Arriving at Iseyin in Oyo State for the Ebedi International Writers Residency was pure bliss. The house was located in a very convenient place. It had a quiet ambience with trees blooming with abundant fruits. Although power supply was nothing that could be compared to my home country, the administration provided a good standby generator […]
We wail Cursing those we hailed We hunger Blaming our thought-heroes for death danger Maybe we are like a breed of animals Who stash weeds on thrones, neglecting the propers, Only to climb with their little strength To bring them down as foot-mats II We are here in the republican cave One the fearless Nkrumah […]
I challenged a student who just completed high school to write a poem on faith. I am actually surprised she did this in a matter of 30 minutes: Many find it difficult holding on to me I am defined as the substance of things hoped for The evidence of things not seen I am […]
REFRAIN: SÉ āman yi bÉyÉ yie a Na efiri me ne wo SÉ āman yi bÉyÉ yie a Na efiri yÉn ara Na efiri yÉn ara Firi agyanom ne nnanom akuafo, akruufoā kosi aman mpanyinfoā so Na efiri yÉn ara Na efiri yÉn ara Ei! akwadwofo ei, annuanomu mmratofoā ne Émfamehofoā Na efiri yÉn […]
Water left untouched for long, stinks Foods rebel by punishing noses When left for long But some people need plain words To decipher the little words From the mouth of this small calabash II Knowledge must be a fountain Flowing for all to see And filling the holes beneath Only to flow up and go […]
Running sweatsĀ conceived by mating muscles and mobility in tiredness *** Chapped skin like burstings of mud zones whipped by hot sunshine *** Palms calloused like the skin of a rough tree displaying wares hoping for money exchange *** You realize nothing is easy when you see frustrated breath running through nosesĀ on their hind […]
Ā I Long long ago Behold and lo We were in the skies Flying in blissful highs Waters were wine Food were handed to us straight From the hands of the earth, no bait And the airs told tales of authenticity II Ā Long long ago Behold and lo None cared about covers Nakedness was famous […]
The tree that is processed Into toilet tissues Did nothing to see and feel such horrors Nothing is fair II Nothing is fair The land which gives us food Did nothing to carry horrors of its gift Really nothing is fair III One who wants to play and is played Needs no loud voice in […]
All ablutions apt Proud pious people praying Bow before Allah II Aboabo is chaste Showing good of Ramadan Abuse? Forgiven! III I remember a Day after Ramadan left Its footsteps were heard IV Abudu just saidĀ “Shegia!” and his mouth was snatched By sharp machetes V Amina just puffed And her body was found in […]
Gifted hands do plait Armpit hairs forgetting head Attracts public eyes Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2015
“Amoansene Ayie ase anibre Owuoyiaw” Marks of red Why are we in a red May Day? Grumbling workers! Feeding on their skins Swimming in debts Roasting in hunger And fuming in anger! “Aniwa aniwa abiri biri asoso gya” II It is a red May Day Hearts with hurts’ field day Hands with canes Chasing an […]
We Working like horses Can rise like mountains To look down on the flowing rivers Of poverty II We Together like bees Can be highly equipped To battle alien soldiers Of corruption III When wires of confusion Develop fingers of wickedness As fingers of indifference sit on Other walls in folding We, can break free […]
Boy: Ataa Ayi is my role model But I aim for higher For no soul must get me Until I retire Minister: How dare you? How can you aspire to be Ataa Ayi? Boy: I am now a being with shadowed tongue What is the difference between multiple zeroed fraudsters and thieves? Don’t say they […]
Good songs beg for listenership and having listened to Shegee Styla’s new album titled “Let’s Go” I am inclined to share it with all you lovely followers of amoafowaa.com. The song is set in the slums of Accra, Ghana, and talks about the fact that people in the slums also have lives and live lives […]
Teeth of black golds Please sharpen yourselves on ruthless stones And get ready to chew Chew By all means chew II Start chewing from the skulls Which aim to take you there Yes, break those skulls Use your claws to pull them out of their enclaves Bite to chew the good sense out Making watchers […]
Asaase Abibire! Sit on a listening stool And answer your queries Maybe, just maybe, you might convince your host II Why do you boil egos of your masculines Until they attain unbreakable statuses in negation? Why do you create those Who destroy their earth routes And kill spirits who aim to make their names immortal? […]
The school system in Ghana, to me, is flawed in many ways. So much that many teachers find themselves in weird situations which make no sense and it leaves me wondering. The code of conduct of the Ghana Education Service (GES) is, to me, not clear and does not cover many areas which wake to […]
