National Cleavage Day is here. Again!
Today, I hear, is officially NCD.
So here is a toast to this year's 'celebration'.
What should people wear to celebrate?
Dark glasses, I say!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Delimma Of A Middle-aged Orphan
1978
A besotted night
A full-blooded knight
A dutiful dame
A cherished game
9 moons
A birth
A child
A son
A man
In the footsteps of time
A tragedy
A cruelty
A mother's unscheduled exit
A breached heart
Having never grieved
Sits like a stone in the corridor of anguish
Days and nights in flight
Seasons passing in haste
Years going in and out without care
The other night
The precious knight
Falls into perpetual sleep
In the path of the unending exodus
Now
With all the architects gone forever
In this silent autumn
I ask of those still around
Where are the happy dreamers?
What do I do with these memories?
Where do we belong?
Here?
There?
Left behind
I feel so abandoned
A besotted night
A full-blooded knight
A dutiful dame
A cherished game
9 moons
A birth
A child
A son
A man
In the footsteps of time
A tragedy
A cruelty
A mother's unscheduled exit
A breached heart
Having never grieved
Sits like a stone in the corridor of anguish
Days and nights in flight
Seasons passing in haste
Years going in and out without care
The other night
The precious knight
Falls into perpetual sleep
In the path of the unending exodus
Now
With all the architects gone forever
In this silent autumn
I ask of those still around
Where are the happy dreamers?
What do I do with these memories?
Where do we belong?
Here?
There?
Left behind
I feel so abandoned
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Fields Of Puzzles
The cruel tricks that life ever plays
The games of chance he dearly frays
Perpetual winner he never vows
Glorious trophy ever in his paws
Trailing voices all around
Diminishing choices set abound
Tension
Contention
The valiant ones amongst them say
Hold sturdy for yet another day
Beyond the sighs the victory songs
Rays of hope on redeeming tongues
Sacrificial patience
Animated nations
Steely-eyed we crave some easing
Transcending limitations of feeling
This place where life feels so strange
Our lot has got to change
The games of chance he dearly frays
Perpetual winner he never vows
Glorious trophy ever in his paws
Trailing voices all around
Diminishing choices set abound
Tension
Contention
The valiant ones amongst them say
Hold sturdy for yet another day
Beyond the sighs the victory songs
Rays of hope on redeeming tongues
Sacrificial patience
Animated nations
Steely-eyed we crave some easing
Transcending limitations of feeling
This place where life feels so strange
Our lot has got to change
Friday, March 19, 2010
Contemporary Ghanaian Contrivances
Living outside the borders of Ghana, as I do, one of the few self-preserving delusions I allow myself to harbor and indulge in regularly is this puritanical and idealistic image of Ghana and Ghanaians-the feel-good this-type-of-sh*t-can-never-happen-in-Ghana lines, refrains and pretences Ghanaians so love to carry like a badge of honour.
Perhaps, like many a Ghanaian, I have developed an image of Ghana largely based on false idealism- a hollow concept that places Ghana on an impeccable pedestal of high moral excellence.
On many occasions, I have found myself comparing the Ghanaian way of life to those of other people, cultures and value systems and puffing out my chest proudly in the belief that our way, the Ghanaian way, is far superior. I have always contented myself - that Ghanaians are not criminally minded as others; that the cases of teenage pregnancies in Ghana is below the continental average even though I do not have the facts to support such an assertion; that Ghanaians are a breed of hard-working geniuses; that Ghanaian men do not rape their women and girls; that our education system is one of the best, if not the best in the whole continent; that Ghanaians are the most friendly and peace-loving people in the entire world. . . . .I suppose that I am referring to my own irrational assumptions of Ghanaian exceptionalism.
I am perfectly aware of the fact that Ghana is far from this idyllic picture of perfection I have chosen to believe in, however I cannot seem to bring myself to admit that the view I hold of Ghana, when outside, is outright naive, unreasonable and even deceptive. Call it patriotism, nationalism or whatever you like.
Every time I am in Ghana, my idealist views come into sharp confrontation with what pertains in the real world of today's Ghana. But as soon as I am outside Ghana's borders, guess what, the same idiosyncratic mindset creeps in. So today I want to dwell on some Ghanaians peculiarities for a change.
