Cocks have combs Lions have manes Beings have beards Most have marks seen But all have marks unseen And almost all need their “weak” counterparts In order to save themselves from extinction But their strength breeds cruelty In the pots they need to eat None must be silly enough To bite the hands that do […]
Tag: #AFRICAN POETS
DEEP FREEZER CARRIERS AND TUESDAY WEEDERS
Kwaku Amponsem is mad He is mad of a tag He claims makes him feel like a rag And so calls the taggers bad And is threatening to open an evidence bag In hopes of getting a tagger to gag And make a scape goat to honour his dad The tag? That he carries a […]
HAVE YOU EVER LOVED?
Oh eyes with laser twinkles Mouths with flapping tongues Ears ready to hear the sounds Of my heart’s eruptions I have one question Have you ever loved? II Have you ever loved? So hard like the balls of a mating bull? So wild like hell fire’s senior in a rage? Wider than the ends of […]
NOTABLE
Many are breath holders Many, like any, are death scared Whereas fowls clap for themselves In foot’s flights And birds prostitute on normal trees in average flights Eagles battle the skies for space Knowing their strength need fierceness of bravery In order to show Breath holders like vultures cheat the dead Cowardly are their generations […]
PASSIONS WITHIN
(I need to go away for a few weeks. Will hopefully come early next month. My body just needs some rest. Thanks to all followers of amoafowaa.com. Keep following, keep reading, blessings.) Deep within each pod of a heart Are fires and ice Are hopes and dreams Are fantasies and hallucinations Are love and hatred […]
WHINE AS I SHINE (EXCERPT)
Whine as I shine Dine as I work in line The great palm tree That knows not its importance Dies with whipping clothed broom Which yearn to sweep the earth’s dirt Or help farmers carry things No matter its ungracious ending That same tree is bitten by palm worms Which yearn to live to be […]
WHEN A DOG BARKS AT ITS OWNER
When the dog barks at its owner In a fierce and ugly manner In a mind that is in order It risks losing its comfy shelter And might sweat in an angry slaughter II Even if it barks in sickness It shows its feared weakness And risks being the red meat Which east and west […]
THE SPIDER AND THE TORTOISE
Naked tortoise sat and watched As its shell-loss-pain hijacked his happiness And kidnapped all his will to live So Kwaku Ananse took his sad cue And looked for ways to own what tortoise wanted gone II Ananse wove a dubious plan Like skilled Bonwire fingers weaving kente And draped it on tortoise’s body Whose spirit […]
FADING OLD SKIES
Sitting under the umbrella of civilization I see no village sky I scan my brain but there’s an incrimination Thanks to technology patriotism, my mind says fie! II The beautiful sky with the virgin moon Which has many stars with no fornication to trace Just sank into disappointments as it lost its swoon To discos, […]
PALM-WINE AND DISCO SONGS
This world is filled with cats and dogs Cats with sniff-talents oh so strong Dogs with pitchy-voices oh so loud There’s no trace of worry They deem so sorry So it’s meow and “aoooooo wo wo wow” II Lucky are those with the many cats And sorry are those with the many dogs For their […]
I CALL FOR YOU
Mud, although unrespected Begets lotus which fragrances the world I call out to you I call out like a saving bell To you whose face is in the mud As your back is made the footmat of supposed worthy legs Rise, and know mud is the clot which begets beautiful pots Take my lead and […]
IF LEGS HAD EYES
If legs had eyes Coupled with mouths With internal brains On their stem structure like heads They won’t act kings Always being carried There are many a places They would have boycotted And many a thorns Would have tongues Which would have never tasted their skins Oh many aches Out of long strides Would have […]
HELP THEM HIGHER
We were little witches Those only mouths hooted As thoughts revered So got away without being murdered For fake gods who lived in the minds Of men whose egos were at stake II We are the stubborn ones Ones society uglies for the kingdom of marriage Too strong “Maame Gyata” Too opinionated “wo ka a […]
Blooming flowers Refreshing scents Smile weavers We are like the lotus Which disinfect the world No matter where we grow We get the flow II We bloom in kindness to put out gloom Work to light all doom We run this world Weaving in crafting For this exhibition of humanity To continue III We are […]
(Picture by Matilda) Gone are the days When I was part of the flowery flock Which hugged the falling rains, Whispered at the straining sun Kissed the raging storms And played “pi-lo-lo” With nectar-chasing pests II Gone are the days When I was like the waters abroad Having waiters wait Hoping to have a swim […]
THIS PRAYER!
