Sankofa In Safranbolu

‘Sankofa’ In 'Safranbolu' This bird from Ghana’s legends flies forward looking backward In the Twi language twinned with indigenous souls and wisdom the feathered friend suggests to go back and get it and I suppose some fly backwards while looking ahead but then life is not only Chronos but 'Kairos' with the meter entwined and composed At this precise moment not alone in this moving instant it waves and oscillates conjoining what was and will be when the present is the past in a flash and one cannot step into the same river again yet the future is shaped by the past the here and now a 'Kairometer' transcending artefacts and boundaries into ‘truths’ and reality The bird flies and time flows back and beyond near and far further on wings and pinions with roots at heart In ‘Safranbolu’ the ancient Ottoman town on the Black Sea Coast and thus close to Ghana in real time place and connection the old man had been tending the clock in the tower both man and the turret free standing and wise still present and one ‘Seventy years’ as he explained pendulum hands and the wheels What memories pride mechanics precision preserved aspiration and dignity flying into the face of the clock and the distortions of time Mustafa had climbed those steps so often had rung the bell oiled the time keeper had not forgotten a day of his duties had become one with the time piece and stood still many times in awe of monument and pacing the sleepy old town yet he flew forward so peacefully looking back in retrospect and respect He has watched birds history duration impermanence imprinting the meaning of a life worthy of living in honour of what is the present 20th November in all past and future revisited