The Divorce

Fudzikomele, who will believe this?

I walked through the front door,

And you said, “Get Out of my Face!”

You said, “Else, you will find yourself finished.”

Today, I walked through the front door again,

And you said: “Look at the time! Look at the time!”

Thank you; I stepped out through the front door again

I didn’t see a thousand flaming trees on the road.
Instead, hills fell over each other, royally, to greet me.

By daily dying, I’ve learned to be.

I hope my silences are accurate and true

Maybe, it’s true, in the dark eyes begin to see better.

Deep in the Heat

It’s a harsh light,
This summer sun, baking the earth.

But why is autumn
Coming with a soft light, wit

h long shadows?

Sad to say, winter lights are cold

And blue, and we shiver with our teeth 

clapping like cymb

It’s only in spring-time
That we see a new light 

that’s bright with daffodils.

Do you also have the light 

of understanding
in your eyes? 

And I Sang Hosanna to God

She has a sign on her wall
Stop and smell the roses
knowing you owe
a debt of gratitude for the gifts
so plenty, oh many.

I looked round and saw no rose

She was the only rose by her wall

She has a sign on her feet
Drop in quietly without noise
Inside you can juggle six not ten times
Repeat, once again, only six not ten times
I’ve got no time to waste, I dropped in

I smelled the rose and I juggled not six but ten times

After the water she wants me to drink

I sang for the first time Hosanna not six but ten times

To Whom It May Concern

To whom it may concern:

The words stood long by his side

Like a watchdog at the entrance of memory
This is how he will be remembered.
When they say the last farewell.

He stood looking as if he was solidified
He remembered his dreams for his children
On the verge of difficulties where he saw death

Where he lived without life and faced terror

And danced through profound darkness.

Yet, before the sun set coldly that noon
One walked to his window and looked at him

You are not my father, my father is God in the sky
How odd, he thought, to be blessed with a cuff

But of course, he was blessed to know it now.

To whom it may concern:

The words stood long by his side

And he remembered the journey, the tight pants
The sea-lions barking, and he smiled at her

Who saw a doctor of misery in the father.

Give us this day our daily bread

Our Father, who art up there

You have given some folks life

And an easy breeze to blossom.

But some are struggling to escape slaving.

Why not fill their nerves with laughter,

Just for a while, as they’re still here?

You feed some with hope every bright day

And they taste their soul's desire in freedom,

And they come to flashing waters with smiles.

For some, on each dark night, at every hour, oh God,

They ebb and eke with life clinging to a stubborn will,

And they die beating their ways towards the rising sun.

Stranded between despair and the grave,

Many live with fronds of silence and hushed music,

waiting for miracles and crying for a revelation.

Oh God, I have faith in you though you left me lonely

in the world of struggles, but I hope to meet you

on Judgment Day to discuss the weary hungered child.

Meeting Him Riding in the Clouds

(for Agbonugla Kofi Awoonor)

His memory stares at me, dreamy and melancholic

On his head is a tiara adorning a charming face. 
He turns gently his head towards the gathering
A single tear fell from his tender daring eyes 

It carries the anguished burden of a world.
I bowed and saluted him and our eyes spoke.

With a nod he protested the muddle his father’s house

Why trained dogs bark to veil any cries of the people 
Why there are segregated benches in the lecture halls

Why they tortured and broke the legs of the innocent.
And he held up the sign: The Writing is on the Wall
Saying as he prayed: Soon this too shall pass

Before he left, he planted on me nature’s sweetest hug 

From the banks of the clouds the moon gazed at us

I welcomed the farewell, but I shuddered, I stuttered,

And the closer he gets, the further I fall sadly into the mist

Around my terror-stricken ears he whispered his last words

Then he went past into the twilight unseen beyond

* AGBONUGLA: Is an Ewe word for an elder statesman
   KOFI AWOONOR: One of Africa's leading poets, a novelist,
   a statesman who was murdered by the terrorist attack in the
   Kenyan Mall incident on September 21, 2013, Nairobi, Kenya

How do I love you?

(For You, on Mother’s Day)

Since the morning of that day we met

I’ve seen the moon refusing to set
Nature itself has declined to go to bed

I’ve seen the rainbow play long on the sunlight,

As if there is something going on in the universe.

