Thirteen months of sunshine greeted me,
When I opened my eyes in the
Princess Tsehai Hospital in Addis.
Thereafter, it was a mystical journey,
Through a mystical land of thirteen months!
The echoing sound of the cuckoo greeted
Me in Adowa. the smell of the incense pervaded.
The journey to Massawa, the vast expanse of the
Red Sea, thrilled me no less. Then the journey to
Asmara,and the Christmas tree delighted me no less!
Mama Heewot greeted me in Adigrat,
Her living room with a show-case full of model ships.
I tasted of the fruit called Balas, a
Fruit of the cactus, its taste elusive now.
For I was only a child of three years!
My visit to Arbaminch, town of forty springs,
A pleasant change it was. Surrounded by nature,
I was in the land of the Gujji ,
The land of Lions, Snakes and hyenas.
Where books and nature were my friends.
To fish for Nile Perch in lake Chamo,
And see the huge crocodiles basking in the sun,
The Hippos too wise, was rewarding.
The evening drives into the jungle were,
A joy, for I saw deer, baboons,and Lions on the road!
My final destination was Addis Abeba,
An experience different from all the others.
A metropolis, with stately buildings, Piassa, the
Fashionable stretch, Arat Kilo, Sidist Kilo
An school with lots of new friends one of whom is Hailu.
And here I am after twenty-five years,
Remembering a dream that I once had as a
Child, of the land of thirteen months of sunshine!
The haunting sound of the Kirar and the Masenko
Follow me in my dreams….
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