CHINYERE - THE GIFT OF GOD

CHINYERE - THE GIFT OF GOD

I heard her clearly through the thunderclaps
Amidst the roaring of the Christmas winds
The tumult outside would deafen the blind bat
Surely Odumankoma's flashing torchlight blinds the night owl

I could hear the whistles of the Ancestors rustling the trees
Maybe it was a salutation from my grandfather
Or my father saying he was proud of me
But I could tell my ancestors were at peace
Their presence an awesome warmth

I had called on the benevolence of Odumankoma
The man called "obaatanpa", indeed a mother
For desperation drew my soul to grief
Laughter could not escape my lips
Not when I longed for Odumankoma's masterpiece

O that Odumankoma would bless me
I would not care for looks in the least
But I would lay no more in anguish
And my troubled heart shall be at peace
For I would dance to tunes of life

Alas! I did hear her clearly
For I heard Odumankoma's answer
It was the cry of a Star
The gift of The Creator to me

I asked for a child
He gave me a daughter
I asked for a commoner's baby
He gave a priceless gift

Her cry reverberates in my heart
A sound that brings tears to my eyes
Her name is Chinyere - Odumankoma's gift
Forever unto me a treasure
She is the Star that brightens my world

(C) Osei Owusu Emmanuel
12th September, 2017

Dedicated  to Star Chinyere Solomon

THE PASSERBY

THE PASSERBY
We built him a home
We are a hospitable nation--
The passerby deserves
A comfortable rest

He comes and goes
With our belongings--
Pulls down our walls and place
Our mats on streets

He  clothes us
In black and red garments
Joyfully he flaunts
His blood stained teeth

Promises sail on
Our tears to chase his steps----
He's incarcerated for life
Behind political tongues

Then the sun comes
To dry our tears--
Whitening our mourning
Garments
Erasing painful memories

Promises sink into dry land
Wounded hearts heal

We are a peace-loving nation
Yes we write again to June-July
To bring our guest
For we enjoyed his stay with us!

©Sarpong Kumankoma

RUBY

RUBY
I shall descend
the deepest valleys
searching . . .

I shall ascend
the highest mountains
searching . . .

I shall walk
the driest desert
searching . . .

I shall swim
the deadliest sea
searching . . .

. . .searching
for the god of gems

I shall enter his  palace
searching . . .

.  .  .searching among
his daughters

searching
till i find one like you
to shelter in my heart forever.

AGYEIWAA

AGYEIWAA
There i  s a rhythm
Drumming in my heart
Can you rap to it?

There is a poem
In your beauty-lit eyes
Should I read it to you?

©Sarpong Kumanakoma

Dear Dream Girl.

Dear Dream Girl,
I sail on turbulent waters
without a life jacket
and my boat is already full
with dreams and pages--I have
a ghost to shame and
a widow at home to console;
wait for me at the shore ahead.

Home still stands on no pillars,
the roof still weeps when rains
come out to play-- my bowl is full now
because she at home eats
hunger and drinks tears; I am
clothed because she wears tatters
and bare feet.

I journey in the company of night,
my eyes are alive and yet do not see,
I depend on a sight borrowed
from the Ever-burning Heavenly Lamp-
I have a ghost to shame
and a widow at home to console-
day awaits me at the shore ahead

at the shore ahead I have built my mansion
there awaits a smiling widow--
do not jump into my boat now
lest we sink and get washed onto
an undesirable shore ahead
just sail ahead of me (in your own boat)
and with the same Lamp that guides me
until at the new shore, day welcomes
a wealthy vetpublishedpoet
whose twins patiently wait
in your blessed womb.

©Sarpong Kumankoma.

