Artist Statement:
What is poetry if not that sacred urge to break away from the world, open the asbestos conscience of humankind, giving birth to emotions of anger and joy, revenge and forgiveness, love and hatred…?
This spiritual and artistic call, fiercer than sky-quakes, river-quakes, magma-quakes, yes, earthquakes is the force drives me to pay homage to the forever ancient art of poetry. My poetry takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. My subject matters are about daily occurrences in all spheres of life, a comment on humanity and nature.
To me poetry has always been grounded in pleasure and aesthetics even as it draws tear as a response, sometimes.
Guns in hands, shooting escapes the mind
Knives in hands, throwing poses difficulty
They say the death of a man never far from him
For whatever footwear you wear
Thorns cannot be a taboo;
So the maimed him, they maimed him
Storm-fire howls against the oak
Deep rooted in the crust of savanna sands
Chased by wild wise dogs
For usurping ancestral thrones
Four decades and two ago
So the maimed him, they maimed him
He bore the burdens of the clan
He was the voice of resilience
Against dog’s dreams of another brother-trade across brines
Several sea-waves to come
So the maimed him, they maimed him
It was for similar or same crime
That grandfather Kwame was chased
To end his journey in a foreign dream
And even his body was at the Supreme Court
For questioning and for cosmic justice adjudication
So the maimed him, they maimed him
They say Lumumba also craved for too long
A dream time to bury traces of dog feet
That scratched the fertile soils of his farmland
And transported primal work power
To beyond where clouds and seas conclave
So the maimed him, they maimed him
Sankara of recent dream faced same
Crucifixion by doggish masked justice
When he rose at the battle front to archive
Our tatted memory and birth a new future
And dream a newer dream for our children
So the maimed him, they maimed him
and just
yesterday
They maimed him, they maimed him
The clan’s only vocal child
The maimed him, they maimed him
deep inside the gallows of his birthplace
and darkness fell on the clan-house
at noon.
2:05am. 22/10/2011. Legon, Accra Ghana
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