The bird whose nest Nestle in the palm of the mountainous tree Was forced to look down to painfully see How heartbreaking weak little birds lived After having such a one II And after her tears turned to determination She flew in hovering like a protective mother hen Surveying, praying, hoping for a good thought […]
UNKNOTABLE ROPES
Once, some ropes Lived in single streams They fought over many things Like enemies competing for space Until Odomankoma got angry And made a decision to knot them together II Those who claimed allergy to others’ sweats Those who wanted to murder others to feel better Those who sat on fences Were all given a […]
COLD AND HOT
As the sky tears thunderously In many spirited drops from its vast eyelid C I am ten thousand hot minds and one Forced into a little boxy shivering me II Which strand of thought is it going to be? Will the right one pop up for me to see? Is there a true mind-teller who […]
THE SUN DAWNS
After setting for so long The sun’s head is casting its shadows Showing its grand arrival Hoping hope sits in hearts for anticipation Instead of towel throwing II After setting for so long Its coming is palpable But its heat drains sweat needed for hydration The sun is a king wicked in absence Gracious in […]
TEACHERS (DIAMANTE)
Teachers bright, playful teaching, grooming, loving affable, honourable, difficult, scrutiny blessing, counselling, impacting win, lose tutors Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2015
COOL AND CRUDE
Sometimes your veil is too thick Too thick to brand eyes impotent in sighting Oh love! II Sometimes your faith is too fierce Too fierce to think it can conquer all bad Oh love! III Sometimes your voice is like an angry thunder Too loud that ears behave like cut nails Useless and careless! Oh […]
IN THE SHADOW OF THE UGLY
What do you do? When mouths quiver After eyes and minds inform them of your presence II How do you live? When you fall into the perfect line of societal uglyhood Do you get scared When you see frightened eyes And find your image in the mirrors if their eyes? III Do you own a […]
ON THE MARKET (MONORHYME)
An eye flash And I feel like part a star, part trash Eyes are harsh Those who are in a rush And those ready to bash Those needing to stash And those showing their cash Ah! There are those who got missing in a flash My mind gives me a lash Chai! particular hands show […]
IN THE HANDS OF THE POWERFUL
God is not a 419 Nigerian To cook sand into singletons And send to eyes of the helpless To plant and bear tear fruits So as to steal a thing of a pained blind II He who plants tears Havests tears even without eyelids or cheeks Even repentance is like a heated rod In a […]
NEGLECTORS
When seas beget shells Some sands’ fear of capturing Flies care abroad Sands’ prayers call for legs To bury their threat Forgetting they will be the coffins Balls on walls deflect Minds mostly forget Sad Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2015
TEACHING (IN SEMI SONG)
Chorus Teaching Is enlightening Is Loving Is cariiiiiiiiiiing It is giving for giving In liviiiiiiing It is life in entirety  I I know God is a teacher He is a teacher who produces great teachers Great teachers to let his world be explored and known So all those who step into his shoes Are […]
People pray like pawns Preying on paupers like pests Picking peppers and pocketing peace Pieces like prints put in pairs Show swines sweeping their slimes on saints Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia (c) 2015Â
When ashes travel down south And charcoals get missing All we can hear are stored words of the mouth As breaths go missing Like grasses stepped on by elephants Time steps on us with its weight And we fade like fake paints On the wall of the earth Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia
THAT LONE SPACE
Life is like a string rope And we are like a group of masked ant circus On its slim grounds No matter how many hands hold When the dew-drop of death selects The hold becomes meaningless As it cages in a lone space II Tears are no life revivers in the fallen Hurts are no […]
Eternal goodbyes are like pinches in the abdomen Now I see there are lots to worry about As Grandma Bombay lies still in the arms of the faceless And the tears for her flows like the Kintampo Waterfalls Many bring their wallets, empty Hoping to refill Even water in sachet cost more than an average […]
HERE AND NOW
Here and now Cut the throat of all ailing And let’s see to their deaths And take off all their feathers Cut them into pieces And throw them to the dogs After burning all that was taken So as to ensure we never see their pestering selves In the future meant for us II Here […]
EID MUBARRAK (SCRIBBLE, NOT A POEM)
He who knows the story Knows how to celebrate for his glory Once, a prophet Ibrahim Was ordered by Allah To sacrifice his son Who was known as Ismaeel For He; Allah’s pleasure Ismaeel was Prophet Ibrahim’s treasure Whom none could measure But he heeded the call of Allah And Allah too ended his trials […]
BODY MASONS
It is that time That time that monkeys can turn fairies Aided by the sharp hands of knives Body masons mix their mortars Cutting parts of those built by God And transferring it in pasting, onto other parts Sometimes injecting bodies like corpses Hoping to build mounds around areas apt for dancing Draining parts to […]