WeĀ were when they were; Our velvety black skinned ancestors Think of how nature bathed us In wisdom In laughter In wealth Wealth so left to sit in protection Think of our great dances As we dined with lions And played with tigers If only our fingers can meet each other’s As we take our positive […]
He whom summer burns Seeks shelters under rivers When winter’s sun calls for setting II He whom winter “pneu-moans” Stooges under the skirt of summer Crying fie on winter as he gathers dry woods III None needs light to see flames When darkness sits on its sky throne “akyekyede akyi” fears no cane But “akyekyede” […]
Thoughts soo advanced Have descended the stairs of the earth Hands so talented lay still Refusing to move, even when danger announces its coming Theodosia Oko! II She married the colours Red, gold, green with a black star Mating the gold And gave perfect meanings As to why it must flag the Ghana land But […]
Wisdom, pull out your canes of sanity Kingdom, whip up your thoughts of humanity Enlightenment, fire up your thunders of knowledge To create internal laws In minds like caves of cannibals II Mornings, sprinkle your light sun to lure sanity III Afternoons, fire up your pins of light to soften minds as hard as stubborn […]
I think a mosquito bit Nelson Mandela An anopheles mosquito He caught it But saw it as waste If he killed a mosquito which could not give him back his blood And so he let it be Such a mistake it was II So this mosquito went ahead to breed And bred barbarisms Lazy cocoons […]
I wish I can be an arrow Which could pierce without sorrow And enter into brain marrows Of those who cause humans sorrows But I am like all They fall and I fall They call and I call They stall and I stall Shadows of shadows of shadows! And the shadows are painful arrows! II […]
God, I call I, Your creation, Planted on black sands, call I thought loamy grows best But apparently, I thought wrong II We shine in light, Oh what beauty! Why then do mine portray their minds Like their bodies of doom Only, the minds shine not but destroy, maim! Kill! III God, I call And […]
I wish my fingers were a huge cloth Then I could cloth this shame of Africaness So heads can walk on shoulders As the filth stays in II We are now zombies Loving our horrid features On screens of walls Of those we worshipped But we cry foul Citing their brutalities and their monkey tags […]
Shivers in rivers which quiver Chanting in rants which amount Bouncing in announcing which pounce Twinning alikoto, dancing of Akoto, The sun sits on the golden stool II Tongues of longs so strong Walking in talks which stalk Thinking of things which blink Perfuming prekese Flying paper kites The sun sits on the golden stool […]
With this current news of the xenophobic attacks is hidden chaos that the rioters fail to notice and I’ll go straight to the point. South Africans are also in other African countries working and owning properties, the message being sent to them is to burn them alive, kill or sack them from their countries, won’t […]
All are mad From all corners Real or fake Intermittently, we are crazy Causing havoc and chaos All over our continent II Sea of sacredness Over the crust of the continent Under the guise of a great man tsunamis After he turns his back to rest Housed under the guise of death III And you […]
We are in a cue We will dock when weāre due There is nothing like immortal few And thereās no one to really sue Let the natural tongue speak of lifeās curfew CHORUS āMere bi bÉba Nāti bÉkā nāte mu Ama nāte abobā nompe mu Ā Ése bÉguan atua agyaboā Na nāte akyire nhwi deduam Onua […]
When hearts meet fears and flee And groans turn to songs as dirges Where brides must sing of joy – When indigo streaks our faces – *** When stolen voices become Serial callers with borrowed Phrases, Where old plasters cover the wounds Where real heroes fall Then new martyrs rise to build Our […]
Ha ha, hehehehe, hmmm “Akosua is a ‘kosua’ A ‘kosua’ which needs a holder A holder with veins feared by the earth But she fears palms” *** Really? *** Oh elders like shelvers! Elders with clippers! Elders with machete tongues! ‘Odomankoma Ahunu Abobirim’ is a generous God So generous as to make Akosua legs, hands, […]
Scars of slavery Scars of rebellion Scars of half freedom Scars of neo colonialism Scars of coups Scars of internal wars Have now given birth to Scars of terrorism Scars of brutality With these many scars How can we still not feel the experience? How can we not pull the clothes of togetherness on our […]
Ghana Sunny, DARK Politicking, loving, insulting Peaceful, inflation, freedom, nature Touring, entertaining, promising Riches, poverty Sikaman Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2015
Nananom were the Lords When the aliens came as explorers Riches turned their heads around And they aimed to be the kings So Nananom were subdued Isn’t it funny that salt were used as toffees To make our Lords tongue licking children? Isn’t it funny that lone guns were used To make men feel like […]
