Category: POETRY

WEALTHY PAUPERS

If lions turn herbivores
…to chew all the grasses of all herbivores
A time will come
…when all they’ll get are grasses
…with no meat on bones
Mr. and Mrs. Whom You Know
Time is showing who has known whom
…in many a plural
Hehehe hahaha!
A laugh from the wrong part of the stomach!

II
We knew not the fingers which played the strings
…of our harp in the scary dark
All we saw were their thining
While the real fingers whose purposes
…were to feel in serving
Begged for a seen without even a been
Brother and Sister Whom You Know
Time is showing who has known whom
…in many a plural
Hehehe hahaha!
A laugh from the wrong part of the mouth!

III
I know none thought of the smell
…when the mischief was being cooked
I know none thought of this aroma
…when the fires were being fanned
…to boil unfairness to feed pals
…blood and side chickens
Were there side cocks?
Ose wɔ ase o!
Aunties and Uncles Whom You Know
Time is showing who has known whom
…in many a plural
Hehehe hahaha!
A laugh from the wrong part of the mind!

IV
We are now seeing
…the ants in our cloths biting to strip us naked on public stages
We are now seeing
…the snakes in our grasses poisoning to kill our worth
We are now seeing
…the lips
…which fan as hosting the teeth
…which bit us into unhealing sores
Wealthy paupers chewing intestines of paupering poor
Sore on our poor laws!
Rich fellers reaching riches and turning greed witches
…to fetch to stretch their stomachs,
…as against national welfare –
…a canker eating deep in our developing bones!

V
Is this naming to help in taming?
Is this a shaming to up our gaming?
Is this an outing to clout our flouting?
Or just a showing to speed our tearing –
…down?
Curiosity dangles atrocity with growth
And I shiver at a path on the former
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 24, 2020

TO YOUR HOME HEART

A pain after another
…after another
…after another?
Know
…each is a journey you had to travel through
To your home heart

II
For some flowers face floors
…taste feet in defeat
And are passed from loving hands
…to hateful ones
But their seeds may stumble on good soil
And die to live to glorify
Nothing dies to live like a heart
…in multiplicity
So cope for hope
Don’t elope to oblivion
Thinking inexistence a better existence
A fruit plucked by ripe hands
…gets the celebration of tongue pores
And stands a better chance of reincarnation
…than those plucked by angry winds
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 23, 2020

ODD VARIATION

There is one God
…they say
One God and one sky
But I see this bright sky
…even knowing a dark sky
…somewhere
Apparently, skies vary
So do Gods also vary?

II
There are defeated suns
…whose heat have been wrestled down by cold
As the bold rains wear their spirits of snow
…and transform into monsterous ice
Still, they say there is one God
Overseeing snow skies
…and rain skies
Don’t Gods vary?

III
I see the smoothness that minds have built
Compared to the roughness that mine fields
If there is one God for all
He never sleeps but keeps watching
…to gift inequalities to equals
…to build gaps which humans tap into
To brand themselves bad, hard, strong or weak
Should we ever blame attitudes on humanity
…for all the flaws coming from the claws of a higher being?

IV
It might be my confusion
But I see the illusion in fusion with faith
…working to imprison happiness
…with tight laws branded into religion
I hope discovery proves me wrong
…or opens eyes bugged with this virus of obsession
…thought of as a mandatory way of life
…a ticket of heaven
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 23, 2020

MAPLE’S ABLE

As you Maples seek to be staple power for struggling nations
Halt the fault in your cot
…before it turns cult to salt your snow into unclean water
…stinking to destroy you
…in an outside projection

II
From all the guarding and intimidations
…thorned on my skin before entry
I thought you flawless
…all your others comfortable
See my shock as I watch some of your people
…forced to act rags
…hoping some cents fall to drag them from hunger
What about the many angels
…walking without mind directions in your Ontario capital?
Compassion is causing anger
…within my hurt heart

III
What is beauty hosting filth in their chambers?
Even a rotten nut amongst a lot
…destroys the taste of a saucepan full of soup
You so know that no matter how beautiful a bin is
…it still is regarded based on what it contains
All the time
…our poor stories flagged our beautiful stories
…by your magnifying channels
Now turn their lenses to your own yards
And see what this fly screams for your attention

IV
If you know your troubles
And still Centre us stages like we’re the wrecks on a destruction deck
Then no hypocrite will ever live
If they never model your many stances
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 21, 2020

AMANƆNE FI

Amanɔni abrane fi te sɛ nnomaa a wɔn takra sesɛ
…wɔn ano boaboa yɛ abusua abusua
Nwura ne aprɔdeɛ wɔ wɔn kyɛfa
Ntoa ne nwurɔba nwurɔba wɔ wɔn abusua
Ɛna nkrataa nkrataa wɔ wɔn anoboa
Wɔn ho hu nti
…nsa biara nnyɛ mfomsoɔ
Ngya wɔn nsansa
…na mpo wɔn ato wɔn asawuram
Wɔ Maple Asaase yi so ha

b
Nso babia me fri deɛ
Wɔn nyinaa yɛ abusua
…a adane kankan afrafra
Wɔn sisi nsubɔn
…ma nsuyire
Wɔn piti yɛn asaase ani
…te te nwansena nwom akuo akuo
…ma wɔn nan ase ntasuo totɔ nyarewa brɛ amansan
Wɔn ho hu nso hɔ a
…wɔn tumi dane nsuwansuwa wuranom
…sɛi yɛn anomnom

d
Nso ha yi
Wɔn tumi dane nnepa
…a nnipa san tɔ de di ahim

e
Sɛ enka me man bɛ hunu hann
…anya nkuran asua de abɔ yɛn man yi ho ban a
…anka yɛ bɛ kɔ nkan
Efirisɛ akunkum abrane agyegye owuo nsamrane
…wɔ nsuyire adjosuo so
Wɔn awewe nsuwa nsuwa
…ɛbobɔ nsukɔm ntrɛne wɔ nkro nkro so
Mpo wɔn ɛsɛi nsaase
…ɛɛkum mfudeɛ ɛɛbɔ ɛkɔm ntrɛne
Ehu a yɛnhunu kosi ne yɔ su

ɛ
Neɛ ɛyɛ fɛ fata me man o
Nso hwan na ɛbɛma me man foɔ ani, adwene ne nsa
…ama wɔn ahyehyɛ mmra pa
…adi so?
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 21, 2020

STERRE

When Sterre stirs your tea of life
And adds hot hope to burn your cold
And makes sure you’re better sold
…by a brightening boldness
To gift you a life experience
You so surely best believe
…she’ll succeed

II
When Sterre scares your pessimism
…with her smile
And promises to spank it to run many a mile
And kill it with an optimistic while
…best believe her bubbliness will win
And her voice will stay to defray other similar thoughts
…which you might have fought

III
Sterre is a soft whip of love to have
…a definite keep of success
Sterre is sunshine to fit
…on your dreamy sky
An air of care to blow your scare with a sure dare
Sterre is a hat to wear
…on your hardened heart
…with a scent for all to love
Sterre is that rain to drain
…all your dusty strain
…to train your brain
Sterre is the pleasant place
…in all unhappy places
Thankfully Sterre is a blessing
…I hold in my crippling cold
So I walk off cramps of failure
…with sure successes
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 20, 2020

AROUND LONG BREAKFAST TABLES

Around long breakfast tables
Where connections are cables
…calling to be brought to existence
Fear, pride and shyness are the only scissors
Cutting their birth between beings
Jaws work in their own rhythms
Throats wait their swallowing turns
…chew, swallow, chew, swallow

II
Here, colour is just a painting
…which every difference hosts
Here
Class can only come from the mouth of the crass
…whose ass needs to be harassed
Here
…every structure is nature
…appreciated and loved
Chew, swallow, talk, smile
Chew, swallow, talk, laugh

III
If all days were like this in Victoria University
And every human runs this routine
Emerging from our safe places
…to meet, greet
…talk to defeat the fleet of negative lables
Love will turn staple cables of food for our abilities
…and the earth will call us dependables
…passing through its territory
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 19, 2020

CHANGE ENABLED?

