Tuesday 28 May 2013

Voices



I am the voice of Yaa Asantewaa

Ɔbaabasia a metwamu kɔ me baabi
Ma abrane, ne akwabrane, ne akwabrafoɔ
Ho woso sɛ ayowa mu nsuo!


Enti motete hɔ reyɛ dɛn ni?

The winds have long swept my footsteps away
Those steps I took, leaving my own blood
As a trail for frail men to follow

Mmm! Mahome rete na adɛn?

You have allowed the very dust of your nature
To take over

As I told Anansesɛm by the fireside,
I never taught you Greed.
As I showed you the dance steps of warriors,
I never sang songs of lies

Ei! Enti mabrɛ ɛgu anaa? 

It was for love that I sliced off my breasts
And exchanged my hand-carved laddle
For a gun heavy with our metallic tears

It was not for me that I tore off
My waistbeads of gold
And in their place tied tight a talisman
That hardened my heart.

Adɛn nti na momu bi agyaagyae moho
 Ama hyɛhyɛnpɛ arere moakoma ama no asa?

I will say no more.
I will go back, sit on my stool and watch
For what I see while seated
None of you here can catch even a glimpse
Of its shadow
From atop the tallest tree
...
I will say no more

Monday 20 May 2013

Ephemeral



You passed through
My heart briefly
And left your footprints
Behind

Harshly
In my sleep
Sorrow broke in
And made away
With my soul

Yesterday
You wrapped your heart
Around my song
And warmed it up
To sweeter tunes

Now you are gone
And
Somewhere in the corners
of my heart-throb
I learn to laugh
At my loss
And beam 
At tomorrow
With the promise
Of 
Fragrant flowers
And
Soothing showers

Our shadows meet at the bank
Now and then
My tears merge with the stream
And
It overflows
To wash muddy footsteps
Down
Memory drain
And hang them up
On the other side
Of here
To dry

Tonight,
I can only watch you
And sigh

Your heart still beats
In my eyes
My hands itch to hold
The rhythm
Safe 
In my bosom
Warmed up by dreams
Rhythm
Carried away
By the wind

Tonight
I lean back to rest
My swooning head
And fate meets me
With a hard knock

My chest expands
To catch the nectar
Of your embrace
And reality trickles in 
Hot
Crude

I was the pipe
That sent you off
To the land of dreamers
But  I was there too

Down in the valley
I was there
Waiting
For my heart
And yours
To tumble
Down
That mountain

Let it fall
Gently
Let my heart fall gently

I am in that land again
This ground I walk on 
Is not mine
This heart that climbs back
To its place
Is reflected
In the mirror
In the heart
Of the full moon
See it pulse
Listen
To the discord
Hear her moan
"He is gone!"

You passed through 
My heart briefly...

Briefly...

And left your footprints
Behind 

Monday 6 May 2013

The Last Song



Ask me those questions
I have heard over and over
And let me think again     
Of what to say

Go on and laugh out loud
At my childish confusion
And let me sigh again
From self-pity

Turn all the way round
Yes. Exactly, just like that
And let me look again
At what I missed

The early bird sings a different song
This morning
The lone bat has overslept
And
The night languishes away without him

I waste away where I sit
My pet dog
Licks greedily at my wounds

Vampires lurk in corners
Their eyes planted on the vein
That runs down my neck
As its fevered rhythm
Slows

Hyenas salivate over
The tell-tale smell of carrion-
Their long-awaited
Corpse

Now in the silence of darkness
A tired voice sings
In bitter-sweet notes
The Last Song –
A dirge to welcome
Sweet
Sweet 
Death