They all saw our love as supreme in the veldt.

Ever since we met, I’ve told myself,
You will forever find me waiting for you,
Painting pictures of us on every single moment of time
I’ll always be joyful with you and no one can understand,
Why I love you so much since the morning we met.

Each day, I see minutes take so long to drift away
They just want to catch a glimpse of us in love

And dream of a season like ours when they’ll know love
Let them wait, when in the evening I fly you in velvets
They’ll stare at the ceiling of the sky and smile at us.

I’ve promised myself that wherever I'll be

I’ll let the sun of an unequaled love shine on you
We’ll carry that forgotten fire of love across the universe
To kindle yawning spirits with the language of love

Which you taught me since the morning we met.

She's Out

Don’t ask me who or why

All I know is that she's out of my heart,

She drifted with the whirlwind long ago

And I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

Despite my sad and faded face,

Though there are shadows on my brow

Truth be told, not often a robin comes to build its nest

Upon the leafless bough.

I once welcomed her royally into my arms,

That was years ago, but awful was her faithfulness
And it cuts like a knife, especially

When you want to keep your love deep inside you.

Now she's out and she knows

My love can’t wait on indecision.

My Love and All

Last night I fell asleep
And saw you dancing in my dreams
Just like the autumn leaves
Have fallen for you, all for you

And you changed my life
You changed my ways
I don't even recognize myself again
It must be a reflection of you, that made it

I can't remember the last time I felt love like this
I can't imagine living life without you by my side
Day after day you find a way to make me cry
Really, I can't remember the last time I felt love like this

My arms still hold you tight like in my dreams
I want to keep you warm in the coldest night
Where my hand would pull your hair right back

Away from your eyes for you to look into my face

If I knew just how to do it, I'd hang the moon,

And the stars around you to adorn the horizon
But I couldn't make it more beautiful than you
Darling nothing compares to you, my love and all

Where I Come From

where we come from, joy
floats around us like clouds
the way leaves rustle in the breeze
and love and beauty swing in our embraces
and smile with all our senses from sunrise till sundown

where I come from dreams do not rest on fences
when the cock crows the young and old rise
take to the road with sparkling powerful arms
songs work-songs harvest-songs and jolly-songs 

hold us tightly in fragrant dances
and kinship are to us scents of magnolia and frangipani
and rituals of the elders look toward the skies
from where cometh our Help of Ages

where I come from on every village lane

and on footpaths you could see something lovely

you can see our children's smiles white and glistening  
young girls in braids as precious as gold 
the swing of their hips the rhythm in their gait
the smile on soft-brown cheek and the movement of the eyes
leave the lanky brother in the heat blowing kisses in the air

once I heard low bass voices crooning

on a Saturday afternoon when the Rainmaker

came out of the forest with the Dipo girls

the magical flowers of breasts lost many in the garden of chimera
and they disguised their racing pounding hearts
in the melody of the music in their heads

strangers who won't be for long be spectators
left with their manhood shooting loudly ahead of them

where I come from are many things to sing about
not these hard core blues low bass voices crooning
nasty cruising thoughts on corrugated Freeways 
turning nouns into verbs and fetching dreams
strewn with bones that melt melodies to huge fires
but with my smiles and deep dark eyes

I’ll continue to see there's so much to life than gold teeth

For a Friend

seeing the sun rise with glow this morn
its rays dancing among the leaves in the grove
I saw my tears dry like dew on village lanes
and for once, I found again the lost smile
that was missing for a long time

seeing the moon with the choir this night
this heart holds hope like a rock
to see this old heartache in love's cradle leave

maybe I no longer will cry at night
as if all my dearest friends are gone

I Appreciate Your Kindness

thank you is not enough
to tell you my deep feelings
about your thoughtfulness and the gift of love
but in the absence of the right word

let this note thank you and say
the memory of your thoughtfulness
will be remembered for many days and many nights
till this Breath leaves for Home by your gift of love

I have come to know

you are a person who makes life easier and better
for everyone around you

your continual acts of thoughtfulness and kindness
and love brightens each day of lives
and what you did for me will glow in my memory
reviving pleasant feelings every time I think about it
and should I not tell you in person
how much you mean to me
let this note tell it now, I appreciate your kindness
and thank you forever for the gift of love
that has made a difference in my life