You shea
Having met a weather to your fair
…and acting queer
Know she whom you steer!

II
You shea
Thinking I can, your stubbornness, bear
To, of you, steer clear
You’ll meet your heating fear

III
You changing in a small advantage
You hardening in my cold caging
You refusing to my finger calling
Acting boss to your master
Is the height I will never take
No matter how high your stakes
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 18, 2020

A BUSINESS OF CLASS

How love dragged
…from bonding of hearts
…to a business of class
Beats me
It still beats me

II
So money decides bedmates for havers
…to some

III
So name selects
…soul mates of others
…to some

IV
So qualifications yoke lovers to be
…to some

V
And the laughable fact remains
…complaints bridal walking on the red carpet of tongues of jealousy
Disdain shooting from eyes of the unworthy
Hatred spewed by mouths of hypocrites

VI
If only we can all learn to support travellers
…to Cupid’s Cottages
With blessings
…and not catapult them with curses of our impoverished needs!!!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 17, 2020

MRS HILLIER’S AND HERBERT’S RIDE

All the time
…the blue of the sky
…shows after angry clouds fall to turn rain
…which drains into gutters
…washing the dirt of stress
I so know this

II
I walked from my fires of scrutiny
Into the warm arms of Mrs Hillier
…and an awesome hug from Herbert
Even the sun smiled to welcome us,
Mischael and I,
With handshakes of its winning deception
A divine cup of smoothie pampered my palate:
Mrs Hillier’s choice and Herbert’s thought and bought
Sensitively, they tried to save us
…from the first punches of the cold
Still, it folded our joints and gnashed our teeth
…for some few minutes

III
The parking fees that could feed me for two weeks
…was cleared to all our wincing
Then Mrs Hillier promised a great ride
…from Pearson’s West to our inhabiting East
And what a beauty to behold!

IIIb
Even dirt on vehicles posed beautiful whites
Showing debris of salt bathing cars
…by hands of cleared and smooth roads shedding the bedding of snow
Then we saw Lake Ontario
…wearing neatness on its huge pate
…and gently telling me how Koklobite can model him
…if our polythene flags and unclean habits are killed by our will
From closed churches turned condominiums
…to closed cinemas
To an old building turned mall
…retained in decoration by rich owners
…after cries of citizens for cultural maintenance
To oh many tall buildings screaming creativity of great architects,
Every little thing stands divine!

V
Bald trees stood shivering
Their leaves gobbled up by the snow
…their stiffness showing their shyness at their leafless nakedness
Lawns hid under bossy snow
All assuring us of their existence
…even in our tomorrows
As our great hosts educated us
…on the city I’ve come to love
The city whose welcome stretched from beauty
…to its duty of protecting even trees
The city whose bites of cold closes not its frosted handiworks
The City of Toronto
And so it was that our destination greeted us with beauty
On number 5 Selby Street
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 15, 2020

TAKE ME TO A PLACE

Take me to a place
A place where sadness has no trace
A place where sorrow knows not tomorrow
A place where hurt memories die

II
Take me to a place
A place where tears fear no dears
A place where hearts bleed to heal
A place where pains gain sane rains

III
Take me to a place
A place where all, all embrace
A place where none stands short like a weed
A place where all are great seeds

IV
Take me to a place
A place with no loveable face
A place where all have a case
A place where race is no ace

V
There
…I wish to shower and not force to tower
There
…I wish to weep my sleep for keeps
There
…I hope to cope and insanity elope
There
…I hope to take me I, and make it a me
To see the fee of a me who be
…in a life untaken
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 16, 2020

SHIVERS

If I could bring the sun to these shores
I would form a fond
…to build a bond
…with this scary snow showering shivers
…in my pores

II
If I could fetch some warmth to this place
Wearing snow like an overzealous religious believer
I’d build a love to think above the shivers
…in my pores

III
For I’m fire
…born of the sun
With warm a desire to live a seen
I’m heat
…needing cold defeat
How did I buy into a ticket
…bigger than my flames?
Thoughts force shivers
…in my pores

IV
Will I turn cricket beyond my fire?
Will I freeze fat to blast a crack?
Will I fly a seat to return a cargo?
How sharp are the teeth of frost?

V
Child of stone!
Blessed witch of birth!
The golden child of a Coast!
Tawiah!
I live above insane fears
These are but silly playthings
…passing through the road of my mind
…into their own dangerous death

VI
But I do hope to gain many a skill
…beyond my thought
If I will live hawking houses of clothes
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 15, 2020

SƐSƐƐ

Sɛsɛɛ kɔhwɛ
Nnipa a wɔn adane nkura
…eeguane adɔfoɔ adekyɛda te sɛ yarebɔne bi
…de ntɔkwa ayɛ wɔn kwan
Neɛ ekume koraa ne wɔn sereɛ
…a wɔn de bɛ san wɔn akyi
…akɔbɔ wɔn adɔfonom tɔdwɛ tɔdwɛ te sɛ anumnum dwei a wɔn tim etirease
Haaagya!

b
Sɛsɛɛ kɔhwɛ
Kɔhwɛ anibrɛ gya a asosɔ
…te sɛ abayifoɔ adom nkanea
Ɛɛhwɛ adɔfo a wɔn nsɛm wɔ de
…na wɔretotɔ akyɛdeɛ aboɔden de kyekyɛ wɔn adɔfonom
‘Me nyayɛ a anka ɛyɛ me’ anyinnyim bebree wɔ anibre nkanea so
…ama wɔ pɔn abufuwhyew yiayaw mu
Haadya!

d
Sɛsɛɛ kɔhwɛ
Kɔhwɛ ntrɔ a ɛɛfru ehu apata wɔ akuma bebree mu
Wɔntongirigi akɛseɛ a wɔn bɛnya de akiiki wɔn ayaase
…wɔ mere a wɔn ahokafo ɛɛda awɔ mu
…wɔn nsa ɛhyehyɛ wɔn damirifa mu
Haadya!

e
Sɛsɛɛ kɔhwɛ
Kɔhwɛ asugyafoɔ a wɔn ɛɛtɔ akyɛdeɛ de suma brɛ wɔn ho
Ɛnyɛ bɔne
…yɛbɛ fa ne sɛ wɔn aware ware wɔn ho
Sugya die ne Ɔdɔkyerɛ Da te se nsuo ne anwa
Awerɛhosɛm nkoaaa!
Haagya!

