M Braimah Saaka Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

Galamsey is a Ghanaian term for illegal gold mining. This practice, led mostly by Chinese nationals and local power lords, has polluted the rivers and turned farmland into excavation sites.  An environmental catastrophe threatening to destroy the country - yet largely ignored by the rest of the world.

Gold - Gather and Sell

The Gonja man said to me
“It’s raining while the sun shines”
My guest appeared bemused
I had heard it before
We both surveyed the wasted landscape
The rivers filled with green slime
The potholes like staircases

The workers covered in clay
Golden like the gem they seek
To our left they hummed a tune
“Galamsey! Galamsey! …”
I whispered to my companion
There’s got to be a better song than that
Then we walked away

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Alfred Berggren August 21, 2017 at 11:11 AM Gold mining is hard work and not always worth the effort.

Aqua Marine August 20, 2017 at 6:20 PM Thank you for adding the explanation about illegal gold mining- greed is soul destroying, fuelled by a desperate need for survival, fuelling an insatiable desire for wealth and the power that goes with it...And yet " you cannot take it with you...." I have seen some footage of illegal mining, and it is rife here too...disturbing. Its tragic. Yes, we wish there to be a better song to sing...