This preconceived Ghanaian 'superiority complex' has got to go.
To accept an image of Ghana which is totally different from the enormously deficient one I have been carrying, I believe, is the beginning of a therapeutic release from my self-imposed idealism. So? ? ?
Here are a few of my observations regarding the absurd contrivances we so cherish and love to pursue.
Our funerals
We are a bunch who love entertainment. So we even trivialise the funerals of our departed ones and turn what is supposed to be solemn moments into mindless occasions for parties, where all sorts of debauchery are not only permitted but encouraged with glee. How we love to lavish attention on the dead as supposed to the living! No wonder funerals are the primary occasions where families and communities come together. In many cultures, a funeral is short and simple-solely built around bidding farewell to the dead.Nothing more nothing less.
Our cultural mindset is the opposite. We are always looking back such that we place obscene value on what is dead and past and not enough focus on the future, on our children, our jobs and our dreams.
Perhaps, it is a symptom of our collective fear of the future? So we hold unto the past?
Valentine day celebrations
Not only have we embrace the vanities of other cultures but have jump into them head first. A case in point is the celebration of valentine day. We have managed to take it to levels previously unheard of any where else. Husbands leaving their wives at home and splurging on mistresses and other people's wives with wanton gifts they cannot afford, whilst their children walk around in tattered clothes. Misplaced priorities.
Sakawa
The get-rich-quick by-all-means phenomenon of sakawa is another contrivance in Ghana today. We have perfected the science of swindling other people of their hard-earned money for our selfish use.
We have become a society gripped by the urgency of 'having, using and enjoying' instead of one concerned with 'doing, creating and becoming'. And the sad reality is that nobody bothers any more to ascertain the source of people's wealth.
To us wealth is wealth irrespective of the source and the processes involved in its acquisition. That is why many Ghanaians never bother to learn and develop the habits, skills and the value systems needed to create wealth for ourselves and our communities.
Disregard for integrity
We are as vain as it gets. Most of us claim to be believers but our actions do not bear testimony to our faith. The idea of integrity is a foreign concept to most Ghanaians. Our own kith and kin do not brink when it comes to taking advantage of us. Comfort and convenience triumphs over integrity and accountability in our corner of the world.
And I think that we are not as awesome as we think we are!
Perhaps, like many a Ghanaian, I have developed an image of Ghana largely based on false idealism- a hollow concept that places Ghana on an impeccable pedestal of high moral excellence.
On many occasions, I have found myself comparing the Ghanaian way of life to those of other people, cultures and value systems and puffing out my chest proudly in the belief that our way, the Ghanaian way, is far superior. I have always contented myself - that Ghanaians are not criminally minded as others; that the cases of teenage pregnancies in Ghana is below the continental average even though I do not have the facts to support such an assertion; that Ghanaians are a breed of hard-working geniuses; that Ghanaian men do not rape their women and girls; that our education system is one of the best, if not the best in the whole continent; that Ghanaians are the most friendly and peace-loving people in the entire world. . . . .I suppose that I am referring to my own irrational assumptions of Ghanaian exceptionalism.
I am perfectly aware of the fact that Ghana is far from this idyllic picture of perfection I have chosen to believe in, however I cannot seem to bring myself to admit that the view I hold of Ghana, when outside, is outright naive, unreasonable and even deceptive. Call it patriotism, nationalism or whatever you like.
Every time I am in Ghana, my idealist views come into sharp confrontation with what pertains in the real world of today's Ghana. But as soon as I am outside Ghana's borders, guess what, the same idiosyncratic mindset creeps in. So today I want to dwell on some Ghanaians peculiarities for a change.
This preconceived Ghanaian 'superiority complex' has got to go.
To accept an image of Ghana which is totally different from the enormously deficient one I have been carrying, I believe, is the beginning of a therapeutic release from my self-imposed idealism. So? ? ?
Here are a few of my observations regarding the absurd contrivances we so cherish and love to pursue.
Our funerals
We are a bunch who love entertainment. So we even trivialise the funerals of our departed ones and turn what is supposed to be solemn moments into mindless occasions for parties, where all sorts of debauchery are not only permitted but encouraged with glee. How we love to lavish attention on the dead as supposed to the living! No wonder funerals are the primary occasions where families and communities come together. In many cultures, a funeral is short and simple-solely built around bidding farewell to the dead.Nothing more nothing less.