ɛ
Sɛsɛɛ kɔhwɛ
Kɔhwɛ adɔfoɔ a asa santene wɔ nnipa baako akoma ho
Sɛ wɔɔto siisiisii a nie
…neɛ ɛbɛsi ne so anaa wɔn a ebesisi wɔn so
…n’ɛbɛkyɛ anɔpa, awia ne anadwo afa
Nso wo bɛhwɛ mu na bebree yɛ ankonam
…wɔn ayaase ɛɛbɔ wɔn ho dame
…ɛde ‘sua sua to’ ɛɛboro wɔn a wɔn adwen
Mɔbɔ! Abrabɔ yi!
Haagya!

f
Sɛsɛɛ kɔhwɛ
Kɔhwɛ ntɔkwa a akorafoɔ bi de asɔm wɔ kwabrane ho
Awuraba bi nso egya a ɔde ɛɛhye mmrantekwaa bi, fenyinam Ɔbonsam deɛ
Aniberɛ aniwaniwa nso ɛhwɛ de wɔn yiaw ɛtaaye akyire
Wɔn nya yɛ a anka, amaniɛ abobɔ sɛbi ‘agyimifo’ no asom
Nkanka ne wɔn a akomateɛ yareɛ ɛɛha wɔn no
Esu ne nkaekae dam eeku wɔn sɛɛ to!
Ɔdɔkɔm ɛɛya o!
Haagya!

g
Sɛsɛɛ kɔhwɛ
Kɔhwɛ ntɔtɔfiwa a wɔn asum wɔn awofo fidie
…ɛɛbɛ huru ban ato pia afa adjan
…de wɔn honam dɛ akɔtwetwe ɔdɔ anyinam a eni mmra kwan so
Neɛ ɛyɛ me ya ne sɛ, wɔn ntumi ntaake akyirinsɛm
Nyinsɛn bɛma wɔn asu!
Nyarewa bɛ ma wɔn ahwɛfo bɔtɔmu asu
Nkwanhyia bɛtumi aku wɔn daakye anaa wɔn ho
Asɛm sɛbɛ!
Haagya!

h
Ɛnɛ Agya Appiah bɛ puma amanfoɔ tuo
…de atoto awenfoɔ ne m’adi m’adifoɔ ayaase
Ɛnɛ yi ntaade bɔne bɛyɛ papa ama wɔn a wɔn akoma ɛɛpre ɔdɔ
Wɔn a nkwanhyia bɛ supa wɔn deɛ
…bebree
Na ebi nso bɛ di ɔdɔ sɛɛ fiifiifii
…ama ɔdɔ asu
Nso Ɔdɔ Da yi yɛ dafua pɛ
Ɛba te sɛ Ohenpɔn, n’atwamu te sɛ akoa
Nka m’ɛpɛ sɛ yɛn nyinaa bɛhunu…
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 14, 2020

PURE AND TRUE

The mic of your soul booms through your eyes
The thunders of your heart
…race and loudly sing through your heartbeats
Every touch is fire to cook trust
Every kiss is a stamp of sincerity
Every smile is a statement of your luck
And every hug gifts a room of safety
How did I get this lucky?

II
Looking at a perfection –
…mine
Standing in a sun of love which makes me –
…shine
Checking as my heart races
…fine
While I sit to pampering –
…dine
With you fine –
…line
I can’t believe you –
…mine

III
If I ever dreamt to find a diamond
…which shines respect
…rays gentility
…adorn with tenderness and care
And is completely smitten to be mine
It was not a dream thought to be realized
…in this here life
That you walked from my dreams to me
Thank you
…you sunShine rising in my aKoma

Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 14, 2020

ME WURA KOFI

Me wura Kofi sɛ ɔpɛ ɔbaa tiatia
…nea n’afuru sa ne bu ase te sɛ nsuten
Na sɛbi, ne tu apagya kakra te sɛ fufu ntoa mienu
Ɔbaa a ne nufu gyina gyina hɔ te sɛ asraafoɔ mmabunu

II
Me wura Kofi sɛ ɔpɛ abaayowa
…ɛnyɛ bampanyin
Ɔse ɔpɛ abasa a entumi ntwe nan ase
Enti ɔnpɛ me bio

III
Nso me wura Kofi ewerɛ afri sɛ me wɔ ani
…a ɛpɛsɛ ɛhwɛ y’afunu a ɛtesɛ nsuo apampamu a
…ɛne mframa ɛɛguro ɔdɔgrɔ wɔ asomdwoe mu
Ɛnyɛ neɛ ayɛ sɛ amansan ɔfam kukuo eesum akɔtɔ fɔm
Me wura Kofi ɛwere afri sɛ me wɔ nsa
…a ɛpɛsɛ enunu nwini a ɛwɔ apanpam, ɛnyɛ neɛ ayɛ te sɛ Papa Ajasco momaso
Ne were afri sɛ me wɔ ayaase ɛpɛsɛ edi kwadu bunu
…ɛnyɛ neɛ abrɛ ɛɛsɛi a ehia nkenyan nkyenehyɛ
…ansa y’ate ne dɛ kakra

IV
Me wura Kofi dwene sɛ ɛfuɔ nsa ɛɛdɛ
W’adane me ɛfuɔ enti ɔɔwe me bra gyidie nsa koraa a, ɔnhwɛ ne deɛ koraa
Nso ewiase wɔ hɔ yi
Krowa a ɛma wo nsuo wɔ ne babunu mu kosi nemprɔyɛ mu no
…y’ɛnyi no mma
…efiri sɛ wo ho hyiw ka nedwanyɛ ho
Abawoɔ twa nnyɛ twa kitiwa
…na ɛnanom abɛgye atwiitwi wɔ wɔn kununom anum
Sɛ anka mmarima tumi nyim wo a
…ɛhɔ n’anka yɛbɛhnu nea oyin fata no wɔ abrabɔ yi mu
Abufuwsɛm akwaakwa!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 13, 2020

DEAR MR RAPIST

Dear Mr. Rapist
St. Valentine needed a heartpour
…not a torture
Love is not stealing a waist pie to kill a soul
Neither is it climbing a lie
…to make another cry

II
Dear Mr. Rapist
If you dig your foundation
…on another’s land
The soil cries for its owner
Your toil buys hate from its owner
And your sweat will be a conscience drain
One you can’t maintain in a righteous world
How well can you take sigh curses
…from a wronged spirit?

III
Dear Mr. Rapist
Many a soul have murdered their bodies
For being forced shoddies of crooks
…like you
How will it feel to be a cave
…of screams of bodies with dreams?

IV
Dear Mr. Rapists
Society sees you as monsters
Stealing meats for others defeat
Carving seats of sorrowful beats
Even hailers will deem you cats
…hiding their meat from you
…at their small suspicions
Will you draw a picture of you thus?

V
Dear Mr. Rapists
Fear for your dears
…and stop your queering with your peers
For what you steer today
…will wheel to your generation
…maiming and killing hearts you cherish
For every pain you cause another to gain
…acts football
Bouncing back to hit where it’ll hurt
…when you least expect

VI
It sure will hurt most
…if your body is stuck in the grave
…as your spirit watches your own
…turn foes of woes of your lows
And your bodiless soul will cry seas of tears
…living on with many fears
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 13, 2020

DEAR RAEESA

Storms form in sunny morns
…to break norms and act worms on our prized lands
But know they always end up inside our lands
…dying to fertilize them to help grow our crops of growth
So never stop to bow to cops of challenges
My dear Raeesa

II
As we are humans
We have our moderations, overboards and sometimes deadlies
Air and Winds and Tsunamis
Drizzles and Rains and Floods
Mild suns, High Suns and Killer Suns
But the higher we bear
…the stronger we square
So never stop to bow to cops of challenges
Dear Raeesa

III
You and I are not new to journeys in books
And have met characters in dynamisms
We know crossing impossibilities
…have such beautiful ends
…no matter how stressful
We’re like warriors of reading
…having shed so much tears
…laughed so much
…been so angered
All with characters we hardly know
So we know our foes are friends of our highs
…pushing us through our lows
And our challenges are horses of advantages
…galloping to our success land
So never stop to bow to cops of relationship strains
…soldiers of troubles
…and monsters of pain and disdain
Talk less of financial taunts
We fall to rise through clouds to our shine
So shine your strength to your super-womanhood
Dear Raeesa
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 12, 2020 for Raeesa Cassim

NOT ANOTHER CHANCE

You’ve learnt
…you’ve learnt through the burnt I spent on your relentless ego
I know
But be best for your future pair
Walk on honey

II
You’ve recoiled back here
…you’ve recoiled through the toil you’ve soiled
…in your fresh experiences
You promise to be better?
Please be best
…for your future pair
Walk on sugar, do walk on

