He lived like a goat
Taking all the beatings
And wearing debt’s coats
Took all the curses
He rode tear boats
Taking all the beggings
He yielded to no antidote
Until Afia asked him why.
II
Mr. Kadeka laughed out loud
Sat his buttocks
And looked so proud
Craned his neck
To clear the path’s shroud
And pulled at his tobacco
As he shunned his crowd
He then prepared to answer
III
“I owed a woman
When I was young
I could not have that money
Still, I stayed strong
But my muscles turned fire
When she came along
Every path I took even in sleep
I wanted to know where I belonged
But fear always rang
In my heart in a fearsome ding dong
At the mention of her name
I knew I was among
The convicted criminals
Who sang freedom songs
One day, I heard her coming
And realised I had lost my keys
I jumped in a well and nearly drowned
And that was when I faced my fears
There is nothing “I don’t have” can give to “wants, needs, give or force”
My dear, let me be myself
Owers show the owed”
IV
And so it happened
That on the day he died
Many he owed, were paid in excess
He made a will to include them all
And wrote his sorry amidst his worry
Man, I won’t die over owing pennies
Because he lived nine decades
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2015
Mum Cee 