Our cultural mindset is the opposite. We are always looking back such that we place obscene value on what is dead and past and not enough focus on the future, on our children, our jobs and our dreams.
Perhaps, it is a symptom of our collective fear of the future? So we hold unto the past?
Valentine day celebrations
Not only have we embrace the vanities of other cultures but have jump into them head first. A case in point is the celebration of valentine day. We have managed to take it to levels previously unheard of any where else. Husbands leaving their wives at home and splurging on mistresses and other people's wives with wanton gifts they cannot afford, whilst their children walk around in tattered clothes. Misplaced priorities.
Sakawa
The get-rich-quick by-all-means phenomenon of sakawa is another contrivance in Ghana today. We have perfected the science of swindling other people of their hard-earned money for our selfish use.
We have become a society gripped by the urgency of 'having, using and enjoying' instead of one concerned with 'doing, creating and becoming'. And the sad reality is that nobody bothers any more to ascertain the source of people's wealth.
To us wealth is wealth irrespective of the source and the processes involved in its acquisition. That is why many Ghanaians never bother to learn and develop the habits, skills and the value systems needed to create wealth for ourselves and our communities.
Disregard for integrity
We are as vain as it gets. Most of us claim to be believers but our actions do not bear testimony to our faith. The idea of integrity is a foreign concept to most Ghanaians. Our own kith and kin do not brink when it comes to taking advantage of us. Comfort and convenience triumphs over integrity and accountability in our corner of the world.
And I think that we are not as awesome as we think we are!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
You Are Not Her Match!
It is said by those who really know their stuff that, a woman on an average day can spit out approximately 6000 words with ease.
This is a remarkable feat judging by the fact that most men can barely manage 2000 words in the same time span.
That means, in simple proportions, that for every word spoken by a guy, a woman is able to breathe out three effortlessly.
For most people this is a obvious fact of banal interest.
But it is a whole new ball game if you come to really grasp the implication of this gladiatorial advantage of the fairer sex.
The probability is: if your are a man, you will never be able to match your woman as far as the daily requirements for a healthy verbal self-expression is concerned. As quiet as she may appear on the surface to you, your woman's need for 'rich' conversations and communication is quite literally insatiable.
So it must become obvious to you that she will need verbal affairs.
So how do you make sure that this psychologically essential need of your woman is catered for? Simple. Introduce her to other women who are potential chatting mates.
Remember that, as a man, you are wired to meet only a third of her optimal need for interactive communication of the round, colourful and floral kind. And you know what? Your relationship will be better for it. That is a promise!
This is a remarkable feat judging by the fact that most men can barely manage 2000 words in the same time span.
That means, in simple proportions, that for every word spoken by a guy, a woman is able to breathe out three effortlessly.
For most people this is a obvious fact of banal interest.
But it is a whole new ball game if you come to really grasp the implication of this gladiatorial advantage of the fairer sex.
The probability is: if your are a man, you will never be able to match your woman as far as the daily requirements for a healthy verbal self-expression is concerned. As quiet as she may appear on the surface to you, your woman's need for 'rich' conversations and communication is quite literally insatiable.
So it must become obvious to you that she will need verbal affairs.
So how do you make sure that this psychologically essential need of your woman is catered for? Simple. Introduce her to other women who are potential chatting mates.
Remember that, as a man, you are wired to meet only a third of her optimal need for interactive communication of the round, colourful and floral kind. And you know what? Your relationship will be better for it. That is a promise!
Monday, March 8, 2010
A Big Fat Bigoted Loser
A demented bigoted bore
Cold-hearted and frozen to the core
Perched on a wall in the neighborhood
With a penchant for war against negrohood
Still living in the bubble of apartheid's pampered airs
He dishes out generous loads of unimaginable slurs
Those favoured with continental pigment are his stoke
Having lost his bread and butter to a melanin-rich bloke
Cold-hearted and frozen to the core
Perched on a wall in the neighborhood
With a penchant for war against negrohood
Still living in the bubble of apartheid's pampered airs
He dishes out generous loads of unimaginable slurs
Those favoured with continental pigment are his stoke
Having lost his bread and butter to a melanin-rich bloke
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Advice For The Scared and The Shy
It takes just a second, two or perhaps three
- to smile
- to wink
- to wave
- to say Hi
- to hold my hand
- to squeeze a hug
- to plant a kiss
- to look into my eyes
- to let me know I stand a chance
- to whisper your salient point
- to say I love you
There are 86 400 seconds in a day and over 31 536 000 in a year.