THE CAPITAL CITY

THE CAPITAL CITY

I looked, I saw and I conquered

But maybe I expected too much

Yet I marveled at what I saw

Through a glass mirror

Expert or not I do appreciate

The beauty that lies within

A land so full of people

Busy with life’s businesses

Entangled in the earth’s struggles

The bustling life of the capital city

With its struggling hustlers

Managing to live through the ordeal

This city is the heaven of the rural man

Galloping on the grounds of a better life

Full of white collar jobs and nice women

Leaving behind the forests of cocoa and yam

But they find in their dreamland

A new episode of rumbling city life

Where squatters and hawkers scout

For a new abode to lay their heads

The dawn rises in the city

Waking it from its slumber into life

A dawn as beautiful as the sunshine

A mixture of colours so wondrous

My City Capitol may not be the best

But it is just beautiful as it is

Even the hustler understands

That there is no place better to be

(c) Osei Owusu Emmanuel

Dedicated to Esther K. Appau, Priscilla Gyamera (Jamaica) and Leodina Steele-Dadzie

BEAUTY ON THE HORIZON

BEAUTY ON THE HORIZON 
(Till we meet again, Patricia Osei Owusu)

Across the Horizon, I saw one in whom there is no blemish

Enthralled I became, so that I could not think or act

I stood motionless staring at such an entity

Formed by the graceful hands of nature

Full of love and kindness

A beauty she is with eyes like glowing pearls

My princess she is with a heart of pure gold

She is my guardian angel always by me wherever I go

Blazing in the furnace of beauty she puts everything and

Everyone around her in awe

A replica of Aphrodite, her beauty strikes the world

Like a thunderbolt from Zeus

Truly, beauty lies in my eyes for I looked and saw

The signet of the perfection of beauty

A beauty with the enchanting nature of the moon and

The brightness of the stars

O Cupid let me not fall for such splendor

A dreamer I may be to fall in love with such enigmatic beauty

As strong willed as a boulder

As fiery as a furnace

With a voice so soothing

I wonder why she’s not an angel

O that fair maiden, there she lies on the horizon

A spectacle to behold

A sight to cherish

Who she is, is my Comfort, my Enchantress

The Beauty on the far away horizon

(c) Osei Owusu Emmanuel
Dedicated to Awo Yaa Comfort, Sandra Dadzie Dadson and Recaida Forson

LECTURE HALL HALLUCINATIONS

LECTURE HALL HALLUCINATIONS

The rays from her eyes

Have fallen on my face

The walls of the hall are moving away

Night is swallowing day . . .

The roof has turned into clouds

Clouds clad in rainbow banners

There are no more tables and chairs but flowers

The students are but butterflies

There are no stars

There are no moons

But she is that radiance

Blessing the scene with light

The lecturer’s noise has become

Sweet refrains to the boiling verses in my heart . . .

My gaze is glued to her enthroned on gold

I fall on my knees reaching out for a rose

Ready to crawl to her singing:

Goddess of beauty

I have come to worship

Cowries or gold dust, I have none

My heart I offer as a blazing sacrifice

May it be pleasing to you, O Precious One!

But sadly reality revisits

To expose the timid me

When time brings the lecture to an end.

February 22, 2016
Agric LT3
Legon.

© Sarpong Kumankoma

ELIKPLIM

ELIKPLIM
I am envious
Of the air—
He is with you all the time

I am envious of your shadow
She follows every
Step of yours

I am envious
Of  the sky
His eyes are always on you

I am envious of the earth
She always gets
To kiss your feet

If I could rob the air
Of his omnipresent wings—
I would never hunger for your presence
Always flying around you
Never would I fan
A wind that would blow dust
Onto your eyes

If I could murder your shadow
And take her place
I would follow you all your days
And never flee at the sight
Of darkness

If I could borrow
The all seeing eyes of the sky
I would watch over you all the time—
Never would my stares tan your skin

If  lying on the ground
Made me a carpet to envelope the earth
I would get to lick all the dust of your feet—
And clear every obstacle
That would make you fall

I have locked myself
Up in fantasies
Where you stand burying me
I.n your smiles and shining your eyes
Onto the ruins of my heart

16/02/2016

©Sarpong Kumankoma

MMOROSA

MMOROSA
This I write with
invisible tears. . .
If I should one day say
How unkempt is your beard
It would be heard
By the whole world

Brother, if I should talk
About how big is your head
Again every ear will hear

If I ever talked about
How poor is your sight
Who on earth wouldn't hear?

What if I said
You wear the beard
Of  the wise men of old-
And your head
Is swollen with wisdom
How far would it spread?

