THE KING AND THE SAGE

Once,
A king saddled with many a complaining elders
…of his court
Visited a sage at the feet of dawn
In order to fix his court into calm
And satisfy his people with need

II
He complained of the terrifying nightmares
…of his cousin pushing a dagger into his heart
And blamed his supporters
…for pushing him into the royal limelight
…whose dark parts host many a shocking hurts

III
The king bemoaned his plight
And spoke of the bliss of the ordinary
Likening his ordinary days to days wasted in delusions
…built by his king makers
Stating he could have enjoyed that time
Watching the sun rise
…seeing off sunsets
…loving plants to grow
…basking in the warmth and cold of rivers
…among others

IV
Now he regrets being in a place of many responsibilities
Carrying burdens of everyone on his tiny head
Greying his beautiful black hair
And living on fearful bubbles
…of hurting a faction to fix a section

V
The sage listened with rapt attention
And looked at the king for a while
He sighed and looked past him
Before replying thus:
“The will of a King forms part of enstoolment
No matter how much a hawk tries to blame Odomankomah
…for its carnivorous taste
Its will to swoop
…and clamp down on chicks
…is solely its machination
So let’s solve the blame by acknowledging our parts
…in it
Once the complaining is done with
A listening ear hears where the wails of a kingdom comes from
That same ear gets to know where swords swing
A wise child needs no more words than I’ve given
Long live the king”

VI
And so the king went back to his palace
After thinking replaced anger
…and burned thoughts of the impudence of the sage
He fixed himself
Went on to fix his ears to listen
Found the wails of his people
And the swords murdering their needs
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © September 26, 2020