Mama is crying
She has been crying for such a long time
She has suffered from weight loss
She won't tell me the reason for her tears
But the whole world knows why
The sky is bright and right
Yet mama has no light
There is much water coming down from the mountain
Yet mama's valley is still dry
Her problems have been artificially created
She isn't even rated in her world
Everybody goes hunting
And comes back home with a deer
The deer never stops running
On the day that mama goes hunting
She thus comes home with nothing
She is a bird
Which has been left without a song
She tries to sing on a good day
But nobody hears her
Crying mama
Who will save mama?
Who will listen to mama's plight?
Everybody can hear her cry
But they end up giving her aid
My mama intensifies her cry
She wants trade and not aid
Mama cannot stop crying
She is drowning in tears and debt
And her children keep dying
Who will be mama's saviour?
Who will liberate her?
Mama's cry must stop
She needs to see the light
When the sky is bright
Crying mama won't stop
Old poems at OGOV don't die, but live on in our archives! Every once in a while we will dust one off for our newer readers to enjoy. "Crying Mama" was orginally published on OGOV on February 28th, 2009.
Biography:
Julian is an alum of Presby Boys Secondary School, Legon. He holds a B.A. in Business Studies at the Kensington College of Business, London, a Diploma in Journalism at the Writers Bureau College of Journalism, Manchester, UK, Executive Diplomas in Strategic Management and Management, a Diploma in Management Studies and an Executive MBA at the Huddersfield University, UK.
He has worked in several management positions in the UK and Africa and wants to see Africans do a lot more for themselves rather than relying on the IMF and other donor agencies by developing their human capital. He speaks three languages with a rudimentary knowledge of German and has traveled extensively around the globe spreading his poetry messages and helping out with business solutions.
Julian is also the proud author of two bestsellers, namely Smile Africa and Recall, which are both available on amazon.com, bn.com, borders.com, and in major retail outlets around the globe.
Julian is a co-founder of One Ghana, One Voice.
Three Questions with Julian Adomako-Gyimah:1. "The deer never stops running" is such a striking line - it almost acts as a hinge on which the whole poem pivots. What brought this image to your mind during the writing process?
Africa is my mother and nurtured me right from the day I was born till today. It fed me, gave me water, saved me from the roaring lions in our midst, saved me from the wolves and evil politicians such as Botha the Mosquito and mavericks such as Iddi Amin. It has fought through thin and thick just to make lives of her kids better but to no avail. It has tried on several occasions to unite her people but anytime she tries to do that, the imperialists strike and cause wars, hunger and massive hatred and this is where the deer never stops running. Nkrumah would have loved to see a United Africa because United we stand and divided we fall. The western powers want to see Africa as it is and not as a United Front as it is easier from them to manipulate us in our current state. Europeans formed the EU and the US formed the USA. there is also the ASEAN but Africa has not been able to unite till date. This is where the deer never stops running comes to play... it means that we are just not helping ourselves and the figurative deer will not stop running to enable us get a catch until we redefine our identity. Who cares about Africa's plight? We need to solve our own problems as Africans because our destiny is in our hands.
Why did I choose the deer in particular? The deer as we all know is a very symbolic creature in Africa. In Ghana for example, the deer is of much significance to the Efutu's and they go hunting for the deer during their annual "akwambo" festival so I literally decided to use the deer in the context to show how Europeans, Americans, Asians, etc. have been able to turn their economies around thus coming home with a deer whilst we have been hunting for ages without success. On the very day we get close, such as the last AU summit, where I expected African Unity to be clinched, the deer instead kept running. The deer never stops running thus making it difficult for us to get to our destination. In simple words, I had the picture of the various factions in Winneba chasing the deer and not being able to make a catch in mind. Poetry in Motion!
2. How important is repetition in your poetry? What effects do you hope for it to produce in the reader?
Repetition is very important as it is usually a symbol of emphasis on a particular concern and this is something I use with the view that if the reader misses the point at the first reading, they can spot it again and reconnect. Poetry is a language that is best described by the Poet and that is why I believe there isn't one defined way of writing poetry. Did you not see how chauvinism is of great concern to me in the poem that featured repetitions and did it not tell you to see that quality as unacceptable and bad? That is the whole essence of repetitions in my poems.
3. You travel extensively for business both in Africa and in Europe. Has this altered in any way the themes you've chosen to write about? If so, how?