Brother, what if I shouted
Your eyes are stars
That can light up a world
Trapped in darkness-
Who would hear it?
My brother, who?

©Sarpong Kumankoma
10-01-16

Abigail

ABIGAIL; CAN YOU?

That my heart is a roofless hut

Is why I have kept its door shut

It was once the home 

Of a queen I crowned 

With teen emotions 

She became the wind and flew 

Away with the roof 

Leaving cracks on the tender walls

When she left I kept it open

Hoping Time would bring another maiden

To rebuild it into a haven   

Many do come around only

To survey the extent of havoc

My eyes brim over with

Tears anytime I wink at them 

An invitation to enter—

They walk away with stomping 

Footsteps that widen the cracks

I locked my heart 

Buried the key in the bed of the ocean

And put on my opaque glasses . . .

Some nights ago  

Your light sneaked into 

My realm of blindness

It has failed to die off

Abi, have you come to take a peep

Like the others do?

Will you enter, if I ask you in?

O the key!

Lost in the bottom of the deepest sea

Abigail, can you swim?

Can you swim down and get it for me?

To unlock my heart and enter

That's not all, the roof!

Gone forever with the first queen

Abigail, can you climb?

Can you climb up and fix the roof?

To fortify against rain and shine

What about the walls?

O Abi, can you dig?

Can you dig some flesh from your heart?

To mend mine

Abigail, can you?

I have already rebuilt another crown

Worthy of your beautiful head

(c)Sarpong Kumankoma

10/01/16

EFSH B11O9

Dear Amoakoaa

DEAR AMOAKOAA

Dear Amoakoaa,

after I piped my first tune 

for you on my lonely flute 

my lungs are swollen 

with air full of your fragrance

Who shall hear the song 

of a grieving heart

aside these fireflies 

wandering in the cold night?

I wish they could 

swarm into your heart with 

the gloomy glows 

they light in my face 

The cold night has 

brought me tears from 

the ruins of yesterday--

odour from the painful wound 

love inflicted on my heart 

I wish you could 

see this deep scar I harbour 

within me 

There are no more ears 

to hear my songs-

there are no more soft palms 

to dry my tears 

There's no longer 

a heart to bear with me my burden 

of sorrow and watch with 

me tomorrow's joy

Amoakoaa, 

will you dance to it 

if you I pipe you a tune 

from my longing heart?

(c) Sarpong Kumankoma 

06-01-2016

2245hrs 

EFSH1109

PHOTO SOURCE: tumblr

ONE IN GOD

                                                      I am from the west
                                                       I am the best . . .
                                             JULY 2015 @ CCC, SUNYANI

BLACK DIAMOND (Amoakoaa)

BLACK DIAMOND
(Amoakoaa)
Without moon
without stars
my night remains as bright

there is a valuable treasure
in my heart--black diamond
adorned in the garments
of luminaries

bright is her black
the radiant spell in her eyes
strikes my soul with sweet
whips of unblinking lightning
filling my head
with soothing glamour

white is her black
her teeth are like orange blossoms
enjoying the sun's song
in a silent noon--
like the goddess of purity's robe

without moon
without stars
my sleep sees no nightmares
as I walk in honeycomb cells
she's my sight

unbreakable black diamond
black pot that serves
sweet white wine
Amoakoaa-
pulchritude is black!

(c)Sarpong Kumankoma
4-04-16  


image source: NEEFFRESH

AGYEIWAA (a worldless poem)

AGYEIWAA (a wordless poem)
                  I
I want to write you a poem.         .   ..
One that  you alone                 .             ...
But none can read.                                ....
A poem that begins                              ...
With a weirdo pulling                        ..
Yo' hair as if he had in it             ..
Hidden his greatest treasure.

                II
          A poem with a beginning
                        But never an end
              A poem without words
           A poem not of this world
     A poem of a  world in which
                 You and I alone exist
A poem not inscribed on paper
A poem sighed from the heart

                III
             A fragrant sigh into the air
     One that you alone can breath
A poem about a conceived dream
            A dream yet to meet Time—
                                        the midwife

                IV
A poem that will seek to bind
Rap to poetry with a diamond
Ring.                   One                that
Will                                                never
Stop                                              glittering
In the                                           darkest
Realms                                      of time
...............                             .........                             
....................                   ............
........................           ..................
............................  ..........................

