ILLUSIONS

ILLUSIONS
                   i
the footsteps
of silence. the march
of ghosts yawning ices
of their panting for reincarnation
or an entry into asamando

paapa's ghost
the goat who eats
the mashed yams and breaks
the asanka

                       ii
                 witches
the hooting of owls and galagoes
atop a barren cola---
the jocundity at
the regale of the coven

the fireflies swarming in
the mountains
the glowing worms in
the caves

                  iii
             paapa
he died before my birth
he died before his death
he still walks the face of the earth
he seeks revenge on
the witches who
slaughtered him
              
             iv
          canard
this tale of witches
and ghosts

©Sarpong Kumankoma
2015

LUNAE CANTICUM (after a gifted walk)

LUNAE CANTICUM
(after a gifted walk)

Stars have gathered
Around the moon
Singing of her to
The frozen night-

The unheard melodies
Resound in the silent sky
The lyrics flood my
Heart with emotions molten
With embers of love . . .

My head is a pot
Yawning under an undying
Palm that spits spells
In ceaseless flow

I am bewitched-
Trapped in phantasms
I wear a mask of smiles-
(nathan may say it's madness)
   
The insane man
Is the only one that knows
How real his hallucinations are

Love is the one
That made my heart her hut
The hands that opened my skull
The tool that whittled my brain
To form her statue

The night is not alone
In this sleepless journey with stars-
The dreamer dreams his
Love with sleep-forsaken eyes

©Sarpong Kumankoma
29|07|15
9pm- 3:45 am

MOONLESS NIGHT

MOONLESS NIGHT
The moon is at rest
The night has defeated
The stars---
Fireflies keep watch
With the saddened stars
Mimicking their glowing tears

Soundly huts sleep
With silent snores---
The lullaby of owls and crickets
Pleases their soul

Cold sneaks into huts
To make the journey
Of rest more accessible....

The village rests
What about the forest?

In the forest
Thunder cries from the hunter's gun
As it spits lightening----
An antelope is orphaned,
A duiker is wounded....

Trees shiver
Struck by terror
The sound of a merciless chainsaw----
A dirge in their ears
Two shall die without succession
The path to a desert cleared

The river---
The only blood that flows
In the the green veins of the forest
Poisoned by a greedy heart;
Fishes near extinction

All these vices naked to the blind eyes
Of the night---

An ugly face
Fate will show if the forest
                      strikes back
in revenge

He shall send
         a million
soldier ants
                 ONE
fat elephant
               Three
Fanged snakes
and
                    a
hungry tiger
Into homes

He shall shoot his trees onto huts
And spill his blood to
Swallow the village

Man shall wake up imprisoned
By death at asamando

---Tomorrow  footprints shall
Be seen on the forest's belly
Their owners?
A secret of the dumb night

©Sarpong Kumankoma
UA-63306497-1