As long as the wind still blows
His words will still reecho
In the dreams we forget when we wake
In the thoughts that dip and surface.
"Africa must unite
We have the resources
We have the manpower
Only unity remains"
These words will fly with the Monsoon
Across the plains of South Sudan, Cameroon
Climb the hills of DR Congo, walk the lonely deserts of Libya
Drift through the woods of Mozambique, through Ethiopia’s.
They will reecho in Somalia’s savannah
Breathe through the Sahel, Nigeria’s deep oil fields
Flow with the Yenge River of Sierra Leone
Until we hold them close, and call them our own.
And maybe then, in silent knowing
We’ll find the meaning we kept postponing.
Once upon a recent time not long ago
A beacon shone, its brilliance aglow.
With a vision as vast as the starry sky
This light embodied, Kwame Nkrumah, our pride.
Dreaming to free Africa from colonial shackles
His resolve unwavering, his spirit remains.
Pan-Africanism his guiding light
Igniting flames of hope, burning ever bright.
In his wake, empires crumble and fall
His voice a rallying cry, heard by all.
"Forward ever, backward never!" he proclaimed
A legacy etched, his memory untamed.
Who am I?
I am a lion who comes out as a goat
I am an ocean with waves big enough to drown
I am a child of Mesopotamia
A descendant of Shaka Zulu
Baptized in the Nile
I depict the sword of Mansa Musa
I am the backbone of civilization
An icon of emancipation
I represent the pyramid of Giza
And the lighthouse of Alexandria
A symbol of hope
And an emblem of freedom
I am a depiction of Chinua Achebe ink
An illustration of the hieroglyphic
I am the carapace of Hannibal
And the shield of Tunka Manin
I am a player of the djembe
And the author of Sundiata Epic
I am an inheritor of Timbuktu
A citizen of Kumbi-Saleh
A compadre to Askia Muhammed
And a son of Mansa Musa
A follower of Kwame Nkrumah
And a kinsman of Ahmet Sekou Toure
I am the native son of Gao
A fisherman of Lake Victoria
A Tuareg from the Sahara
I hailed from the cradle of life
I am the black in Panther
And this is really who I am, A black man.
In the bush the dancing begins early
Leather drums call from far and near.
Steady rhythms mark timed steps, and
Swahili is proudly spoken here; come
Join festive reveler from the village,
Flee to the running brook you see
Asante for being here...for being alive!
Listed #51 in Top 100 Poems
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March 23, 2021
Listed #61 in Top 100 Poems
on Poetry Soup
March 7, 2021
HONORABLE MENTION
Poetry Contest - All Poetry
sponsored by Kwame Cunningham
July 26, 2021
O' Mother Ghana
O' mother Ghana, how proud am i to be your grand son
My skin so black from the burn of the sun
For a woman to head a country shows your bravery
You won us our freedom from our colonial masters during the slavery
You are a brave African black beauty
Even at the age of sixty
Your red,yellow,green and black wrapper makes you look bold
How can you go hungry when you farm cocoa and mine gold
Despite your bravery,you are known world wide as a mother of peace
Whiles other parents are still struggling for peace
O' mother Ghana, embrace us with your warm loving heart
Your African cultures will forever dwell in our hearts
Gone were the days when those masters called you Gold Coast
Now you are an independent woman and with that you can boast
You first son the brave intellectual Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
And your handsome and beautiful grand children Kofi and Ama
You serve as with Banku with grinded pepper,Fufu with Groundnut soup and other delicious meals
We love you mother Ghana
May you live long O mother Ghana.
THE MAUSOLEUM OF ALL
Africa is the burial chamber of many,
Millions of men and women rested in peace,
The deepest hole full of important bones,
The bones of *****sapiens are in the graves.
It is the cradle of humankind.
Africa the sepulcher of our ancestors,
“Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela, Emery Patrice
Lumumba, Julius Kambarage Mwalimu Nyerere,
Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame Nkrumah, Samora
Moises Mashel, and Prince Louis Rwagasore.”
Africa! The black coffin for all dies in Africa.
Africa the mausoleum of humanity,
I wish to be buried in Africa only,
The angels are walking free in Africa,
The guardians are guarding the graveyards
Day and night.
Africa! My last resting place, your burial place,
Our burial chamber
The last resting place of many kings:
“Shaka Zulu, Haile Sellasie, pharaohs, Samore
Toure, Mswati II, Tenkamenin, Mansa Musa,
Sundiata Keita, Oba Ewuare, Sonni Ali, Osei
Kofi Tutu, Sumanguru kante, Ngongo lutete,
And Ezana Axum.”
