KONONGO KAYA

MAN

............. I don't love you any more
you've grown too fat
I don't like your hairstyle
... it looks like the back of a rat

MAN

............I don't love you any more
You are so boring
Its easier talking to a stranger
early in the morning

MAN

............I don't love you any more
you snore when you sleep
Even the food your cook
will make a starving man weep

WOMAN

...........I know you don't love me
so I will make a move
to find myself someone
who will get me in the groove

WOMAN

.............I know you don't love me
I don't love you either
I'll make my way today
to where the grass is greener

STRANGER

........I love you Woman,
would you be with me
I like the way you are full bodied
no thin girl has turned my head
nor made me feel so wanted

STRANGER.

.........I love you Woman
your hair is so pretty
I love the way you talk
and make my heart go flitty

MAN

...........WHERE ARE YOU WOMAN

You are mine

I love you I love you I love you
don't leave me for him
You can snore all you want
Your hair is the best
your body so nice and plump

WOMAN

.............GOODBYE KONONGO KAYA
You only want me because he wants me
You say you love me
but he loves me better
maybe next time you meet a Woman
you'll treasure her
and treat her better

(c) Mariska Taylor-Darko 2011

INNER SELF

Searching,

What am I?

Who am I?

Why am I?

Searching.

Created by the Omnipotent

I decided by I AM

Before the beginning of time

Created from no copy

The Mystical Magical Omnipotent

Chose me

Is She in me –?

I am in Her image because I am female

But is there a gender for Omnipotent?

The all powerful,

All seeing,

All understanding knows

Why?

What?

And who I am

But I am still searching

I try to live like my master original

To be good,

Kind,

Loving

Understanding,

Spiritual

And concerned about my other companions

Who are also created by the Omnipotent

Linking us like the bees to the pollen in the flowers

Like the streams link to the rivers that join into the sea.

Searching

My spirit hovers at night searching for answers as to who I am,

Why I am and what I am.

One day I will know

When I go to see the Omnipotent

Who will tell me why I was,

What I was and

Who I became

(c) Mariska Taylor-Darko 2011

The Chief

Nana Ahwew VII - Tufuhen of Abra Wiomoah - Abrah State - Central Region - Ghana

Fontomfrom, Fontomfrom
Nana oreba ooo Nana oreba ooo
The king sat on his throne
looked around at all that was his home
heavy is the head that wears the crown
the weight on the shoulders will wear him down
the spirit of the ancestors are with him
but he has to bring the spirit from within
to help in his rule
and protect his stool
and win the hearts and support of the people around
Nana tinase, Nana bre bre Nana bre bre
kete- kete- kete- pan

(c) Mariska Taylor-Darko 2011

Mini Mini Shoe Market

The sun was bright
It was hot and sticky
Market traders were out
Customers being picky
Suddenly in front of me
Fantastic colours appeared
Dazzling my eyes
I saw the trader whose
The road side shop was
Full of multi coloured shoes

Fruit Glorious Fruit by the roadside

The wonderful colourful fruit
designed to entice the eyes and mouth
calls out "buy me now"!

Rhythms of Poetry in Motion

My new poetry book is out - follow this link to order

The Sea Shore

Sitting by the sea shore when dusk was setting in and the tide ebbing out

Was a peaceful moment for me,

The sand was damp in between my toes

I could still feel the warmth occasionally

When the wind stilled and all I could hear was

The water gently slapping the rocks besides me

The sky was red, orange, blue and grey

A combination that was wonderful to see

The gulls flew low on their way home

And the boats had their sails down, gently sailing

In no particular hurry to get back, so it seemed

The thoughts I had then were peaceful ones

I just sat and absorbed in the beauty around me

The crabs and seaweed seemed intertwined and moved in unison

One going sideways on its own fee will

The other having no will of its own was rolled about

Whenever the sea rolled in and out

If only life could be so peaceful,

Instead we fight against the nature of life

And end up tearing each other apart

Instead of rolling together in unison

We fight and hate and destroy

The very things that we love

Every grain of sand told a story of ones life

The ups and downs the joy and sadness

But it was the feel of the sand between my

Toes that I would have loved to have as the feel

Of life in my hands, smooth, flowing gently with

No obstacles and lumps and just the breeze to

Slightly change its direction before it landed and joined

The sand lying beneath my feet.

Loneliness

It creeps on you without you realizing it

Loneliness

There may be so much going on around you but its there

Loneliness

The silence, which was once welcomed, now changes to

Loneliness

The wide bed, which once was enjoyed, now shouts

Loneliness

No one to chat to, no one to gossip to, no one to stop the

Loneliness

Friends may be around, may call, may laugh and joke but in the end it is still

Loneliness

No unexpected phone call, no whispers of ‘I love you’ only

Loneliness

No touch when no one is looking, no secret glance into my eyes, only

Loneliness

No answer to the call of ‘I need you’ no SMS to let me know that wherever you are, you are thinking of me only

Loneliness

Friends may declare love but love without commitment leads to loneliness

The loneliness of staring at the phone, looking out the window, enough to drive you into the deeper pit of loneliness

Why did you leave me alone?

Why did you have to go?

Why did it have to end?

Why did you leave me with such

Loneliness?

I lOVE GHANA

From the moment my feet touched the ground
The moment I heard the different sounds,
The heat that hit my face made me know
I’d found my place.
Every trip back to this country of mine
Makes me love it, in a way I can’t define.

The different shades of people,
The hustle in the street,
The reckless bus drivers,
The kaya girls in the street.
The food by the roadside,
The colours of the clothes,
The smiles in the faces of young girls
Carrying life giving water in colourful buckets.

The hot early morning sun
The chickens and goats all out to run,
Even the mosquitoes make music before they bite,
The smells in the air,
The sight of children playing without worries
And birds, all around in flight in some kind of hurry.

The music filled with life
The drums beating with powerful might,
The church bells a ringing
The night songs of Christian brethren
The mosque cries a calling
The hi fi’s loud and blaring
The crowds always cheering
The markets always bustling.

I love Ghana,
The solidarity when you mourn,
The companionship when you celebrate,
The shouts of good morning from strangers in the street
even when they were late and rushed off their feet.

Oh I love Ghana,
The country of rich culture,
Of Rich laughter,
Of Rich music
Of Rich tradition


I love Ghana,
The food so colourful,
The Palm soup rich red orange,
The Kontomre mysteriously green,
The Shito black as night,
The Gari yellow as the sun,
The Kokonte brown as earth,
How can you feel so blue
With colourful food that will overwhelm you.


I love my country Ghana
People of different cultures
Different tribes,
Different dialects,
Different lives,
All thrown together
In a great pot,
Intertwined like the roots of the neem tree.
Each passing through life like a pothole in the street,
Up down – in out, up down, up down.

I love my country Ghana,
A place with cultures old and new
Make up the national stew
Life surrounded by powerful hardworking women
The matriarchs alive and strong
The ones who continued from times long gone
Their influences always around, like the undercurrents of a river rolling along, never visible but strongly felt once encountered.

I love Ghana
The patience of the people queuing in long lines like millipedes
Lines for busses
Lines to vote
Lines for water
Lines to eat
Moving along with the shuffling of tired feet

I love my country Ghana,
The hustle,
The bustle,
The rhythms of life,
Pulsating along
I can’t live without my country Ghana

I love Ghana,
The sea so blue,
Sands so white,
Sun so hot,
Trees green and just right,
If I continue with this love of mine
I’ll talk on and on into the night….but

Oh how I love Ghana