My love, I’d like for you to look I’d like for you to look only at me. My sunshine, I’d like for you to come close I’d like for you to come close when I am weak and hold me, And hold only me. My darling, I’d like for you to kiss me, I’d like […]
I have a voice I have a voice and a choice I have a voice and a choice to make noise So let me be Humans are humans No matter their looks Humans are humans, no matter their gender Humans are humans, no matter their ethnicity Humans are humans, no matter their shortcomings Humans […]
That Africans are superstitious is a well-known fact. But since I do not live in all the countries in Africa, I will enumerate a few of the superstitious beliefs in Ghana, my homeland. These superstitions, though most times crude and detrimental to our well-being, also protect certain things we have. I will be glad if […]
For the past few years, I’ve been negatively blown away by happenings and justified comments surrounding these religions: Christianity and Islam. When I was young, I was taught to emulate those who attended church services regularly and did ‘good’. Although I did not understand much, I understood that the church was supposed to instill […]
Respect is when you see an elder standing in a bus and offers your seat to him or her. Respect is when you see an elderly or a rich person and bow, speak in low tones and mostly agree with what they have to say. Respect is when you do not talk back when […]
She’s walking past And guess what is making the sounds: her bust I am thinking fast This flower, mine, a must But in my head, words crash and blast Would these words rust? Without making me a cast? I must be in the land of lust Nervous pest Do you? Do you mind […]
There are behaviours which when exhibited in developed countries are considered brutish and a psychological disorder. Behaviours like fighting, forcing your way into a cue etc… Those kinds of behaviours are considered normal on the African continent. Any time there is a cue, let’s say for transport or anything, be sure to find the […]
‘I love you’ Me she told And I promised not to leave her hold All cowardly thoughts she made bold And my nights were never cold I thanked God for stumbling on Gold I thought we be until old Until the Lord God our hands hold But today behold Tears that can’t be controlled Because […]
Time Mime Slime Prime Sublime Crime Dime Climb Lime Trail Jail Frail Mail Wail Transition. Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2014.
Food is a major problem when we think of travelling and touring. Of course those who stay in fanciful hotels do get foods that suit their palate. But those who live with families or do not have that much money to live or go to these big hotels are left without choices must blend with […]
(On a stage, three students are in a discourse, the two boys talk while the girl stands very close to Excoba) EXCOBA: I came to this school to just get a certificate Because there’s no way my parents will leave me intestate For family members to make me lie prostrate So Charle, let me […]
I am here You are here We are here With tools of love Tools that need no gloves Tools that will spill no blood So let’s make love The stethoscopical hands can revive Any heart and make it come alive It can then work to bitterness deprive The healing arms can encircle me When […]
Feeling down? How beautiful is the land? With birds in the air and men tilling the sand With natural sounds accentuating melodies of bands With your breathing in and out and your blessed hands With your eyes helping you freely tour and your legs to stand Now what happens to be the problem? Think: […]
The ants are filing past the dead wood Looking for food The housefly hovers around anything to see if he can get something To fill his stomach, anything The tsetse-fly seductively flies around beautiful flowers, Inhaling to smell if she can have some nectar to give her some wingy-powers The bird hovers around edible foods […]
I earnestly earnestly pray That Father God may Keep you from affrays, Bless your earthly stay, And help you say: This better lighted pathway Makes my jolly day, Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia. Makes me feel okay, So I’ll gladly pay, To many happily play, Making them very gay, Keeping none at bay Until we see […]
What a beautiful place above Where most things dwell that I love The full brighteners, the mellow brighteners And also the romantic brighteners Though he gives himself a break And shuts it all in darkness once in a streak Notifying the watchers that he needs some rest I say no environment can be termed best Why will descending down be the quest Of some […]
A free spirit springs up And a good mind kicks it off One’s self is not of essence if he shuts up And in silence helps another off To the land beyond the sea Becoming a human ghost that looks upon you As you do your many rounds Under his known grounds What will I do to adopt longer? The Holy Bible teaches to […]
I was a child, I was once a child in Ghana, Why won’t I be wild? I was once a child I was a child from the slums of Asante Ghana, Nothing fell from the sky like manna So I can never be mild My first lesson was to cry, without any pampering, to my […]
The mighty pen Pulls me into his den At the count of one to ten He makes me the woman among men He asks me to on him depend So he can the words contend He knows I love to myself fend He helps me to a lovely bend Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2013.