Africa! The mausoleum of many messenger-
Prophets:
“Isaiah Mloyiswa Mdliwamafa Shembe, Simon
Kimbangu, and Jean Mwambi Mulaya Kadima.”
You are our grave, oh Africa.
All will pass there.
By Alfonso II Warally. Chris
The King is dead and Malcolm too;
Those who are left include me and you.
Now is the time brother, what shall we do?
The Black Power Stokley left behind
Is gone into decline; faded away—
No one remembers Kwame Toure.
Pass the White House today.
You know what they say:
“The more things change,
The more they stay the same way.
How strange.
We are back at the day of no;
Back to where they called our place.
They took the ‘yes’ out the day before;
Today we remain a struggling race.
Emerald time fades to onyx night
The yoking sun shines on the brave
Energizing ebony warriors of the fight;
Least we chose to die as a slave.
As strange as this all may seem,
Know these are not words of a dream.
The enlighten know what they mean;
Freedom remains to be redeemed.
To be or not to be is not the question.
Ours must remain total liberation—
Freedom awaits its full restoration;
Thirst of the children await its libation.
Aha! Where is Kwame Nkrumah?
Black-unity champion with cocoa-filled head whose
Calabash never misses palm wine for elders;
Departure to bliss not a reality, tell us why?
Everything must be done to wake up Patrice Lumumba
Freedom fighter for Zaire- the lion of the exploited
Gave your blood to water the tree of liberty,
Is truly the Martin Luther King of Africa,
Join us again, animate our spirit of struggle for liberty
Kambarage Nyerere, are you still praying for brotherhood?
Mouth dripping honey, soul pulsating love for all
New, healthy tomato in stained basket of governance
Open the door of freedom; Jump into the ring. No delay
People-powered Nelson Mandela, are you coming back?
Quartet member of the moving train of liberation
Recall that you’re the curative Aspirin of power-ache
Stronger than the cruel stones of Ruben Island
Time for Africa to fly away from Ruben Island
Unfortunately Ruben Island guards still arrest
Very many and paint them “Old boys of Mandela”!
Tides never stay
The sight of the beach is one that inspires thoughtfulness
A site of an ever surprising roaring calmness
And when the tides come ashore and ebb
It makes me wonder who is behind this life web
Suddenly I find myself here full of imaginations
Life still continues to mystify me
Its mixture of illusion and reality
A clash of catastrophe and harmony
My own consciousness and my being
And the knowledge of what is and what is to be
In the mist of all this I am forever lost
Cuz my mathematics and science have fallen short
And my fathers and grandfathers are all gone
But there is one thing I know for sure
That after the night will come the day
And when the tides come they never STAY
Kwame Duodu
Turning A Man
Lying on my back and staring on the wall thrusts me deeper into ceaseless thoughts
Thoughts of yesterdays and tomorrows that keep striking me back and forth
Mixed memories of where I have come from but not the bleakest vision of what lies ahead
And many responsibilities on my head now that I have grown a beard
The society is looking up to me, and the world is at my feet to conquer
Sadly, the bliss of childhood is over. And the baton of our fathers they hover
And I too realize that growing up was a trap
Cuz am stuck in this whole new world to unwrap
Now I know am a man, and the happy days as a child are only memories to relish
To play in the sand; bathed and be fed could only be a wish
I am on a new journey of my own, one that our fathers will soon disown
And when I look around I see nothing but Hope
An illusion that continues to say that I cannot fail
But suddenly I realize that I am the male
And not to succeed to me is a big Nay
Kwame Tweneboah Duodu
You have done quite
An excellent job
The day of rewarding will come
When all the records will be played
To the future generation
For fulfilling your pledge
To the people of this generation
You gave us inspiration
In you did we get our motivation
We come together as a nation
Even though we were just a people
We went astray
But look at us today
A lost people without a leader
But you brought us together
And gave us hope for the future
The source of every smoke
Is the fire
And a pleasant smell
From a flower
You liberated us and made us stronger
God bless you George Grant, RS Blay and Osagyfo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
Even though your foes
Undermine the fact that
You are a symbol of change
You are our new destiny
We will still live your legacy
You are men of integrity
We now have a dream
We have a theme
No matter what they say
We can now see the way
Like martin Luther king
Racism do not mean a thing
You fought for that which is right
So we can now see the light
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