III
I may have been the ditch
…you jumped into your bitch
I may have been the stitch
…your thoughts needed to fix
…your lessons
I may have been
…the stick God used to hit your change
So please walk on
…walk on, you sweet which sought cavities
…for my ever parading teeth
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 12, 2020

EARS AND THOUGHTS

The world has turned puzzle
…for many a troubled soul
Puzzle they can’t solve through their hustles
So before a word walks from the chambers of your mind
…please vet its wisdom

II
Borketey got slapped by few words
…a week ago
Those words followed him home
…got shame ropes to hang him dead
…just last night

III
They were whispering
…whispering about her flat buttocks
…whispers which turned air to haunt her breath
They were taunting
…taunting her about her crooked face
…taunts which kept teasing her self esteem
…until it bowed
All those turned monsters
…to push Ekuba through her own strength
…from the sixth storey of her father
Shattering the body which hosted her soul and spirit

IV
Three days ago
Kojo was mocked because of his poor results
The ever brilliant youth went straight from school
Reached home to find it an abattoir
Slaughtering himself to end the echoes of shame
…reverberating through the caves of his mind

V
Asante Bediatuo drank poison as water
…killing himself because of rumours that his man baby
…could not stand, let alone cry
…to flood the inns of opposite wells
Just by the name “ankonam”
…Efua Badu slit her wrists
Hassan gunned himself down because Jemila cheated on him

VII
Times have softened confidence
…to a level of fragility
And the culture of silence compounds its fatality
As a confession of depression
…is an expression of insanity
So please listen and process thoughts
…before a speaking
We gain naught
…if we fight fierce and push ourselves
…into graves before our time
Life is but a-hold-me-up as I-hold-you-up
…in falls
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 11, 2020

CATFISHED

Ei!
Agbovi looked at Mawusi
Her shea buttered skin repulsing him
Her natural nails simple-slapping his ego
Her foamy hair angering him
Three pimples on her face
…disgusting him
He booted her out of his house
…like a useless football

Hwɛ!
He went back to his phone
…to Maya
Her fair skin flawlessly obeyed his constant zooming
Her eye shadowed and well made-up face
…excited him
Her silky hair tantalized
…his wishes
As her well manicured nails
…dug false yams of hope under him
Still, her beautiful voice strengthened
…his resolve to do everything to keep her

Boi!
Minutes grew into hours
…hours grew into days
…days grew into months
And social media sped to their meeting
Agbovi waited at the Circle Station
…for three hours, before her car arrived

Boiɛ Boi!
He rushed for her bag like a dutiful servant
…and forced to take her hand bag to his car
Agbovi opened the door
…for her
He strapped her seat belt
…for her
He even fought the hot sun
…for her brief perspiration
…always asking “What’s wrong baby?” at her every sigh

Asu!
Night served them a reach
…and sought to, like a nursery instructor, Agbovi teach
Maya rushed to the bathroom
…as a heaven
And came back to the bedroom
…a hell

Ajeiiii!
A scattered perm replaced the silky shine
…on her head
Baldness replaced the long lashes
…on her eyes, and where were her eyebrows?
Fresh and scarred pimples replaced her flawlessly
…fair face
Her skin had turned fair in patches of red, green and black
…making a zebra’s skin an attractively uniformed patch
And her reduced height
…posed her a near midget instead of the portable beauty he knew she was
Agbovi shouted “Mawu!”

Chai!
He started chanting and calling great trɔwoos of the land
Thinking a demon had tried to demonize his baby in his eyes
…stories of human heads acting lions and dogs at airports
…to destroy ambitious travelers retelling themselves in his mind
The shocked Maya asked what was wrong
He rushed her to his mirror
…and asked
“Do you see what I see?”
“What do you see Agbovi?” Maya’s shrilled voice asked
…to his horror
“Even your voice has changed Maya!
You now look like an angry and scary dwarf!
A slap hurriedly succeeded his remark

Ewooo!
Whaaat?
Agbovi began an Ewe man incantation
…beating his chest to show his strength
Jumping like an elephant with the soul of a he-goat
…to show his anger
Pointing sternly at her so-afraid-eyes
…to warn her to speak quick before he broke her
…with a fearsome god
Maya, who didn’t speak Ewe
…seductively tried a whisper and a touch
…which made him jump like he’d been touched by a live wire
“Agbovi calm down please
…this is the real me
Are you so dumb not to know that
…make up is washed off before bed?
Or you don’t also know high heels are taken off
…in homes?
Didn’t you know the difference between wigs and real hair?
How can you…”
“How can I nuka? Shiiii awoooo!” He cut her off like an unimportant call

Gbɛvu!
Agbovi picked her up like a filthy rag
…and carefully stood her outside his house
…in his nightwear
Whiles screaming, “What a nightmare!”
Before gathering her things in her bag
…and throwing it out like an abomination
…completely turning from a gentleman to a rascal
He then knelt and said a prayer like a repented pretentious priest
…before calling Mawusi

Awooooo!
A male voice picked
And asked –
…”Who calls my wife at this hour?
Has he been slapped by a disciple of the Nogokpo Shrine before?”
Agbovi nearly wet his pants
He rushed to the bathroom
Cursing the what-could-have-been
…which made him destroy his what-authentically-was
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 10, 2020

FOR MY TAUGHTS

I know I might have ridden tantivy
…in your loving zefer
Odomankomah Twerɛduampong
…please forgive and build a fence around my taughts

II
I fume to think I can’t exhume
…my young caught in the arms of decomposition
I know my rebellion robs on you
…in the bad
But please All Seeing, forgive
…and build a fence around my taughts

III
I’ll live you right!
I’ll serve you fair!
I’ll bless your protection!
And like a tree with most seeds
…honour you with a bearable dance
…in air song
But please Nana Nyame
…build a fence around my taughts
So they’ll grow to use their got
…for goodness’ lot
For each fall kills a vein in my spirit
…and numbs my heart
…to your serving
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 9, 2020

THIS SITUATION

This situation
This situation of fire begging for my ownership
…rain begging for my usage
…wind obsessing for my picking
All at once
Throws me into a confusing sand
If only I could have all in one!

II
I fear the heat that might cheat to beat
…my skin, my easily bruised skin
I fear the flood that might full to make a
…fool of me, a floating fool of me
I fear the tsunami that might break to make
…me a wreck, a woesome wreck
And so I pause hoping for a clause of reclusion
…to dangle freedom to overtake loneliness
…on my mind’s stage
If only it would be simple to engage

III
Do I lose all to sell fairness?
Do I take all to wear greed?
Do I select one to risk regrets?
I’m like a hot ware on a dilemmic pan
…being sold by doubts to the audience of love
What a baity state to be in!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 8, 2020

APAN DANQWAH

Kwaadu gyampantrudu na ɛfrukutu wɔ mo din ho
Ama ‘mia ne bo’
…adane ‘pia n’atikɔ’
Ɛɛbɔ Kwahufoɔ hu
…ɛɛma wɔn dane mo santrofie nnomaa
…y’ɛkyire mo a ɛnkyire
…y’ɛgyae mo a yayaaya

b
Mo nni nnipa ano yi
Ɛnsan ni adekyeyɛ ani yi
Yɛbɛyɛden anya mo nyiano?
Yɛse Ebola yɛ mo bɔɔla boɔ
…a mo hiridi de bo bɔ yɛn widieɛ
Ɛna Corona yɛ mo duabɔ
…a mo kankye de supa yɛn ahoɔden
…de frɛ owuo ma yɛn meretia mu
Yei nyinaa nso de amaneɛ n’abrɛ adasama
Mo honam ntwanum kakra nti!

d
Aso ɛyɛ suro a Nana Nyankropɔn ɛɛtɔ
…abɔ mo ho ban anaa sɛ mo nhyehyɛyɛ?
Aso atowerɛnkyɛm yi egyae mo sereɛ anaa ose?
Sɛ ɛyɛ saa a,
…ɛneɛ me nya mo se ne sereɛ ahwɛ!

e
Mma mo serehehe ɛnyɛ jejejeje dieɛ
Efirisɛ neɛ ɛse nka
…na aniwa suro
Tɔ ɔtan a ɛbɔ owuo pɔ wɔ adwene nyinaa mu
Moregye din, gye din, gye din yi
…ɛnkyɛ na yɛɛ hye m’ase te sɛ ɛsrɛ dwanyɛ wɔ awia dua so!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 7, 2020

YOURS TO MAKE

Starting and finishing can be a mould you hold
Many hearts have built darknesses for their shames
While others build crimes to gobble their angelics
There is power in your thoughts!

