A singer of heart,
Heart from Africa,
Africa the Black Continent,
Chinua,
Chinua Achebe
The singer,
Singer
Hearing the vibes,
Vibes
And transmitting,
The heartbeat,
Heartthrob
Of Africa.
A singer of heart,
Heart from Africa,
The black Continent,
Hearing the music,
Music of life,
Song and dance
Oral and ethnic,
Breaking the ice
Of multi-culti
To record and codify
To be an African,
African singer of heart,
Heart,
Chinua,
Chinua Achebe.
Solitude,StillnessIs Jayanta,Jayanta MahapatraMuting down,PlayfulAnd frolicking,Piping down the valleys,Gliding past.
The mimic man mimicking the writersAnd rebuffing themWith his Pakistani wife, NadiraRebuffing the Indian writers.The gods of small things,Talking nonsenseWith regard to colonial and post-colonial perspectivesBut he denouncing multi-culti,As Europe is Europe, cannot be multi-culti,Taking his own stand.His mood and temper running highBut his Pakistani wife quelling his anger.Asking to keep calm and quiet,Extending a…
Made from mudAnd straw-thatchedWith the bamboosAnd haystacksDispersed overA hilly, wooded landscape.With the indigenous peopleSpeakingIndigenous dialectsTribal and ethnicAligning withDifferent geopoliticalAffiliations.
The flower which it had to outshineShone it not,The glow it had to spreadSpread it not.The flowers saw I them sprouting, bloomingAnd scattering over the forest tractJust anonymouslyBlooming and fading away,Scattering and falling overThe unknown paths,Leading to nowhere.Their beauty who to sing of,Their internal glow, external shine and the halo of beauty around,Who to sing…
The scavenger womenOn the short red-soiled wayGoing through the garbage heapGoing to dump the cans of human excretaSet over the wheelbarrowsDragged and pushed and drawn by themThe scavenger womenAnd I as a boy usedTo pass by speedilyAvoiding the foul smell and the green fliesHovering aroundBut they going to throw it out,Unload the dirt and soil…
The Hollow Men by T.S.Eliot,The Little Black Boy by William BlakeFor poetic inspirationAnd I looked up to in utter admiration.
