Minted Light

Verse 1 Coins remember hands— Cowries sang before kings planned. Gold crossed faith at Aksum’s gate, Metal learned to imitate. Chorus Read the coin, read the state, Face and legend calibrate; Each small round, a captured sign— Power speaks, and hands refine. Verse 2 Eritrea’s matron, palm in bloom, Gave way to Rome in the silver room. Pearls and clasp betrayed the lie, Trade slipped past what lines deny. Chorus Read the coin, read the state, Face and legend calibrate; Each small round, a captured sign— Power speaks, and hands refine. Verse 3 Freedom melted into cedi’s sound, Cowries rose from the underground. Names of dawn, of place, of grace— Nations minted in the face. Chorus Read the coin, read the state, Face and legend calibrate; Each small round, a captured sign— Power speaks, and hands refine. Bridge Paper fades, but copper hums; Voices echo where the hammer drums. Holes for strings, new scripts for prayer— Value breathes in local air. Chorus Read the coin, read the state, Face and legend calibrate; Each small round, a captured sign— Power speaks, and hands refine.