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!
6 comments:
Mariska, this poem leaves one speechless! Beautiful, emotional, exhilarating, reflective, dynamic! Like we wld say in school, Ghana dey be!!
wow... this is just ...im speechless!
my goodness! i v been up all night tryin to put words together to describe ghana but i just cant get it like you do. this is wonderful
Selasi, thanks, befitting for 6th March eh - I really do love Ghana
Thank you for sharing. I would like your permission to use this poem for my class. Once again a BIG THANK YOU!
Wonderful, Mariska! Uplifting!
Janine Canan, USA
JanineCanan.com
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