So what are you waiting for?
You will never know until you try.
Do it now.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Contesting Realities
On this side of the political wasteland
The real unending terrain of utter depravity
Sustained purely by auspicious idealism
In a world of
Unfettered neighbourliness
Obscene warmth
Colour
Culture
Humanity
Great Friendships
Genuine selflessness
Gifts of beautiful smiles
And little else
But chronic anger
At
That side of the divide
The mundane world of the privileged
Inhabited by sub-souls devoid of ubuntu
Driven by rat race persuasions
The neo-apartheid world of heartless realism
With their
Cocooned spaces
Celebrated self-imprisonment
Emotional coldness and distances
Personalised boundaries and walls
Obscene consumerism
Incorrigible selfishness
Rotten personalities
Disdainful attitudes
Repulsive glares of wanton animosity
And mulish conformity
Having tasted the free lunch of the looted kind
They want more
And more
Now they have forgotten how to be human
How did these ordinary folks become such utter degenerates?
Letting themselves go so far
Becoming slaves in a world of no return
I dread a monumental collision of these contesting realities
Is there a way out?
The real unending terrain of utter depravity
Sustained purely by auspicious idealism
In a world of
Unfettered neighbourliness
Obscene warmth
Colour
Culture
Humanity
Great Friendships
Genuine selflessness
Gifts of beautiful smiles
And little else
But chronic anger
At
That side of the divide
The mundane world of the privileged
Inhabited by sub-souls devoid of ubuntu
Driven by rat race persuasions
The neo-apartheid world of heartless realism
With their
Cocooned spaces
Celebrated self-imprisonment
Emotional coldness and distances
Personalised boundaries and walls
Obscene consumerism
Incorrigible selfishness
Rotten personalities
Disdainful attitudes
Repulsive glares of wanton animosity
And mulish conformity
Having tasted the free lunch of the looted kind
They want more
And more
Now they have forgotten how to be human
How did these ordinary folks become such utter degenerates?
Letting themselves go so far
Becoming slaves in a world of no return
I dread a monumental collision of these contesting realities
Is there a way out?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Deluged With Delight
There is something
To be said about a happy heart
In my dream the other day
I was walking alone on this path
Unsure
Confused
Then
From within I heard it clear
The lucid voice saying
Sing a song
Hype a ballad
Give voice to your heart
Suddenly
Hymns of contentment flowing
I am standing in million circles of desire
Being baptized with favours I require
Soaked with fresh appetite for adventure
I am feeling empowered to venture
And so I run
And run
On
And on
And I begin to soar
Higher
And higher
My heart deluged with delight
I am in a happy space
* Wish me well*
To be said about a happy heart
In my dream the other day
I was walking alone on this path
Unsure
Confused
Then
From within I heard it clear
The lucid voice saying
Sing a song
Hype a ballad
Give voice to your heart
Suddenly
Hymns of contentment flowing
I am standing in million circles of desire
Being baptized with favours I require
Soaked with fresh appetite for adventure
I am feeling empowered to venture
And so I run
And run
On
And on
And I begin to soar
Higher
And higher
My heart deluged with delight
I am in a happy space
* Wish me well*
The Picture Of Love
Last night
On the way to bed
I looked at the picture on the wall
Was greeted by the satisfaction in your eyes
And arrested by the redeeming contours of your smile
And desire summoned me to your side
This morning
As you slept by my side
I stole a glance at the picture on the bed
The way you like to curl up beside me
Even in prosaic sleep you exude angelic charm and grace
Engraving the picture of contentment upon my heart
Thanks for the picture of love
Your love
On the way to bed
I looked at the picture on the wall
Was greeted by the satisfaction in your eyes
And arrested by the redeeming contours of your smile
And desire summoned me to your side
This morning
As you slept by my side
I stole a glance at the picture on the bed
The way you like to curl up beside me
Even in prosaic sleep you exude angelic charm and grace
Engraving the picture of contentment upon my heart
Thanks for the picture of love
Your love
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