The history of Ethiopia
“Tyre, Philistia or Ethiopia, such a one was born there”;
Smell of incense, myrrh and coffee.
The ancient mountains, plains and valleys,
Ethiopia, the land of a thousand years.
The story here is told as before
The pride of Sheba, Lake Tana and Lucy.
The epic of the Surma, the beauty of the Mursis,
Ethiopia, a land wherefore.
How can we understand it if no one explains it to us?
In spite of the efforts made to make us love it.
Over thirteen months, the sun here is a relic,
Ethiopia, the land of the first baptism lost.
The wisdom of the wise men on the tune of the “massinko”,
Here is perhaps the secret of its aroma;
Aksum and Gondar, Bahar Dar and I know
Ethiopia, the land of Lalibela.
“Abba”, a cry towards the hand that blesses,
The one that protects and the one that nourishes.
To cross a glance even in the dust,
Ethiopia, the land of trust
A new flower will be born without being trampled.
Its perfume and its colors will not be without thorn.
Those who have watered it with blood will make their confession;
For Ethiopia has become a land filled with water and fire.
                                             Brother MoĂŻse-Ătienne
