Sun, 19 Jul 2009 Feature Article

The Obama Serenades XII

In Kenya,
it has been
raining blood,
raining blood
all over the land;
in Kenya,
after the latest
bath of blood,
our kinsfolk
still wrangle
over the package
of blame;
in Kenya,
they dourly
pass the blame;
in Kenya,
blame is
being passed
around
like salt-shaker
at dinner…

the people's reps
can still
not decide,
and so
they pass
packages
of blame
endlessly
round and
around like
a merry-go-
round;
the Nile
is red
with the blood
of my kin…

some say
the people's reps
are squarely
to blame,
some say
it is they
that are most
at fault,
which is why
their fingers
are still
stuck in
their
pant-
pockets,
you would think
they were
either
digging
for diamond
or gold…

in Nairobi,
it's been raining
blood
cats-and-dogs
all over
the land;

in Kisumu,
seedlings
no longer
sprout
and locusts
swarm
the land…

alas,
it is
the peacemaker
who is
being blamed,
the peacemaker
from the placid
land of
the moon,
the peacemaker
from the great
kingdom
of gold,
the peacemaker
whose head
they nearly
clubbed…

the villains
had prayed
to abscond
with the scourge,
till justice
grabbed them
rudely
by their scruff
and crotch;
and now
the villains
are crying foul
and plotting
mischief…

inside
a big
brown
box
decked
with a
ribbon are
printed
in red
the names
of those
who must
defray
the cost
of this
bloody
scourge…

alas,
the land
has lost
its once
storied
verdure;
no longer
do corn stalks
bear the sweet
teeth of
the harvest
gods,
their silken tassels
having been
burned
to dust
and ashes
by the sun…

still,
the peacemaker
insists
blame
for the bloody
rains must be
swept up
into neat
sheaves
and
equally
shared
with
remorse…

7/15/09

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., PhD, taught Print Journalism at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City, for more than 20 years. He is also a former Book Review Editor of The New York Amsterdam News.. More He holds Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude) in English, Communications and Africana Studies from The City College of New York of The City University of New York, where he was named a Ford Foundation Undergraduate Fellow and the first recipient of the John J. Reyne Artistic Achievement Award in English Poetry (Creative Writing) in 1988.

The author was part of the "socially revolutionary" team of undergraduate journalists at City College of New York (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY), who won First-Prize certificates for Best Community Reporting from the Columbia University School of Journalism, for three consecutive years, from 1988 to 1990.

Born April 8, 1963, in Ghana; naturalized U.S. citizen; son of Kwame (an educator) and Dorothy (maiden name, Sintim) Okoampa-Ahoofe; children: Abena Aninwaa, Kwame III. Ethnicity: "African." Education: City College of the City University of New York, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1990; Temple University, M.A., 1993, Ph.D., 1998. Politics: Independent. Religion: "Christian—Ecumenist." Hobbies and other interests: Political philosophy.

CAREER: Ghana National Cultural Center, Kumasi, poet, 1979–84; Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, worked as instructor in English; Technical Career Institutes, New York, NY, instructor in English, 1991–94; Indiana State University, Terre Haute, instructor in history, 1994–95; Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY, member of English faculty. Participant in World Bank African "Brain-Gain" pilot project.

MEMBER: Modern Language Association of America, National Council of Teachers of English, African Studies Association, Community College Humanities Association.

AWARDS, HONORS: Essay award, Nassau Review, 1999.Column: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., PhD

Disclaimer: "The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect ModernGhana official position. ModernGhana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here." Follow our WhatsApp channel for meaningful stories picked for your day.

Comments

osabarima darko | 7/19/2009 3:08:00 PM

What is this nonsense about from the same out-of-hismind Ahootan Okoampah Ahoofe. What at all is he talking about. leave President Obama, JJ Rawlings, Dr Nkrumah and others alone and let them be free, you stupid okoampah and useless PhD holder. The PhD is no more respected among ghanaians of your type.

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The Obama Serenades XII

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