WATCH NIGHT

WATCH NIGHT
Three humanoid tiles
Adorn the dusty floor
Their blanket
The dimly lit night
Embroidered with cold

The tongue of the spirit lamp
Sluggishly licks the laterite wall
Leaving a saliva of soot
Mama's eyes are
Yet to taste sleep
On her bed of thorns

Whiles three
Siblings snore in innocence
They know not
What is meant by papa was stolen
By a dark cloud

Clouds gather in the sky
Tears gather in Mama's eyes
Thunder roars
It echoes in her heartbeat
She sighs before the
Storm does......

Papa's wildest dream
Was to seal the burrows
Rust dug in the roof
And to strengthen the legs
Of the hut whose dance
Moves could be used to tell wind direction
But death was indifferent

Wake up Kwaku Kwashiorkor
Wake up Yaa Beriberi
Wake up Kofi  Rickets

Wake up let's move
Out and be spectators
Of raindrops
Under the mango tree

before the storm begins
To chase after the thunder

©Sarpong Kumankoma