I decided to take a break from my laptop to see what my proud country’s television stations had for me. I tuned in to METRO TV to catch a glimpse of the great match between our own Accra lads,Olympics, which now has ‘Olele’ (our forgotten goalkeeper) in goal post against the herdsmen from the North […]
Penpenaaa! Nanaa! If you answer in sexy You get gifted in richness II Penpenaa! Nana! Don’t be rude Nana needs new blood to help his system III Now let’s drop the play; Many say their pairs reject them Many say their beds are tired; Tired of praying Hail Marys Many say their pairs shift their […]
Nose of Prekese Saying dawadawa beings Smell foul is horror II Huge bowls of Etiw Claiming bowls of Akple are Unworthy, is laughable III What happened to fruits? What happened to same corn foods What happened to groups? IV Let us not pretend We’re under huge umbrellas And so we are one Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia […]
There is a never dying plantain plant Which is rooted in the centre Of a coast initially golden When it is cut down, other shoots emerge When it is uprooted, new shoots succeed Funny, how a plantain drains And never ceases to create holes of mouthings Holes of horrid deceits Holes of disappointments Holes of […]
I hope On the dilemmic three pathway I hope Feeling the pangs and the goosebumps I hope To walk with legs of victoryĀ II I pray With limbs of tiredness I pray Even as time smiles in its race I pray To get strong wings like eagles III Hold me As I hold the sails […]
We live, Through the snaking smiling gutter maimings To the sitting smokes which puff to mate into killing II We live Through the dotty salaries To the gargantuan prices on needed edibles III We live, Even though we are being ruled By a rich dead goat who fears no knife IV We live, Even though […]
Ghana glammed gifted grandly On inception like a princess from a rich kingdom Until her marriage to usurpers Who started with her adornments And left her in short skirts II After the usurpers divorce She married herselfĀ Only to realise that she feasted on herself And now she has near bones III What causes this? […]
When witnesses fail to talk Righteous men are eaten by the hands of the rope Yet some call themselves witnesses And witness when eyes need to close Akosua is a tier She ties herself by the Witness she has become Becoming bounded and hounded by celebrations Like a monkey whose tail is knotted on a […]
African tales have tails of morals refrains of choralsĀ and sometimes show hearts of abhorals II African tales hold wise mails, show hurting fails, clarify heavenly bails III African tales can cause wails, narrate heroic hails and their wounding nails IV African tales are now like its porridges; dilutings severe, erasing its sweetners making its […]
Fie! Artificial fires of the night Fie! You who shine off and on Jumping from the mountain of darknessĀ To the mountain of brightness Scattering arranged futures And pulling hairs of the protected Fie! You nighters like weak but dangerous fireflies! II I wear great clothes of metal Metal to you, cotton to day workers […]
Like bats, make us fly together We are trees on same land with different grounds A loud “paaa, pooom, peii” must raise our concerns II While our heads have nations with different thought legs, Their frames have carvings so similar in supplementation Their thought deeds have beautiful uglies Causing real pain to differing acts Which […]
I went with some geography students of Tamale Senior High school on a tour to the Buabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary and proceeded to the Kintampo Waterfalls. Knowing Ghana, my homeland, is now a passion, so I decided to share our experience. The road to Buabeng Fiema from Kintampo was 32km and only some 300m of […]
Maa Yaa! Come and listen! I went looking for snails Then I saw Oforiwaa strapping her newborn, I also saw her holding two of her youngs Then I asked how she was doing, She told me ” Who can be finer than me? Me who gives birth to the strength of the nation This whole […]
They fight seriously Why? Look here, ground-nuts and beans! Fighting for nothing Is like falling into groundsĀ Full of herbivoric pests II As a leaf, I probed Beans claim superiority For being flower-borns As ground-nuts claim bosshood for Being root borns, how trivial! III You silly fighting beans, Don’t you know you depend on roots […]
When hands suffer to beat drums And parched throats wince as they taste rums Feet must be whipped when they stay calm II As the hands make the sounds Let the feet do the rounds Like possessed by the gods who watch III Africa is a dancing god Africans are dancers for the sun and […]
Poetry, is fast gaining roots in Ghana, and as such, there are modern poets who are helping give it a boost in the entertainment industry. I must commend the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) for helping its members gain the recognition they need. Being what many call a prolific writer, I started writing poetry when […]
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