Fri, 27 Jul 2012 Feature Article

To My Uncle Tarkwa Atta – A Tribute (4)

You have become
the perfect mirage –
everybody is singing
your praises
so profusely,
you must begin
to wonder
if there are any more
truth-tellers left
in your wake…
of course,
we both know,
they are waiting
for your remains
to be laid
to rest,
and then the crude
and morbid cycle
of stone-throwing
shall begin
all over again –
such is the sorry state
and essence
of humanity…
they smile
in your face,
only to scowl
behind your back;
I,
for my part,
choose
to place you
where you squarely
belong,
a fairly deft
mix of
the good and
the not-so-good;
for inasmuch as
you generally meant well
to all
with whom
you ever dealt,
you also had
that mean streak
that silently snorted
at gauntlets thrown
by those whom
you least admired
and liked…
in spite
of all
your much-remarked
boyish smiles,
you still had
your fair share
of friends
and foes,
though you admirably
strained to mute
that dark and
all-too-human
aspect of
your mien –
you were not
particularly humble,
save that canine
version you so
deftly sported
on demand;
yet,
everyone
is now pretending
you always were
what we both know
you never to
have been –
I know
this is merely
a sly and
sardonic joust
at your most ardent
political
foe,
“rival” seems
like the more apt
term
to use…
of course,
we all know
you both used to be
good college buddies
once,
till push
came to
shove,
till it came down
to who deserved
to wear
the jeweled
crown,
wield the gold-gilt
shield and sword
of might…
then all hell
broke loose,
then all pretence
to politeness
dropped and
crumbled and
smashed to
smithereens…
and since might
has always been
reckoned right
and crowned
king,
public opinion
swung your way,
and your opponent
and loser
was named
your aggressor;
and so now
everybody is talking
about your
purported
humility,
almost as if
it matters more
than ability,
agility and
creativity…
not that you were
any woefully
lacking in any
of these
virtues –
the perfect mirage
in a moment
of great
thirst…
7/27/12

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., PhD, taught Print Journalism at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City, for more than 20 years. He is also a former Book Review Editor of The New York Amsterdam News.. More He holds Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude) in English, Communications and Africana Studies from The City College of New York of The City University of New York, where he was named a Ford Foundation Undergraduate Fellow and the first recipient of the John J. Reyne Artistic Achievement Award in English Poetry (Creative Writing) in 1988.

The author was part of the "socially revolutionary" team of undergraduate journalists at City College of New York (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY), who won First-Prize certificates for Best Community Reporting from the Columbia University School of Journalism, for three consecutive years, from 1988 to 1990.

Born April 8, 1963, in Ghana; naturalized U.S. citizen; son of Kwame (an educator) and Dorothy (maiden name, Sintim) Okoampa-Ahoofe; children: Abena Aninwaa, Kwame III. Ethnicity: "African." Education: City College of the City University of New York, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1990; Temple University, M.A., 1993, Ph.D., 1998. Politics: Independent. Religion: "Christian—Ecumenist." Hobbies and other interests: Political philosophy.

CAREER: Ghana National Cultural Center, Kumasi, poet, 1979–84; Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, worked as instructor in English; Technical Career Institutes, New York, NY, instructor in English, 1991–94; Indiana State University, Terre Haute, instructor in history, 1994–95; Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY, member of English faculty. Participant in World Bank African "Brain-Gain" pilot project.

MEMBER: Modern Language Association of America, National Council of Teachers of English, African Studies Association, Community College Humanities Association.

AWARDS, HONORS: Essay award, Nassau Review, 1999.Column: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., PhD

Disclaimer: "The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect ModernGhana official position. ModernGhana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here." Follow our WhatsApp channel for meaningful stories picked for your day.