II
A thought has bought many nots for some
A thought has bought many yays for most
Stinky stuffs attract flies
Too much sweetness calls fleas
Flavoured honey charms bees
So you might want to blend good trends in moderation
For an optimistic spirit magnetizes luck
…pushes the soul to win
…and flourishes the body
There is power in your thoughts!

III
Thoughts have fought for many a spirit
…caught in an unfair bought
So call for your gotten before they appear in the physical
Pessimism pests on the power of “coming to pass”
So provoke no problems
There sure is power in your thoughts!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 7, 2020

NORMALIZING ANOMALIES

When a star pales the moon
And the earth swoons
As the sky feels baboon
Chaos gathers to loom

II
When the sky gives a ground
As the earth floats
Will legs understand
Without a belling boat?

III
If legs can think
…as head walks
If the stomach can feed
…as hands stock
If ears can see
…as eyes hear
Then normalize them
…the anomalies

IV
Do know that stricts hold the glow
…that mirrors the outside shine
Know that disciplines glue the success
…of the boarders beyond
Know that don’ts draw the difference
…that admiration buys
If you still want to keep open
…the doors of your laws
…by all means
…normalize the anomaly
But let complaints die in your ungrowing clothes
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia February 6, 2020

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

She was caught like a stalked game
…folded like a foldable chair and tied with goat ropes
Then thrown onto the back seat
…of the Corona
Her screams cut off by a chloroform

II
She woke to sounds without faces
Her blindfold, thicker than a myth
She was fed
…bathed
…abused
…raped
And threatened every second of her consciousness
Afiba was made a dog to fear
…her heart barking at every shadow of a sound

III
Days felt like years
…before her father’s semi-assurance boomed on a phone
Her gods cutting her father short at his comma
…killing the birth of his full stop of a sure rescue
As the rape tonned down
…her little lady wept for what had become an addiction
What was worse?
She craved for it through to the abuse

IV
The quadruple doses their sticks poked
…before and after breakfast
…called for double quadruples
Until her mouth begged for it
She turned slave to their waist caves
So food for life
…then foods of lives served by many waist bowls
…at once
Her hell turning her heaven of addiction

V
A day saw her eyes freed
…as her abusers’ faces turned seeds
…to plant themselves in her heart
Love blossomed from their cruel power
Forcing her submission to their cause

VI
When a day saw her freed
Her tongue refused to testify
Her heart began to hate the very state
…which changed her sour fate
The heaven she knew through her hell
…called in an obsession
Buying disdain for her father’s rescue
So she sneaked to have her doses
Until the law followed her steps to arrest
…her foes turned fiendish friends
She was livid!

VII
She called the law out on their evil
“I love the savage ravage of my abusers
My life is mine to live
…either with my friends or foes”
But the law heard not her pleas to stop meddling
…and dragged her Gods to its hell
Burning her desire into the ashes of anger to blow with tantrum winds towards all

VIII
Annoyed by her father’s betrayal of not fixing
…her addicted heaven
She drank all her sober aids
…and took shade under death’s umbrella
Leaving her poor father a depressed wreck
It was the psychiatrist who told him what happened
…to his then deceased daughter
…a Stockholm Syndrome
And he vowed to be an advocate
…to save the world from this state
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 5, 2020

FUNNY FISHES

Stand amidst killer ants
…and claim shants
…in angry rants
Until your shants change to can’ts
Then you’ll see the fair turning unfair
…in a lesson rare

II
You swim in sweet waters
…and help walking suckers drink you dry
When your waters run out
And your difference shouts
It’s there you’ll know the difference
…between swimmers and walkers

III
They who love not theirs
Will have to kiss dangers
…from lovers turned strangers
The most hungry betrayal feeds from
…backstabbing from a trusted angel turned foe
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 4, 2020

TO HADJARU

Spirit I wish to dish a dream
To retake life and live to the brim
And grow your soul to sell fulfillment
…to your all before the call of your fall

Ib
It is always abnormal when a young fruit falls
…from its strong tree
As many a ripe ones hang
Why are the cruel winds of life
…so choosy?

II
You had so much to live for
…so much to learn
And I had so much to teach you
So much laughter
…and few punishments to boost!
Why did you leave a left which now digs into old sores?
Why make me a teacher who outlives her student?

III
For all your many dreams squashed with your gone
For all your happy hopes ceased by your fall
For all your beautiful memories
…lost to your leaving
For all the many friends you’ve been forced to abandon
…in this here life
I pray your soul gains glows to a know that your going
…has pierced hurtful arrows in our hearts
So you can rest in absolute peace

IV
Rest well baby girl!
Rest well beautiful spirit!
Rest in awesomeness young soul
And live the yonder like a boss
Till we meet again
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 2, 2020

THE REAL GOD

God is the shining smile of the sun
…the tasty piety of dew
God is the peaceful blanket of the dark
…the very thin layer of its dawn
God is the many droplets of rain
…the refreshing fan of air
God is breath

II
God is spaceful shoulders in sore sorrows
God is warm hugs in bad tags
God is kind words in murderous distress
God is food in gnawing hunger
God is water in suffocating thirst
God is the source of our souls

III
God is the hand of help in our letdowns
God is the handkerchief
…which wipes our troubled tears
God is the push in our tired
God is the goodness which sprouts from bad
God is life

IV
So look for Him in all you see
Without paying a fee
The face of God is unpainted
…so can’t be tainted
God is even in the you who seeks Him
So honour you!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © February 2, 2020

TEARS – For Maame Ama Donkor

Why do some clouds form to fold
…only to unfold when told
…then sold to the bold to hold in cold
…and fall to mould and sold
…to the highest bidders?
It hurts
…when unfairness stars to shadow the fair
World!
Oh world!

Ib
I see angry clouds forming on your sky
Adding myth pelts to flog you in unanswerable whys
Though I stand in the light of enlightenment
Fear of the rest of the unknown
…roots my legs
Mythical roots still send shock waves
…through my heart
And cowardice cages my inner tongue

II
They who named you might have planted pain
…to strain you into insanity
I can only say sorry
…for the blames heaped on your burdens
For your hardwork mistaken for witchcraft
For the many insults shot into your fragile soul
For the many a flawed accusations turned truth
…for your acceptance
That I hide in your plight
…buys many a guilt for me
But how does one young mouth overtake so many high on prejudice
…in their drunkenness of hate?
How do you tell those on ladders of lies
…to look down their feet which lie
…on the pate of earth but scream flight?
Only the flying knows a flyer
…but who is best to tell this tale?

