MPAPA AND KYERƐDE

“Efua Boowaa always plays with Gbovi
Laughing to his twisted jokes with rolling eyes
…like a gbegblevi
As she sorted through his second hand clothes till she buys
Until that faithful day
Where flirty rays turned bomb which strayed and blinded an innocent man

II
None of us were in the house
We went to our farms only to see her coiled like a frightened millipede
…upon our return
Her clothes looked like one scattered by an angry lion
Her hair could compete with that of Sɛ Asa the mad woman
Her undies carelessly laid asunder
…with testimonies of a broken will
…greeting eyes which have long needed a sight
And shaking tongues which had long needed to wag

III
After the doctors attended her to wake
And her shaking stopped
She told tales of a forced entry into her temple
I wonder if a convert needed permission to pray in a temple
She sees a ghost, who knocks on a tomb
I’ll say a man woken from his rest
…needs to exercise to tire before a retire
Because desire is acquired through processes dire”

V
That is how Kpabiye narrated the story
…as a witness, claiming the mpapa has no sound until something touches it
Waking the fury from the heart of the sitting judge
Who puffed and huffed and coughed her hurts
“A woman is no thing made by man
To face ridicule through her actions
Flirts are flirts
Sex is sex
The first can lead to the second
The first must not force the second
So you’ll live in a cage for a decade and a half till you learn women birth men
…to stop this horrid thoughts you and your supporters have
That flirting is the green light for abuse
Flirting is no yes to a proposal
And rape is as bad as a crime like murder
Court adjorns”

VI.
That was how Gbovi ended up in jail
And Efua Boowaa ended up as an introvert
One who runs at the mere sight of a man’s shadow
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © March 3, 2021