Certainly, and it is really helping my writing style to a great extent. I currently blend my English style with a self-designed African style to get a unique and rich blend of poetry that allows the reader to visualise what they read in their minds eye. In Europe, I address mostly injustices such as racism and unequal opportunities when it comes to recruitments. It is a different theme when I come to Africa where I mostly address issues such as female circumcision, political thefts, etc. This year, my experiences around the world is teaching me to speak for the voiceless so my poetry might take a different and a more radical turn. We as poets were born to liberate the masses who have no voice so I am responding to that call for this year.
Contact Julian:jlnadom(at)gmail.com
My mother was born on the other side of the oceans
With such a pretty sheen she came into this world
A true goddess of beauty
My dad once visited the other side of the ocean
And went into the bosom of my mum
He didn’t leave till very early the next day
Then I was created as a result of this interaction of love
Which continually yearns in the heart of every man
I came into being and was given what is termed life
Do I and Don’t I
Do I really love the complications that this journey brings?
Life is often unfair to the righteous
And death makes it more complicated
I dread the death of a good man and every good companion
The unfairness of this life saddens my heart
I am an art of beauty in this life yet life's complications make me sad
Why must we love in life
When the knife of death poses as the biggest enemy?
My life and your life
The other lives on earth
An art of the magnificence of this universe
My heart saddens at the complication of this genre termed life
Do I want it as many more men fall victims to the unfairness of life?
Why give me this life, God?
Why make the righteous suffer in the midst of the wicked?
Tears run down my cheeks every time life’s complications come into mind
When will nature take away all the unfairness?
And when will nature take away death?
Life’s greatest enemy
My maternal grandpa is gone
My paternal grandma belongs to the other world
My hero Nkrumah has also passed on
Passed on to the world where the living do not exist
All confirmations of life’s injustices
We are all going to be victims of life’s injustices one day
Till the day when the universal sovereign stops this world
The world that lies in the hands of the wicked
And where the wicked ones rule and live
Whilst we all survive as we thrive to do his will
Life, what is your true meaning to mankind?
And when will your greatest enemy be conquered?
Biography:Julian is an alum of Presby Boys Secondary School, Legon. He holds a B.A. in Business Studies at the Kensington College of Business, London, a Diploma in Journalism at the Writers Bureau College of Journalism, Manchester, UK, Executive Diplomas in Strategic Management and Management, a Diploma in Management Studies and an Executive MBA at the Huddersfield University, UK.
He has worked in several management positions in the UK and Africa and wants to see Africans do a lot more for themselves rather than relying on the IMF and other donor agencies by developing their human capital. He speaks three languages with a rudimentary knowledge of German and has traveled extensively around the globe spreading his poetry messages and helping out with business solutions.
Julian is also the proud author of two bestsellers, namely Smile Africa and Recall, which are both available on amazon.com, bn.com, borders.com, and in major retail outlets around the globe.
Julian is a co-founder of One Ghana, One Voice.
Five Questions with Julian Adomako-Gyimah:1. This is the second of your poems that we've published that has dealt with mothers and/or motherhood. Is this mere coincidence, or is there something about your mother, mothers in general, or the idea of motherhood, that you are particularly drawn to?
For me, life begins with motherhood and thus every good mother is a royal who is hailed anytime I get the chance to do so. My mother is the complete epitome of love and dedication as she has done so much for me from the day I was born, breastfeeding me all the way till today... We are constantly viewed as babies by our mothers so mother in the world have something special that we need to constantly talk about. I therefore appeal to all men to treat good women gingerly, and with respect.
2. Do you read your poetry aloud, either at readings or to friends? If so, how does this affect your writing?
I often read my poetry to friends and sometimes at readings as I intend to come up with dub poetry in the near future where my poems would be backed my instrumentals and put on CD for sale like one of the greatest poets in the world today, Mutabaruka, does. It certainly affects my poetry as I often accommodate comments both negative and positive and change style accordingly.
3. What, generally speaking, is the initial spark for a poem for you? Do you start with a line, an image, a theme?
For me the spark is a combination of image and theme as makes the writing of the lines so easy. Great Minds as we know always visualise.
4. When in the early writing of a poem do you know that it is worth keeping and working on more?
After writing the first 3 lines, I know whether it is worth going on or time to halt the process.
5. Anything new and exciting happening in your writing life?
I am still working on my first novel "the graveyard", am still doing my management consulting, and am venturing into entertainment, too. In December I travelled to Equatorial Guinea, where I witnessed the inauguration of the President and also organised some musicians from here to perform there. It was an exciting experience. It is always good to dream big as the oceans themselves! There is so much happening but I cannot obviously put all of it into the public domain at this time.
Contact Julian:jlnadom(at)gmail.com