They say I am a strong woman Because I dare the man of men And succeeds They say I am a strong woman Built with a heavy soul in a little body That must never be taken for granted They say I am a strong woman Who is an asset And has a force But why do they feel so threatened? Even […]
Everywhere I look, Agony, Pain, Sadness, Fake-Love, and Crime that must be brought to book Everywhere I turn, I see Monsters with chiseled nail-like teeth, Teeth that shine and dance dangerously and intimidatingly in the dark To warn frightened cornered beings Of the electrifications and blood quenching that will soon consume the dark. I turn left, then right, forward, then backward And I […]
I sin and stray He begs me to stay I decline and he gets sad Yet he forgives and to his children he add No other than me In hopes of me Changing my spot But no, my sport Is indulging in sin But I still remain his kin Although I wish to change, My […]
“Hi sweets” With that innocent face He says “you sweep me off my feet” Like the air sweeping the sand in a whirlwind My vision does not tally with his My countenance might have given me away Because nervousness made him up and down pace Behaving like the leaf that refuses to dance to the tune of the whirlwind Or the plant that […]
I want to go to school To in the future keep my cool I want to good grades pull To make my CV full Of credit that will fool Everyone and make them forget of my village stool Oh that fetish that my family drool Has made me lose my name giving them many a tool To take my dressy wool But how […]
The centipede coils to protect The cobra stiffens, prepares and listens to harm detect The dog shows its fangs to hurt notion correct I am no centipede, cobra nor dog So I must go through the blindfolding fog Of the human anatomy in order to myself protect Let my queerness pass Penetrate not through my wings Just be, and be in tune […]
He says so Who can say no? The fate written He certifies All mystifications He clarifies Through the fire Pains of the wire He smiles and the sun me leads He sheds tears and the water me feeds Such awesomeness! How can I not see His handsomeness? Thank you Thank you very much For holding […]
He promised to be there He promised in a huge compiled letters printed into a book to be there He gave me all the rules to abide by to get there He warned me not to overdo pleasurable things Using eternal fire as a scar crow But I forgot to ask Him why? No, I […]
Who holds the water to melt this clay? Who has the hands to re- mould this clay? Who can re-knead this clay and make it perfect according to human opinions? Let him come and re-mould me to be among my geographical beauties I want a shape of the face and the complexion of Yvonne Okoro […]
We are in the month of love and many lovers are very expectant. Whereas foreign movies show men and women receiving kisses, flowers and having good dates on Valentine’s Day, we see in our local movies disappointed materialistic lovers who do not get gifts like clothes, cars etc… grumbling, with some shameless ones openly asking […]
NANA OTUTUGYAGU (THE GREAT SEER) This is a very serious issue. I, Nana Otutugyagu have never seen the likes of this issue ever since I was born. How lovely that girl was in this town. Immediately she was born, there was a very great downpour. Yes! And the gods told me that she […]
Day in, day out, I hear comments like: Oh that lady is beautiful. Oh, this other lady has fine features, and many people turn around to see for themselves. Sometimes, the spectators agree with the one who passed the comment, other times they disagree. On the other hand, someone can pass a comment: Oh no! […]
Panicking with fear? Take a long bath and pomade deep to seep, Put on your best clothes, A light make up will do, A gently spray will pave way, Put on the most important attire; confidence, and step out. Shivering with worry? Drink a cup of water, Focus on the most interesting thing that […]
Gentle talks defeat flying sticks Whipping mouths wake darkness in hearts “Ano brԑbrԑ ma abaa tↄ Ano mfiawa huhuru akuma” Talk to the tongue, To talk to the sharp teeth To stop salivating when tempers stand For all. Otuu “ayԑ me, me nso mԑyԑ no bi” In fact, Otuu “ayԑ me, me deԑ me de […]
When Lord Acton; a British historian (1834-1902) wrote “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” He was right, he was absolutely right but he did not live to see this era in Africa where thoughts of power corrupt even before the power is served. I was […]
