Sun, 05 Aug 2012 Feature Article

To My Uncle Tarkwa Atta - A Tribute (16)

Today
has been
especially slow
and rather boring,
so,
naturally,
there isn't much
that is enlivening
to report
or talk about,
save that which
you already know –
and it is
the fact that
your exit continues
to be wildly relished
and celebrated
by the Shit-Bombers
in the dubious name
of grief;
in reality,
though,
they are still
savoring
your nonesuch
elephant-kill –
you guessed it,
rather than contritely use
their own chunky bit
of the faux-judgment debt
payola
from the Woyome Fund,
they decided to play
on the soft spot
of the people
by launching
a funeral donation
in your name –
funny though,
as yet,
nobody knows
how much
has been fetched
passing one of your
Stetson hats
down and
around
the aisles
of Makola and
Mallam-Atta
markets –
and yet,
mumps-face
Agyenim-Bee
was all over
the airwaves
pretending to thank
donors
in your name,
like a dead man
knows how to
cover his nudity
with a strip
of calico…
yes,
you guessed right,
once again,
uhuh,
the Stinking Cowhide guy
was at it again,
smooth-operating
scumbag,
he has no idea
how many cadgers
have been passing
your Stetsons around;
and he couldn't
care less,
though he believes
out of the goodness
of the hearts
of the self-anointed
cadgers,
the correct number
shall be known
by the close
of the day…
fat chance,
like he just arrived
in town –
and boy
didn't he just
arrive in town…
he thinks
this whole damn thing
is a Cubano fiesta;
well,
I am not
buying it…
after all,
wasn't it this same
Mister Stinking Cowhide
who collaborated
with Jato-Patapaa
to put the state's
prime realty
and factories
on the auction block,
and gifted
the cannery
on the cusp
of my ancestral land
to Jato's wife
in the dubious name
of divestiture,
legalized plunder,
that is…
and so
the probity and
accountability
and house-cleaning
scam
goes on,
and there is
no telling
where it is apt
to end,
for there is
no kite
in sight
in the sky,
and none
of the aggrieved
and bereaved
are spoiling
for a fight…
8/5/12

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.

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To My Uncle Tarkwa Atta - A Tribute (16)

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