the ‘Primitive’ had no chance
For his tools aren’t strong enough
In fact, they can’t stand machine guns
For there was material in plenty,
For there was weapon in kind,
For there was history in favor
The ‘civilized’ thought business as usual
But ‘Cause’ was a gamechanger
One fighting to protect motherland
The other wanted to conquer a foreign land
Spirit taken the warriors
to never hesitate, to forget fear itself
To bleed, to starved , to get thirst
To even sacrify oneself
So, they march strong, push till the enemy destroyed
So they move mountain
For the colonizer first time crushed
WISDOM, BRAVERY, UNITY
THEY WERE Defining element unseen
It was a war humbleness won
Black, African, ‘Uncivilized’ rise up
Taught a lesson, Proved equality
For God created everyone strong
It was a time mankind proven worth
For his hands are mightier than machines.
The Ethiopian Herald March 1/2023
