Fri, 10 Aug 2012 Feature Article

To My Uncle Tarkwa Atta – A Tribute (29)

In spite
of my deep
sense of sadness
sorrow
and pain,
Uncle,
I think
it is about time
your grieving clansmen
and countrymen
and admirers
and lovers
allowed you
to find
eternal rest
peace
and quiet
for your soul…
such is
the beauty
of this life…
after all
the profuse
and tired
and unrecognizable
homage
from friends
and foes
alike,
it is time
to weigh anchor
while you still
have the wind
on your back
and behind
your sails…
alas,
Geese Park
is a rather
weird place
to find
eternal
rest;
still,
every patch
of earth
belongs to God,
every patch
of earth
is sacred
to God,
every patch
of earth
is the bosom
of God …
geese are not
particularly
neat critters
with whom
to share
space,
but they are
good company,
nonetheless,
particularly
when you soberly
reckon what brought you
this far and still
so close
to where
you might
have been;
not that
it really matters
anyhow,
for the lessons
are for us
left on this side
to learn
and right…
one cannot
transcend
one's strength
and fate,
one can only
wish for
success
and
love,
and both
of these
you appear
to have had
in a boom…
for our part,
we know
we have done
what we know
how to do best,
mourn our eyes
to the redness
of a black eye
and feel smug
and proud
about the same…
Uncle Tee,
there are foreign
diplomats
and leaders
and a
potentate
or two
among our ranks,
so your life
could not have
been all
in vain,
your deeds
could not have
been all
amiss…
there will be
legions
in wait
for you
on the other
side,
for yours
was a life
lived
to the fullest
of your
fate…
8/10/12

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

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To My Uncle Tarkwa Atta – A Tribute (29)

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