It started with generation Adam and Eve never wore clothes Adam walked bare-chested, bare-waisted, bare buttocked with bare ding dong Eve came in her glory Moved graciously with singing boobs, Shook teasingly the body structure, Wobbled confidently the plumpy back, And warned sternly with every step, Yet there was no foul play No sin recorded, […]
A cool city A cool city with hot air A hot city with cool air A city where the hamattan whips A city without traffic A city that can feed you at low cost A city that fears rain but not cars A city where inhabitants are poor But settlers are rich A city which […]
We lived When water flowed not into our houses But into the stream and awaited our arrival We lived When the only light that battled darkness were The stars, moon, borne-fires and our weak lanterns We lived When farming was the main and most revered occupation We lived When horrible information took days or years […]
I am being chased Chased by madness and cruelty Chased by annoyance and anger Chased by sin and murder I am being chased Chased by clawed sins that aim to tear me limb by limb I am being chased by regret and great remorse after all the crimes I am being chased… Just when I […]
Mama, I don’t know what I want When I crave for fish, I think of marrying a fisherman Who will bring me many fresh fishes from the cleanest oceans When I crave for fresh vegetables, I think of marrying a farmer Who will bring me many fresh vegetables from his farm When I am tired, […]
Pray for thunder Pray for a world without blunder Pray for wings Of an eagle that sings Pray for instant darkness In a situation of instant madness And I’ll be your acolyte forever Don’t grow hatred in me for my mama Don’t skim against my father Just tell me worldly truths without lies And […]
So, many children weep Not out of attention but hunger While corrupt practices shoots up the dollars. The umbrellas are battling the elephants, the coconuts, the cockerels and the rest Why can’t they fight together to ease the hunger of the hungry poor children? Why must they fight with themselves in this small space throwing […]
The issue of mothers-in-law is a big issue in Africa. No matter how much you will want to rule the mothers- in- law out of your family homes, you cannot, because they form an integral part of the thoughts of their sons or daughters. An African can do everything but can never abandon his or […]
ME NANA PԐN SO Wo se dԑn? Na wo se dԑn koraa na womma mani nkↄ adwabↄ yi? Abrekyire katawere a wasↄ tswaaaan, osiden te kassa bi? Me nim sԑ me nana nkansoa de amoansene na yԑ bra Nanso nkantanhuruye yareԑ biara anhunahuna ne bra Afei aden na wopԑ sԑ wo de abrabↄ mmra nkantannkantan […]
I try hard to shelter Growing by the wind, sun and rain And balancing what is most always available All for the sake of tired and worried yous But you pierce at your own times Forgetting that I live Piercings that are painful and dreadful Piercings and cuttings that none wants to experience Forgetting that […]
SOMETIMES I AIM TO PLEASE SOMETIMES I AIM TO TEASE OTHER TIMES I AIM TO EASE AND AT TIMES I AIM … BUT ALL THESE MEANS THAT I AM HUMAN AND THEREFORE FALLIBLE. SOME SAY I’M NICE SOME SAY I’VE A LOT OF VICE OTHERS SAY I’VE THRICE THE PERSONALITY OF… BUT ALL THESE […]
Hello, hello! Make we talk about dat fellow That fellow wey no wan mellow For im boss. Just leaf am, im color go be yellow When them im follow And make shadow Hello, hello! You dey there? Ahaaa! But she day complain sotee say im life no be fair Eno be madness dey worry de person wey want share Power plus im master […]
A mime A rhyme A climb A hand I understand A band A talk A walk A clock A crook I look I book I ‘chork’ You stalk I walk Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2013.
Mama, take your stone The contention of my bone I used to talk high as if you weren’t my own Forgive I was like the hem that was not completely sewn You used to cry And ask me to try To learn at least how to fry So I can on this long route ply But I preferred the cane And complained […]
When the cotton bloomed As it wished without the danger Of being loomed For the benefit of strangers To their field, There was silence! When the trees soared Up, up into the skies Without the danger of being bored About being turned into shelter, fire or dice For the benefit of strangers To their field, There was silence! When the earth was intact Without piercy-woundings digging […]
No where cool o! See how povaty dey make people fools Na small chop chop wey man go chop dey make people stools Na when koraa na belle go be full So bros go stop being tools? Bros dey work anyhow Still money no dey bow But others no dey do notin but dem dey chop money chaw And dey make others […]
Mum Cee