III
I have tasted enough bile in your defence
I have tasted enough hurts as your soldier
How I fell off my faith of fighting for your faultful fate
…intensified on human grounds
…kills me
Oh it just kills me!
But this dirty linen has been worn by me for so long
That the public steps on me without a second look
So I pray
…I pray for you

IV
I pray for ears to hear your say
I pray for your heart to stand the trial
I pray for the dead to vindicate you
I pray for your brown to scare their greens
…to use your experiences as a ladder of respect
To accord you such
And I pray for suicide to stray far from your thoughts
To relive your painful life will be murder of soul
…before a birth
So go the mile to cross the left line to the finish line
…through it all
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © Feb. 1, 2020

ADWOA FƆDWOƆ

Adwoa Fɔdwoɔ
Adwoa Fɔdwoɔ de saa de saa
…akɔ fam owuo bo sɛɛ bam!
Ama ne mmadwoa mpaebɔ aka agu
N’awareɛ anidasoɔ abutu
Ne Na ahobanbɔ apaska
…ama ne bayie kwaadu ɛɛdɛre buruburu te sɛ Ɔbonsamgyamu faango aka bɔne gya
Amanfoɔ eebisa deɛentia dua-wui gyina nkwamu
…ɛɛma dua-mono abu
Yei laaa!

b
Adwoa Fɔdwoɔ
Adwoa Fɔdwoɔ a oyiyii mmarima mu
…de ne tintin gramo bɔ mu doduoɔ noa ntrɛne
Ɛkɔfa barima bonuayɛ ni
…prapra ne sikafutoɔ mu nyinaa de no kɔɔ amanɔne
Ɛma no kɔ baayɛ bɛgyae no wɔ obonini ngyinasoɔ so
…ma no de ɔyaw ne n’anibre kɔ gyae ne ni so
…bɔ no bayie
Wɔ mere a na ne nyinsɛnyiguo mogya bebrebe
…eguso eesu wɔ ne mmabaawa berɛmu
Afei deɛ owuo kokomu na w’akɔbɔ ne ho adwaa?
Ɔyaw yei laaa!

d
Adwoa Fɔdwoɔ
Adwoa Fɔdwoɔ a ɔbɔ me mmɔbrowa asu
…de me si nkɔnkɔnsa kwansene mu
…noa me antobam
A na onnim m’ase mpo na w’akohunu m’aweiyɛ!
Ɛnɛ wo na w’ama abrane ɛɛsua wo mu duro
…atɔ mu nyarewa amema wɔn ho,
Ahunu adagya brane a n’anka ɛsɛ nsamrane
…a eenyinya kɔ mprɔyɛ mu
Amaneɛ yei laaa!

e
Ɛtwa sɛ asaase nom nsa
…Adwoa ei, ehia sika o!
Hwɛ sɛ abrane bɔtɔmu eesu sɛɛ fii fii fii
Mmusuo yei laaa!
Hwɛ sɛ Ɔpɛpɔn ɛde wo ho adwendwen ɛɛbɛpɔn!
Ɔhaw yei laaa!
Hwɛ sɛ wo ni honam merew ɛɛbɛ tu nisuo abura!
Awerɛhuoɔ yei laaa!
Hwɛ sɛ abusua ntɔkwa ɛɛbɛ si amansan ahwehwɛ
…wo nti
W’atime w’akame yei laaa!

ɛ
Ɔbra biara twa owuo
…nanso wo wuo yi yɛ mpatuwuo Adwoa!
Agyae ano biara akasakasa
…ene yei laaa ntoasoɔ
Obo Kwahu asaase ɛɛbɛwoso
Obo fie ahyɛnso 97 ɛɛbɛ mim
…wo wuo yei laaa nti!
Ɛfirisɛ Nana Yaw Agyare Ɔsono bideɛ baako atɔ
…amonoamono mu
Esu ne yei laaa adane bena bɔ
…wɔ ateasefo anum
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 31, 2020

LAUGHING STOCK

We work our already worked
Stocking mocks at our docks
…as Wuhan wails their inflamed woes
…into a world wide panic
Sad!
So sad!

II
As we put expensive make ups
…on ambulances
And put them on runways to dazzle the gullible
…through their modeling
Corona drives at top speed
…to us?
To us!

III
“You buy but I parcel
…to make it my buy
To charm you into my angelics
Thanks to my reach on the highest stool
Am I not cool to know you fools
…and to make you tools
To think me bull of hardwork?”

IV
Your thoughts have bounced deception
…on many walls to you
Save for your followers high on blind loyalty
…even infant minds know the tricks you’re using as bricks
…to build mountains out of our emptied molehill
So stop the trickery and put on gears of work
To help quench the flames
…which travel to us with commands of burns
…which can sweep our many skilled
…and leave spaces never to be filled

V
Poor odour leaching incense to imply cleanliness striking
Embarrassing embers on our ray-like stages!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 31, 2020

THE BODY SELLER

She said Kofigah rented her body for
…every evening in a month
…with touches and pounding and biting with kisses
Atuaki rented her mouth for a week
…for licking and pulling and chewing
…with special bonuses for sores
Before Tetteh came in with a room offer
…to pray inside her every time his demons wake

Ib
The poor man just stood there
…like one struck by thunder
But his eyes of love remained

II
She said she would sell her body to him
…for a thousand, in every other month
She said she would sell her image to follow him
…for five hundred, every month
Still her clothes and make up
…shoes and bags
Pomades and pedicures
…jewelries and others
Must be billed on his big pocket

III
He heaved a breath like a whirlwind of arrest
And just spoke a sentence
“I want all of you for this lifetime
…how much will that cost?”
The tears standing and shining in his eyes
…before falling with his blinks
…dug goosebumps for her skin
…and mine even in my darkest hide

IIIb
She found shame in her scantily clad
…pulling at what little to try a most cover
She lowered her eyes
…feeling a sense of selling a worthless to a worthy
She felt disdain
…for a past whose rust shreds her left pride
But he lifted her head and said –
“I know all you are
That my heart still beats for you is proof enough
That you can do no wrong in my eyes”
She sobbed like a baby
…and replied
“It’ll cost you nothing
…but this love you feel
Because buying to own me
…will equal buying to own the money you used
…in my bought”
He was clearly amazed at her wisdom

IV
He hugged her till she got lost in his embrace
No eye was dry in their watch
…even the eyes of heaven drizzled in its eavesdropping moment

V
If a lesson did knock on my head
…entered and sat among my thoughts
It was that –
…bodies get sold to the worthless for things material
But to the worthy, a priceless free
What a gem to find in a monstrous bargain!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 30, 2020

SNAKES EATING NORMS AT TROUBLED ERRORS

You sit and see the sins of a sucker
And work to block the locker
…of truth
How dare you chairs
…cover clears to share a dark
…to fall a mighty with a demented captain?

II
Who glues mouths with words that be
To shut the eyes of those who see
To use their strength for a cause whose fee
…is a future of frowns and hounds?
Who uses man to date a bait
…of a deadly snake to rake just mud
When mounds are calling for digs
As rains wait to bless a mould?

III
Shutters of
…Evidence
Nerves in
…Attention
Tramps of
…Errors
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Re
Elect a
Plan
Under
Best
Laws
In
Constitution
And
Nurse your truths

IV
Show everything, not ah, to eat
Shocks even nod across told effects
So each night after tricking earns
Store efforts nursing a trust end

V
Shame should call you lame
For shining light on rot to sell
…to your people
Keeping a clown to shut down towns of sages
And showing the real faces of fools
…formally masked by reverence
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 29, 2020

FUTURE GHOSTS

All those who boast with toasts
…of having the most
Should know, earth is a temporary host
And all with breaths are future ghosts

II
All those who read into shreds
…of knowledge’s reds
Will go, when their flag bells ring

III
So live like a sun
…rising to set
Live like a rose
…blooming to rot
Live like the dark
…ruling to perish
Live like rain
…falling to cease
When immortality finds its way into attitudes
…disappointment comes gunning
…before death’s flashes lash to hush
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 28, 2020

SKIN CLASSES

How we get our muses
To fight unfair like hippopotamuses
Because of skin classes
…killing masses
And shattering peaceful glasses
…to cut through harmony is a horror
Why all these blood on our hands?

