Fri, 09 Oct 2009 Feature Article

The Obama Serenades XIX

My Mother's Brother's Son

Today,
over crystal mugs
of beer,
you will broach
America's greatest
taboo;
today,
over roast beef
and potato chips,
two men and
a serpent
shall stir
the hornet's
nest…

I wish
the main course
were ripe
chili peppers
and alligator soup,
for it is an affair
of our badly
battered
national soul,
though the serpent
insists
against reason
it is all
about himself
and his fame
and fortune;
I wish
I could
concur
with the crook,
but heaven
is of greater
moment
to my soul…

today,
over beer,
roast-beef
and potato chips,
America's
original sin
will be mulled;
I am glad
I won't be there,
I am glad
I can't be there,
with prejudice
chocking truth
and past pains
preempting
the facts,
it's all too
predictable
nothing of heft
or moment
shall transpire,
save,
of course,
the ego-soothing
of a prodigal
brat…

son of my
mother's brother,
beware
of the company
you keep,
for all smiles
aren't about
friendship
or goodwill;
and remember
poor choice of
friendship
it was
that cost
the crab
its head…

son of my
mother's brother,
get this straight
once and
for all:
a burglar is
a burglar is
a burglar,
regardless
of time
and
place…

son of my
mother's brother,
beware
of the company
you keep,
the friendship
you publicly
profess,
for some friendships
are healing
while others are
killer cops…

a couple
of beers,
an image
smudged;
son of my
mother's brother,
beware of
the company
you keep…

7/30/09

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.

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.

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The Obama Serenades XIX

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