The Village Night

The darkness of the night

Gives way to darkened darkness.
The stories told around the fire
Now ride on the chariots of fleeing fireflies.
The stools are overturned
And the fires sleep under ashes.

The earthenware pot resting on the caresses of cunning cockroaches,
Savours the scent and holds tight to the slippery okro
Whose siblings now rest in the bossom of sleeping stomachs.
Giggles have turned snores.

That grow so tall but is assured of a fall at dawn.
The melodies of chirping birds give way to the chatter of crickets
Accompanied by the silent moos from the cattle in distant darkness.
The trees rest their arms and slumber along the night breeze

The moon smiles behind sleeping huts.

 

In the coziness of my queen size
I miss the warmth of the village mat.

©Lansah Lawrence
March, 2017.
lansah.wordpress.com

*Vain Size*

The silence of the tree
Is steady growth. No need
To groan so all do know
It’s root tighter now holds.

The voice of the drum
Travels far. Not by its size
But the melody of its tune.
The grain holds an atom’s might.
Yet in it lies multitudes
Of man’s grace. No food is shame.

Greatness lies in might.
Take heed not of size.

© Lansah Lawrence
Feb. 2017
lansah.wordpress.com

*At 60 , My Voice.*

 

On the everest of joy
And the malfeasance in freedom
I have railed the ways towards the dream
I lived within the womb of my colonial mother.

I am sixty and I am a man.
From the vibrance of a teenage
Amidst fouls of youthful curiosity
And challenges of menopaused wives,
I have raised the children we bore.

Posterity be my judge.
The father I am is not perfect
But I will be perfect a father
To fill the bellies of my offsprings
And dress them with lasting smiles
Not in pauses. I know.

So I am sixty and growing
If I did better, more would I be glowing
But as long as you keep me alive
I shall not waver on my rail to every father’s dream :
The best for his children.

I could blame times I was in pieces
But no!! I urge, just keep me with peace.

 

© Lansah Lawrence

March 6, 2017.

 

*Black Maiden*

Your shadow speaks elegance Oh Fairy !
In the gleam of the rising sun
You stroll briskly towards the dam in glowing yawns
Awakening sleeping butterflies.
Your waist beads chatter in glittering spikes
That brews sparkling confidence
Sending strong signals of streaming supremacy over savouring strangers.

You walk with the rythm of fairies
And grace the sands on the paths to bouncing rivers.
The birds sing worship melodies to your lobes
And the dews leave the leafs to prey the moist of your skin.
Oh fairy , take a pause so the breezes may sigh a moment
From their service to your lungs the freshest air.

Your body is proof of the beauty of Africa
Your smile is the wealth beneath her rivers and seas
You are the emblem of her pride
And the mother of her children
Oh Fairy, clothed in the beauty of black.

Grace more the lands with pride and honour
Teach your child the wealth of your colour.

© Lansah Lawrence
March 2017.
lansah.wordpress.com