Ib
Thoughts have fought
Thoughts have poisoned
Thoughts have destroyed
And thoughts have killed

II
You watch thoughts killing humans like beasts
…in their own spaces
…out of fear of “what will”
Because of skin classes
We’ve watched opinions kill rising souls
…because of superior burdens of skin classes
We see daily innocence drowning in falsities
…to protect the guilty
All thanks to skin classes
What of ingenuity being shut down?
Humanity being trampled upon
Due to skin classes?

III
Cruelty is no school to have classes
Paranoia is not cool to be had by masses
Race profiling is for the fool throwing stones
…whiles sitting in glass houses
Why divide when each can be a tool of change?
Why burn in this unnecessary heat of hate?
Blood equals bones equals hearts equals minds
An outer cover causing such chaos
…shows the unnecessary burdens
…bought by man for man to be manned by man
A tasteless taste for palates blessed to reject distaste!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 27, 2020

CARRY YOUR CROSS

You can carry your cross
Because you know the loss that once bossed
…and tossed it out like trash
…in stories told, diluted and sold
…millions through billions to zillions of times
Please do carry your cross

II
Carry your cross
And leave my burdened thoughts
…to do it halfway
Through sympathies bought for my outgrown childhood
As my adulthood fences it with the needed doubts
Doing you must equal doing me
Thankfully,
…the world gave grounds to each and every soul’s hound’s steps to pound
So please carry your cross

III
Carry your cross
Even as you lose dignity through indignities
…highly paid for by greedy lots in the family of your belief
You do know though that plucking out weeds
…from your church backyard
Must preceed an outside weeding
It gets funny when grown weeds are visible on church grounds
And your machete aims for the throat of my beliefs
Please carry your cross in gracefulness

IV
If we all bow to a how unknown
And we all show for a foe disowned
Oh if we all carry cruel crosses unbought
And ferry unfair weight we’ve got
Who would stand to tell tales of living lighter
…without the extra weight?
How will swimmers in sea wombs
…choose the shores of their comfort?
Just carry your cross

V
Life blends colours to offer choices
While mine is blue
And yours is white
…You need a care to ward off stains
So don’t turn your light on me
You can miss a bullet of dirt whiles concentrating on me
So just carry your cross
…and leave me be
I will boil your cold in my hell
You can decide to bless me with your refrigerated urine from your heaven
That’s, if your predictions are in creation’s diction
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 26, 2020

THE CURSE OF BEAUTY AND SKILL

Rumours act immortal flies
…to follow through shallow mouths
The lustful-stupored hatch horrid plans
…to scratch their itches of owning
…the beautiful

II
Dramatic display daunts in many a haunt
Traps are set in multiplcity
…just to grab her attention
Favours act baits just as foods act deceptives
…on hooks
Just to own the skilled

III
So imagine the hurdles of the beautiful
…with skills
Musters turning monsters to cuff,
Shoulders acting shield to show their shapes,
Woulders working wonders to win her world,
All stringed up by lust to burst into destruction
…dreams of an innocent soul

IV
This is the curse of beauty
And the nemesis of skills
Owners can act pleasers to turn maggots
…or stand their grounds to lose most of their coulda-boasts
…still holding on to their dignities
…till they turn ghosts
This world is not for the ugly
…and definitely not for the beautiful
Talk less of the skilled woman digging the wants of can’t-losers
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 25, 2020

ƆMANBAPA

Ɔmanbapa ne neɛ n’akoma gyina nkɔsodeɛ so
Ɛnyɛ neɛ n’ano da sumina so
…ɛɛbɔ gyimeɛ bena de fira ne man

b
Ɔmanbapa ne neɛ odi ne man ni
Ɛnyɛ neɛ ɔde fi adane asiesiedeɛ
…ɛɛtɔ nwansena de dwan ne man aso

d
Ɔmanbapa ne neɛ ɔde nokware sekan
…dwedwa kɛtɛaseshɛ ne prɔyɛ mu
Ɛbɔ suro ne fɛreɛ aniwuo

e
Ɔmanbapa na ɛka ɔmanpanyinfoɔ to gya
Ɛka wɔn gyina wɔn nansoa so
Ma wɔn yɛ adwuma din wɔ akoma firinkyiim mu
…ɛɛnyɛ neɛ ɔhyɛ asrɛ ataadeɛ
…ɛde akoa nsamrane adane ayeyi nnwom
…ɛɛde ɛgye nkaprɛ ne simpoa

ɛ
Ɔmanbapa ne neɛ aban adwuma yɛ n’akoma adwuma
Na ɔnfa akwadwurɔ nsra nkɔtena hɔ
…ɔnfa muna nhyɛ wɔn anim nkɔ si hɔ
Ɔnfa mmoadoma ahantan ndane ɛkyɛ nhyɛ
Na ɔde mmɔdinbɔ piri mpuntuo
…wɔ n’adwuma ako no

f
Ɔmanbapa na onim sɛ sɛbi
…agyanan fata agyananbea
Ɛnyɛ nea, sɛbi, asaase ani yɛ n’akotoniɛ
Na ɔɔtɔ nyarewa ma ne man

g
Ɔmanbapa ne neɛ ɔboa pia abenfo
…hyehyɛ mpuntuo daresen ase
Ɛma aboafo nya nkuranhyɛ papa de gyina wɔn gya
Ma mpo adedamusaa nya nkanyan de dane mpuntuo aboafoɔ

h
Enti yɛ wo kyɛfa
…na me nyɛ me kyɛfa
Ma yɛn si ɔman nduru mpuntuo mpɛnpɛnsoɔ
Ɛno na ebɛyɛ wo ɔmanbapa
…n’atɔ nkɔsoɔ ama yɛn ne yɛnkyirima
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © Ɔpɛpɔn 24, 2020

PREJUDICE

Prejudice plasters plagues
…even on platinums
Plucking preciousness off perfection
Pushing possible proofs
…into poor pits

II
Prejudice is like raging fires
…in dry leaves
A little fury is all the air it needs
…to graze the land to destruction
It corrupts thoughts
…blinds souls
…turns friends into foes
And throws darkness on sunny days

III
Prejudice is a possession best poisoned with objectivity
…and open mindedness
Before it gains roots
…to drag down dignity with drama
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © Jan. 24, 2020

TO GET MY ATTENTION

I know the mountain I seem to be
In the eyes of those who yearn to see
The fence I keep
The heart I keep
But a bad slip can make you trip and flip
…to a fall
Off my attention

II
You can build manipulations
…into frustrating situations
Hoping they cave me in
To save your win
But that very sin
…will only build higher fences
…on my strong defenses

III
You can stock many a gift
In hope of my emotional shift
Digging diamonds and plucking stars
Fitting clothes and closing bars
A heart which has seen the pit of pauperhood
…lives priceless
Is there a currency to buy such besides
…a sincere heart?

IV
If there are flowers which can shower
…to grow a loving tower
Trust that my fingers can acquire
After my many moods enquire
Fake lakes dry fast in eyes which have seen
…the bottom of seas
Unassuming is she who models innocence in your eyes
But she hosts a head hawking keys to lies
…told and to be told

V
So waste no time in chiming your dime
Cry no rivers to shiver in my rhyme
Call no lawyers to have some judges
…to hedge me to your budges
My heart has traveled more miles
…than my body
So grow sincerity
…on a care tree
…on a tender land
Without ropes hanging already made commitments
…with pain clothes and sin pegs
…for another’s unfairness
For I will never fall on an innocent heart
Sucking its oxygen to feed desires
…hawking in many a suitors for my pick
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January, 23 2020

VIRTUAL HEARTACHES

Many untruths walk these streets
In pencil heels
Belling ears to deafness
Modeling beauty which sweats out jealousies from the gullible
Don’t you see?
Can’t you see?

II
They’ll announce the fall of their enemies
When their friends become their frenemies
They’ll show brand clothes in try ons
And parade foods in their mooching
They’ll make up news to magnetize followers
And get angering views from emotional shallowers
Don’t you see?
Can’t you see?

