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19.03.2012 Opinion

THE PASSION THAT BLEEDS

By Femi Fani-Kayode
THE PASSION THAT BLEEDS
19.03.2012 LISTEN

Until you hear the Scotsman play the bagpipes in the early morning mist of the Scottish highlands, you have heard nothing. Until you hear the Irish sing ''O Danny Boy'' on the lush green fields of the Emerald Isle, you know nothing.

Until you hear the merry Welsh sing ''Welshmen Never Yield'' in the beautiful valleys of Pontypool and Swansea, you have heard nothing. Until you see the rose blossom in the English summer and you hear the Grenadiers sing ''God Save The Queen'', you have seen nothing. Until you see and hear the ''Charge of the Light Brigade'' and witness the courage of ''the famous 600'', you know nothing.

Until you see the Zulu warrior dance his battle dance on the hills of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift, you know nothing. Until you hear the Ashanti and the Yoruba sing worship songs to the Living God, you have heard nothing.


Until you see the igbo courageously marching into battle , you have seen nothing. Until you see the French Foreign Legion singing ''La Marseillaise'' and ''Je Ne Regrette'', you know nothing. Until you see the Fulani horseman in the full fury of a cavalry charge, you have seen nothing.

Until you see brave men fight, suffer and die for a noble and just cause, you know nothing. Until you hear the cries, see the tears, read the words and feel the pain of a wounded, tormented and broken soul, you have seen nothing.

All these unseen things inspire and move.They stir the spirit and they, in turn, are stirred by passion. They ARE passion. They breath and bleed passion. And passion is the essence of life. It is the food of the compassionate and sensitive and the fuel of noble and courageous souls.

It is the stuff of which gods and the immortals are made. It is our passport to posterity-our key to future glory.

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