NANA KWASI GYAN-APENTENG

I heard some unsettling news in the morning
…which put me in mourning
Ace confirmed it
…and I had a fit
I walked through one of Tamale’s storms under a student’s umbrella in the heavy rains
And reached home tortured in my brains
Left wretched with worrying pains

II
Is it the Nana with laughter so infectious
…and a heart so precious?
Is it the Nana with words so heavy
…and a personality so worthy?
No, not my Nana, who made all difficulties easy
And triumphed even in predicted loses

III
I guess this took me by surprise
Trusting a body to beat death has me paying a price
He lived and worked to serve and uplift
He loved and fought with words better than swords
He tried his hardest to impact and save
…many minds muddied by foreign impurities

IV
It is certainly not my Nana
Words are failing, tears are blinding
Tell me it is not my Nana
A man of men, a daddy and friend
But the words he wielded are the words
…killing the hope of lies
And it is eating me from within

V
Who will hunt my nights with sleep?
Who will look and see me with eyes so deep?
Who will know and still me keep?
Who is who in this life with death?
This is a mood I’ll forever dread
Forcing words to do justice to loss
I’m drenched in sorrow
…lost and hollow
But I do know this is a journey we’re all waiting to take
…no matter how painful
…no matter how scary
So rest in power of peace
…rest as a tower and breeze
Rest the soul you used to so bless
…till our forever merges
…into a reunion nostalgic and loving
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia for Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, a father, a friend, a confidant and a mentor, lost yesterday and will be remembered in my forever. (Picture by Mr. Kojo Yankah)