Homesick
Leaving my dear country made me sad, made me miss all that was worth remembering the food like foutou the food like attieke the food like aloko. Leaving my African country made me mourn, made...
Poems
Poetry and verse from young voices
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Leaving my dear country
made me sad, made me miss
all that was worth remembering
the food like foutou
the food like attieke
the food like aloko.
Leaving my African country
made me mourn, made me long for
the people like the Baoule
the people like the Senefou
the people like the Dan.
The first shaft of luminous light
travels, its speed unthinkable
Over the horizon, through the trees,
And into my open eyes.
Birds hop about, like people,
Trying to find a good
Perch, branch, position
In life. Satisfied, they begin their
Throaty chorusing, declaring
only the best.
Buzz!
The familiar sounds of bees pierce my ears
As I lay on the dewy morning grass.
Sprawled next to me is Tessa,
My younger sister,
Doodling with her favorite crayon.
"Tickle Me Pink,
Isn't that a funny name?" I ask.
Squish!
I roll over to hear her reply, and
Stubbles of the freshly mowed grass stick to my back.
Giving me her naive face she answers,
"What color is your heart?
The wind caresses my hair
As I grasp the tiller,
The direction of the sail in my hands.
I watch the dazzling turquoise water
Splash up against the boat,
And glance up at my grandma's magnificent face.
"Am I doing OK?"
She answers with a smile and a wink.
I feel so good,
With the seagulls flying all around me,
And the warm summer sunshine
Beating on my bare back.
The first shaft of luminous light
travels, its speed unthinkable
Over the horizon, through the trees,
And into my open eyes.
Birds hop about, like people,
Trying to find a good
Perch, branch, position
In life. Satisfied, they begin their
Throaty chorusing, declaring
only the best.
Standing on a stretch of glossy rocks
lumps of mussel shells
adorned with seaweed
advance forward into my grasp.
Murky greens color the water
in shady reflections,
the thought of wind and shadows
combined.
There is no divider for sky and sea
they are intertwined
like ivy leaves around each other.
Pure, dazzling white
Miles of ice
blend with
miles of snow and
snow-covered rock
which can be deadly if you
don't know where to look
A solitary climber
winds
his way up this mountain
stopping only now
and then
to adjust his tinted
snow goggles
This high up
he almost feels ill
overwhelmed by the sheer
altitude of this mountain
which he has come to love
in a way
as his own
the altitude of his mount...
The fields are a wonder in summertime:
Midnight black like the sky,
With twinkling lights like stars.
What are those lights?
Hundreds of fireflies flittering about,
Tiny and so nimble.
Their lights shine on and off,
Making the field like shiny sequins,
Like moonshine dancing off the sea.
There are scattered
wildflowers
wilting among the coarse grass.
Solitary
deer
graze on prickly
stems.
Birds gossip
in the branches
of
dead
oak trees.
Sunlight casts a
dappled
shadow
onto the
hard
dirt.
And the wind
whispers
secrets to me
over the
bent
corn.
At first glance, only shadows
Only wisps of black knitted into
The patchwork quilt of springy turf
Where magic warms the notes of moon's music,
Light playing upon scruffy T-shirt and shorts,
Hair swirling, legs
Twirling,
Hoping to gather treasure in her net
Then out of dark and fresh-lain night:
A tiny little bead of light
Up, up swoops the net with arms raised high
And the balls of bare feet ju...