©Sarpong Kumankoma
19-12-15

FINALLY (to AJ)

FINALLY
to AJ
Long have I walked
Behind the smiling rainbow
Seeking to find your
Name embroidered in
Her glamorous garment

Long have I walked
On the golden moon
Seeking to find your
Name engraved on
Her glowing face

Long have I roved
Through the garden of
Thornless roses amidst
The cheer of tulips
Seeking to find your name
Written on their petals

I offered my ears
To the nightingale's song
Dreaming to hear
Your name in its echoes

And to the silent
Wind that tickles the ears
Telling nocturnal tales

For your beauty is of an unfading rainbow
Of all the flowers whose banquet
Feed butterflies and bees
Of the golden moon who gives
Eyes to the blinded night
Of the nightingale whose song
Echoes angelic orchestras
And the cold wind whose
Lullabies bring sleep at night

Now that your honeyed tongue
Spat it into my ears
I have had my heart stained
Indelibly with its sweetness
As I dream knowing you more . . .
7-12-15
JQB14,Legon.
©Sarpong Kumankoma

Dreaming Love

Dp Series #1

No Wrong (Sarfo Kantanka)

No Wrong
Love the light
and dark oppose
Find delight
in sweet repose
Wait the night
and don't suppose
Avoid the fights
and roam the coast
Live your life
and fear no ghost

©Sarfo Kantanka

Image Source: Unknown

TALK FOR YOURSELF (Kwame Mensah)

TALK FOR YOURSELF

On that day

It will happen like a flash

As brief as a sigh

When the groom arrives

On that day

Many mountains will behold in awe

As pebbles are enveloped by the fabric of the groom

And they still stand,unmoved

On that day

Beauty will be cast aside

The proud and pompous will be pleading on their knees

And the rich will gaze at the scene with disbelief

On that day

Floods of tears will be squeezed from rocks

A chorus of prayers will be lifted

But they will all fall on deaf ears

The sun will run away

In haste the sky will disintegrate

Like wax,the earth will melt: so frail

And the stars will fall from up like rain and hail

On that day

There will be terror

The riches and the security of this world would be useless

And the regret and remorse of sins would be fruitless

People would gladly seek death

Stab themselves and feast on the sweet nectar of poison

Drop from a height like fruit on a tree

Left to the mercy of a roaring wind

Death's hands would no longer be icy

They'd be so hot and very repulsive

And its gates would be locked to the living

But the brides of the groom would walk through them easily

On that day

There will be an assembly of the true branches of the vine

Those who died that the Cross would be raised

And washed their garments in the blood of the  once slain lamb

They shall know pains no more

They shall reap the fruit of their labour

They will then know joy forever

As the groom Himself wipes away every tear from their eyes

But to those that were left behind

Those that busied themselves with the things of the world

They will weep,wail and gnash their teeth

And salvation would not be for them anymore

On that day, when the trumpet sounds

Which side would you sincerely be on?

On that day, when you stand alone,encountering Divinity

Would you stand clad in dirt or in purity?

On that day

When Christ comes

When you'll have to talk for yourself 

Would you do so in trembling or with boldness and joy?

©-Kwame Mensah

30.10.15

Image: online

EVELYN

Evelyn
If I were the ruler of the universe
I would make you a crown
from the star shining brightest
And tailor you a gown
from sapphire and pure gold threads
Your feet would rest on diamonds of best renown
And without your word no sun will rise from the west.
For your face knows not a frown
and your character is as humble as a flightless bird.
And as sure as the world is round
You are the angel sent to guide my step.
May you stand where others fallen
May you walk where others are crawling
May you smile when others are sullen
May you endure all and fear nothing
The Lord will forever be with you
as you have been with me
Love will never depart from you
even as you have loved me
May the Almighty always bless you
and keep you safe for all eternity.
©Sarfo Kantanka