IN GRANDMA’S TIME

No flowers,

Grandma says she received a whistle

Then roasted cocoyams

And huge smiles

Which forced the eyes of her heart

To meet her beloved’s

II

No clubs,

They met under the huge ‘odum’ tree,

When the sky shone

Its face brightened by the hands of cleaning lime,

And danced to the throaty sounds he made

She swore they were the most

Beautiful sounds she ever heard

III

No car,

Grandma says he carried her on his back

Crossing rivers in the rain

And fanned her when heat stood with eyes unabated

She paid him by being his super machine,

Washing his clothes

And cooking his favourite meals

Aside beaming at even his shadows

IV

Grandma says

Needs have changed for the worse

Money rules instead of beings

And weak beings claim inner strength falling off their seats

That’s why we suffer deceit

And disagree on trivialities

Because life’s core points

Have been sacrificed for breakable things

Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2014