SHUNNED RAINS
When Time’s legs were short And most technological gadgets were in the scrotums of male minds Except for a little cold to fear Occasional clouds were pampered to fall II As legs melted And hearts, like the softest of tuo zaafi yearned As holier hearts melted like shea butter in plea Clouds yielded And visited […]
NKRUMAH, A LEGACY (CRAZY STANZAS)
Maybe you were too forward in your approaches Maybe you were born with ideas too “future-ristic” Maybe you were too over zealous in your quest for the best Maybe you hoped for far too much But your works remain a legacy II You were rains on the raging fires of colonialism You were a power […]
CRISIS
It’s all coming back Raining like stones being intentionally thrown From the heavens by our maker When he burned my arms As those in green passed Those in brown relaxed And those in white hid II His tears caught no attention His hurts struck no sympathy chord but mine My tears flowed like fountains Going […]
FOR YOUR PROTECTION
When the winds of evil blow at night And snakes of deception throw them light As thunders of death hide in death’s flight Like kola nut pickers with great great might Protect us, and make living our right II When the devil turn crocodile and needs to pick Fowls in the night and make humans’ […]
TWISTING FACTS (SUCCESSIVE TANKA)
Ugly shadows cast On the fairest of angel Deceiving watchers prayful As he trains beautiful beings To swerve them  like idiots II Cool winds blow over To the praying mantis’ Who look out for hot Fanning their eyes to sleep well Using their curses for them III Brightened shadows show Attracted worshippers kneel Loving the […]
THOUGHTLESS
 Like snow tainted with mud She sits in indulgence Allowing religion to cuff her like a soldier gone bad Letting society push her into second place As her conscience whips With canes of guilt Time has licked some of her wounds So in denial, she accepts Thinking her cool self will calm her opponent But […]
DANCING NAKED
Nothing can hide Our joy in ride Oh nothing can hide Our smiles so wide Not even clothes Can aid our foes Let us dance naked Dance to the sweet melodies of fireflies let us dance naked With our photographers as the moon and stars Even mosquitoes will only add To our melodies in harmony […]
PALE AND STALE
Her face is pale Her breast has turned stale No great air for her weak children to inhale All her knights have decided not to bail Her strong children, like brainless goats, fail As all her fishes are turned into “koobi and momoni” Cooked and fried, others will eat, love, breathe and exhale II A […]
Their eyes can’t see Without developing legs To rush to their tongues To make so much noise To open the gates of their mouths To bless or curse other ears Munafiki, shame on you! II Like drums destroyed News trickle through their ears And flow loudest through their mouths Like they hoard megaphones in their […]
CATTLE OF EARTH
Like fishes choked by water Like birds choked by air Like trees choked by the earth Noses choke by air of life How noses fight air Thinking to win, beats imagination Who fights the earth on which he stands? No matter how carnivorous earth seems Who can fight and live on it? We are cows […]
NO WITS HERE
Many sit with their news on their laps Some sit with their youngsters by their sides Like a human with cow horns All eyes turn to me and mine As he jumps like an antelope Neighs like a horse Shakes like a buffalo And runs like a Bolt on weeds I am the only being […]
GOD THE TAILOR
He sows spirits into body clothes And leaves the seams bare Every step undo a thread Until the bodies’ clothes fall As the spirits develop wings And fly in myth To the unknown Of course a huge bump scatters all threads And so does huge cuts and hits As other factors melt or burn the […]
Beauty lives in eyes which stand Never in closed eyes Amedzofe is a beautiful lady Her curves show supreme As her hairs are woven In beautifully strong trees Sweeping the very grounds she walks A snake must be feared but can be beautiful Snake of a road lies in her bosom As stones arrange in […]
CURTAINS OF MEN
Tears flood Flood hearts of earth sustainers Making their breathing herculian As most men hide behind the curtains of feminism Shedding clothes of responsibility Any cry for help And the curtains’ waves slap With hot irons of “women can do better” Feminine mouths in confidence Are dubbed chants of witchcraft Like a war of ego […]
THOUGHTS UPON THOUGHTS
I stand a sinner Chasing thoughts making me thinner Racing heart causing me breakage As unknown tomorrows sing me songs II I don’t know I don’t know if the heads white leaves Will showcase me tomorrow Still two handed instead of three III I don’t know I don’t know if this mud’s wrinkles Will showcase […]
Sun, you have a day And your day wears the most pious clothes In the whole wide world II Sun, your clothes are sinless And they sparkle like you As they turn most sinners Into hypocritical hollies III Sun, may I ask a thing? You sure aren’t without sin Are you? Because you shine And […]
FADED BLINDNESS
You were to me the golden goose That laid my golden happiness And made sure I sparkled, even in heat But one knows not what awaits If the hands are freed to search No matter how precious something is, Once left to go It dissipates into nothing So I set you to sail From the […]