Prof. Atukwei Okai is one of the greatest poets in Ghana and Africa. He is associated with the trail blazer for performance poetry in Ghana and Africa at large. He has several poems to his credit, popular amongst them include “Logorligi Logarithm”, “999 Smiles” and “Rosimay”. Sad news of his death came on Friday, 13th July, 2018, after short illness. He died at 77.
This poem was influenced by two of his poems— “The Africa” & “Rosimaya”
Poem:
Just as you are, just as you are,
You struck our Friday
With sorrow, kept our Saturday with tears & wails
And sunk our Sunday unto its feet
So let crying women cry
And our sobbing men continue to sob;
You are our fallen king,
You are our fallen hero!
Just as you are, just as you are,
You liberated this genre
Of ours from its shackles, lit it up with your flame on stage
And opened up its door to all
So let crying women cry
And our sobbing men continue to sob;
You are our fallen king,
You are our fallen hero!
Just as you are, just as you are,
You raised a valley
Into an ancient mountain of pride & created a sacred
Shrine for it in this land, our motherland
So let crying women cry
And our sobbing men continue to sob;
You are our fallen king,
You are our fallen hero!
Just as you are, just as you are,
You are the logorligi
Logarithm between Shakespeare & Einstein
And you’re the Creator & still the Created
So let crying women cry
And our sobbing men continue to sob;
You are our fallen king,
You are our fallen hero!
Just as you are, just as you are,
You have crossed the last
Phase of this eclipse into a new sunrise & yet, eternalised
Your presence here amongst mortals
So let crying women cry
And our sobbing men continue to sob;
You are our fallen king,
You are our fallen hero!
Just as you are, just as you are,
From Timbkutu to Accra
From Freetown to Abuja & from Moscow to all,
You still remain a wonder talisman in the shrine of this art & act
So let crying women cry
And our sobbing men continue to sob;
You are our fallen king,
You are our fallen hero!
Just as you are, just as you are,
Master Weaver of words
Ancient sound of rhythms
Master Cast of the ever resurrected stage
Though your crossing
Of the veil of darkness brings grief
To our hearts &
Pools cloud of tears in our teary eyes,
That you lit the flaming light
Before this night,
We gather in dust & in spirit to ferry you
Into the new life
So let crying women cry
And our sobbing men continue to sob;
You are our fallen king,
You are our fallen hero!
Just as you are, just as you are,
You are not yet dead
Tsofantse Kpentenkple;
You have only, in this light of night, faded
—into a new life
So,
Fare thee well
You, Legend of the Poetry Concerto,
Rest in power
Einstein of this genre of our boast!
Note: Tsofantse Kpentenkple: Ga phrase which implies “Great Medicine man”
Oswald Okaitei (c) | Oswaldokaiteye@gmail.com | The Poet is one of his mentees from same land of birth, Ghana.