III
And then pictures of couples
…twinning in doubles
With make up hiding tears of the past minutes
Smiles, masking frowns of their lives
Celebratory hypocritical clothes for virtual eyes
And oh
…each nonsense has its many worshippers
Even murder!
Don’t you see?
Can’t you see?

IV
It is in these streets many are killed
…on rumour pans
It is on these streets many farm enemies
…through opinion seeds
It is on these streets names develop thorns
…to pierce unseen hearts
It is on these streets nothings
…put on thick veils to hide their horrors
…through catapulting the few authentics with insulting stones
Don’t you see?
Can’t you see?

V
Dreams are mostly birthed without roots
…on these streets
Hope can be restored through few touches
…on these streets
Truth can model lies
Lies can model truth
Colours can borrow each other’s shade
…for different perspectives
…on these streets
Who is who is a question better unasked
…on these streets

VI
The most fanned are mostly the stupidest
The most shot down are mostly the most worthy
And liars get the most buyers
On these streets
On these virtual streets
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 22, 2020

THE FORBIDDEN

The forbidden rides juicy bids
Which drives mad the barred hard
To force open its many lids
And play freely in its barred yard

II
If you just can’t have it
Then the price tag doubles
Because you can’t just shake it
…off your knocking thought troubles

III
It is like a DNA flaw the creator engraved
…in the core of humanity
None can, from its effects, be saved
And none can, through its effects, get clarity

IV
So good will so turn bad
So the bad, some good will have, with years
Bad will so turn good
So the good will have some bad with years
Forget the fall of the scary changers
The world tires not from producing loving rangers
…who turn strangers and are flagged dangers
…only to turn heroes
That weird twist
…adds to life!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 21, 2020

PILOT OF MY PLANE

Even with the carbin crew
…and the other mates
Pilots fly their planes
…always in charge to the end
They get the final say in adding on heights
…general navigation
And landing
Just as they work
I am the lead in my life

II
I’ll listen to the air
But I know they pass
…never to return
I’ll listen to the suns
But I know they set
…and give room to the dark
I’ll listen to the birds
But I know they leave
…in search of better trees
When days end
… I know I’m the lead in my own life

III
I can’t parade my frowns through mock towns
I can’t hawk my fears through tear streets
I share my laughter even in my slaughter
I magnetize my smiles through all the painful miles
As my hands know the strength of my legs
And my legs know
…the strength of my heart
…and my heart knows the strength of my mind
I know I’m my own lead
…in this here life
And I must so live
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia @ January 20, 2019

BLOOD IN THOUGHT

As I sit under this shade
In a pit dug by this spade
Needing a chit to be a shade
Will my bit in this here be made?

II
Let’s say I quit thinking it charade
And I fit into fate’s forbade
Will a hit bite in a decade
And tit a tat for my fade?

III
Wires,
…connect the Sire in a dire dial
Creators sure know their formulas
And can fix all that is jinxed
This pit sit in a quit fit
…deserves a knowing chit
…before a worldly exit hit, please!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © Jan. 19, 2020

TRAPS

Now
…traps wrap our craps
Making escape seem like raps
…from failing jabs on losing laps
So if you don’t snap out of your craps
…under public scrutiny
You’ll be tapped and slapped
…in your happy naps

II
So beware
When you
Dare to
Risk
Everything
All to
Make
Special
And are careless

III
Pardon best serves the struggling
…not the arrived
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 15, 2020

PROTECT ME

Protect me
Protect me from the scratches of naughty spears
…from the thirst of power vampires
…from the hunger of deranged economic maniacs
Protect me
Please protect me

II
Protect me
Protect me from hounds of development
…the arms of insurgents
…from falling into the qualms of elephants
You know I’m a blossoming grass
Protect me
Please protect me

III
You know the secateurs waiting to cut my bloom
…so I don’t get to rub shoulders with the blossomed
You know the anger and danger
…that my growth will cause many a mighty
You do know I’m a part of a whole torn apart by orchestrated chaos
So protect me
Please protect me

IV
For I can’t lose the red of my head
I can’t lose the gold on my breasts
I can’t lose the green on my feet
And I certainly can’t lose the star
…which blackens to light hope for my womb
So protect me
Please protect me
…even if you’ll turn Mugunghwa to turn your youth
Into walking soldiers

V
Living on fragile fears is like living on a bomb
…which can detonate at any hour
So please protect me
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 13, 2020

GEONONSENSE

A hen strays to the bush
A guinea fowl gives it a push
…to get out of its terrain

Ib
A sheep wanders to the forest
An antelope causes its arrest
…citing dares broken in bounds

Ic
A duck flies the sky
An eagle swoops so low to peck it dry
Claiming it stranger

Id
An alligator visits a river
A crocodile makes it shiver
Calling it an intruder

II
But habitats are interdependent siblings
Some guinea fowls live like hens
Some antelopes visit some homes
Eagles sometimes feed on land
Just as crocodiles travel the land

III
Should earth up one day to eject all
Who can order its calm?
It is oddly amazing how earth serves a transit
…but the living carries ownership like a prized burden
Mortality is a fearful reality
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 11, 2019

AS passing spirits GO BONKERS

So many beards flame
Needing prayers to avoid a same
As Flor de Mayo spots two battling heads
And the Golden Wattle burns
As two lions holding spears
…and a common shield in Africa’s East
Fail to protect their unofficial Orchid
And a Rose throws threats
…at the Rose
…which pierced it without provocation
…on a Red Rose in the Middle East
The earth lies helpless
While passing spirits go bonkers!

II
A Red Rose lies helpless in Africa’s West
Its flowers being plucked off by terror
As Jasmine continues to battle their unending cancer
See Costus Spectabilis
…battle Harams without a “biko”
As the Pomegranate Blossom
…dances in chaos
Still, the earth watches without blinking
While passing spirits go bonkers!

III
The Scarlet Macaw is led by Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18
Cattleya Trianae stays a deviant dope high
King Protea lies dead
…vultures feasting on its carcass
Is it a wonder?
It is the remains of the King Sugar Bush
Still the earth shows no sound in its ears
While passing spirits go bonkers!

IV
Hawk’s Talons lies critically ill of destruction
The Golden Eagle still struggles in battle
The Arabian Coffee Flower battles sores in deep deep scars
Still, the Su’pung Dam under Baekdu Mountain
…replaces its rice boarder
…with nuclear roars
A Leopard Head
…boarded by an Elephant Tusk and Spear still hungers for growth
Still the earth lies quiet
While passing spirits go bonkers!

IV
Golden Trident on a Blue Shield
…wears clothes of crimes
As Camomile can’t calm its crown of crime
The Elephant and the Baobab Tree
…combines unrest, crime and kidnapping
The Star and the Crescent tiptoes in terror
The earth still magnanimously hosts
While passing spirits go bonkers!

V
It is a funny watch
Minds know not the seeds of chaos
Which will be planted in the future
But visitors go bonkers
While earth, the immortal land owner
…watches
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © January 9, 2020

EVERY INCH OF TRUTH

When the ordinary bowl
…taunts the ceremonial bowl
…with its daily patronage
…forgetting the heat wearing it off
…and it’s lifespan
…being cut short
Life giggles
…time wriggles
…the earth shrivels in anticipatory addition

II
When the ceremonial bowl
…haunts the ordinary bowl
With its flawlessness
…forgetting its gathering of dust
…and it’s possibly being stolen through out-house exportation
…during an occasion
Beauty falls
…fear yells
As earth yays the crying nays of their end days

III
Everything hides a dent
…which knows its can’ts
But why we try to make can’ts
…shants
Beats imagination
If only one’s strength can complement
…another’s flaw and vice versa!
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © December 10, 2019