El Pass II

He loves her 

and shows it

and says it

El Pass I

She loves her
and can't say it
but show it

Wait not for another

wait not for one more
when all you need is you

when going back to start over

might be painful

might be disgraceful

the end matters more 

wait not for another more

What are we?

We are all strangers

marching on to a place unknown

I met you already here

Am I a stranger to you

But there ...

Where you will also go

and find me already there

I am no stranger

The mark I bear

is it the mark I now bear?

A message went out

without any reply

A call fell on live ears

and none paid heed to pick

A song of death was announced

and she did not hear the phrase: "my condolences"

And they that keep their promises of hope

shall have the heavens renew their strength

Inauguration

Come master builder come

Through to the end be the guide

Come fountain of love come

The upwell of terror and hate hide

Come from far and near come

That the dream of Amerigha be seen

Blessed be Amerigha oh blessed

Let every tongue and tribe resing

Thanksgiving

Should it not be more than the turkey tale
Should it not be a full gorgeous gratitude 

For that eye that once looked at you gaily

For that heart that sealed the peaceful pact

The head that helped you on that fateful day

The mind from which floweth all his grace

Above all this, his ever flowing fountain of love

All of which thou ought to be grateful all thy day

Should he be gone ...

Should he be gone before you realise it

Should it be late for you to beat your thigh

Ahead in the ripeness of time 

Awaits what er will betide 

In the darkness of the night

Nor above, in the fullest of the single eye 

If not now or soon, it might be someday

If you don't think twice

If you don't deal justly

N.B

Support Jupi Mental Health Project

HERE

No Night There

There was no night there
brightness like conquered darkness
where their people had no choices

and complaints like waterfall

on the back of a duck

only complaints 

which were said and not heard

There was no night there

daylight without the sun

daylight seen in an enclosure 

where there was no night 

and their ugly voices

but their shouts

and their instructions …

There was no love there

broken hearts, dreams, loneliness

there was no dignity

only men, beast, slavery

a land of fadeless days

they will leave this light into the darkness

but will find that light within them till the end of days

NB. Support Jupi Mental Health Project.

Donate here !

 

Your friend

The only friend you can count on in a strange land is the police 

when other helpers fail and comforts flee

When you lose that friend, no purpose 

is worth serving

Survival in life

Your survival in life

is never in looking out for yourself

but in the many lives 

you help to preserve

Painful Ordeal

The wait was forever

in the resistance endless

of that ordeal painful  

Waiting for a come back

The parting was unbearable:
they looked on and watched each other
You lost your smile
I lost my speech
Although our eyes met 
it signified nothing:
it didn't stop you from driving into the endless thick darkness of the night
I am at the same place where you left me that night
with your faintest memory
I can't bear losing all of you
come back quickly!

Who will believe my story

Who will believe my story?
Just as some are born great
some have greatness bestowed on them
and some work to attain it,
there are others born to meet others
to prepare the way of others
and to join others for a worthy cause.
Oh roses among your daddy's daughters
tell him who quickly wants you in holy matrimony
that the prince is born
and he is ready to comb your yellow hair

Our Gallant Soldiers

sons of the golden soil

sons of the men

sons with our name

we sing your praise

on our shoulders we lay

your solemn remains 

broad chested men

whose guns still sound

on the way beyond

you we mourn

our dear loss:

you are gone

we share 

and 

we bear 

what we split: 

your grief

not alone to lift

to share 

is to care

to care 

is to be there

to be there 

 

in person 

in thoughts

in deeds

in words

in prayer

best at rest

beyond the worst

be at rest

 

* In honour of the 5 Ghanaian soldiers 

who lost their lives last year in peacekeeping

and the many others all over the world.

He bids you come

Tell them  

there is no hiding under my sun  

there is no need coming if it is only a favour  

if you cannot bear my shame and reproach  

that mark that I now bear.  

 

Come now if you want me too  

the night is young before sunrise  

When you come it's forever  

Because you are worth more than what you have   

When you come we'll be together  

never again to leave my sight 

 

He bids you come  

He bids you light   

He bids you fair speed  

 

Do not tarry 

 

 

Words can't say it all

 
I said it all to you, oh wind
“That this is not the place”
And left a part concealed
But I will say these few words

Going is like broken mirrors patched with glue when told
Like white linen soiled with palm oil
Going is like the lonely silence
The hands which yearn a touch
The cries which pour out on hearing a loss

Gone with the truth
Firmness, politeness, fairness
With her smile, patience
Her repetition and understanding
When will there be another like you
I can’t stop asking even when I know there is no answer
I am glad I was in your final class

Those who enjoyed your best the last 

Indeed
some things are best not said
Some things
words cannot say them all

Like today, 

like yesterday
Like the last day of class
 
What I will say
It might be long
Don’t be gone for long
Let the contact be long

Prof. Garabano

At her last class meeting

You are the one

 

Out of the dark corner that hides me
The shame that shadows my crown
I stand in the middle of the journey
Waiting to continue with you
We spoke of my crown and my search
It was that night we first exchanged words
That night you saw me take my bow before the crowd
That die is already cast
I have found her at last
And you are the one

THEIR HOME

Crowded for food in lost hope
in a hunt the axe destroyed their own.

Leaf picking with beaks alone
in feeding and building their home.

Where the roaring winds blow
close to a hanging nest on a pole.




Officially published by Rio Grande Review, 2024. SCI-FI ISSUE. SOLASTALGIA.
Click url below for audio of the poem 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LnwU25OwEnpZDpiQzmYJl6D2ES9W5zjI/view?usp=drivesdk

Look beautiful

 

Look beautiful!
You are old!
I am young!
This is age, it is a number
which counts only upwards
and means nothing if you don’t count at all
 
A veces sale el sol
con su brillo brillante
A veces sale el sol
sin su brillo, claro solo.
Ayer miré tu cara
y ella era bonita
Hoy me encanta tu cara
La bonitísima de los rostros.
Y eso es lo que es
para crecer en belleza
lo importante en lo que pensar
Solo un número es la edad
Nunca lo cuentes
Look beautiful!