We never asked them to make the trip
Senseless though it seemed they did
Yes! they came to see but never learned
That we never needed them to survive.
In the jungle where lions roared at day
Where cobras roamed the paths at night
Where the ants barely saw the suns’ light
There we built our great empires
Void of their help, void of their greed.
We never asked them not to learn
Senseless, could they even have learned
Yes! but they sought to teach us their ways
Of slander imbued with hypocrisy
Of malice clothed in kindness.
They sought to kill the oak tree of old
They sought to dethrone the crown bearers
They tried to drink but could never swallow
For they were not invited to the ball.
In their true nature of mischief
They sought to divide the indivisible
They sought to sow where they could not harvest
For this is the land that knows its destined rulers
They tried to build but could not break the ground
They drank the streams of the ancestors with greed
They tasted immortality and wanted to live forever
But the streams of the ancestors knew their duties
Where they could not break, there we buried them.
Friday 5 February 2010
Their and Our Encounter - Kwadwo Oteng Owusu
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Nice..they sure sought to divide the indivisible.
ReplyDeletetoday we are taught not to worry about the past.someone should surely know that the future is to a large extent a product of the past and the present.how can we forget 1884 when to this day we still cling to colonial boundaries? we have a lot of lessons to learn from the past.our people must learn this.this poem is simple but the message is profound.is it not greatness comes out of simplicity and not in mindless ostentation? reading the poem aloud one really feels the rhythm.keep up the good work poet.you are not alone in this pan african spirit.your compatriot kwame nkrumah must be saying 'yes!'
ReplyDeleteVery true & well said.
ReplyDeleteTeacher, I applaud you and your words.
Mike
THIS IS A VERY GREAT PIECE MA DEAR. KEEP IT UP AND KNOW AM ALWAYS THERE TO SUPPORT YOU THROUGH IT. YOU HAVE MADE A VERY GOOD POEM OUT OF WHAT THESE PEOPLE HAD TO PUT US THROUGH IT. KEEP IT UP GREAT POET.
ReplyDeleteLIEBE
Really enjoyed this work of yours.I will secretly beg for more.Can you direct me to any other place to read your displayed works?
ReplyDelete