Deomba
Deomba (CO, atomic number 27) When the river speaks it whispers your name, when the earth sighs she heaves a body mother stutters when the tunnels inhale we hold our breath when they exhale the line on the…
Richard Afriyie
I’m a writer living in Portland, Oregon. I am a fan of writing, reading, and sports. I’m also interested in video games and music. You can view my portfolio with a click on the button above.
TASGUT BAS (Just Fall)
Tasgut bas (Just fall) To the child I have yet to hold, My heart stings knowing my first present to you was my absence. I never stop dreaming of holding you in these long nights. To look in your…
SABA-SABA
SABA-SABA I 31 killed in a nationwide protest. I reject the truth of what I see as smoke wafts into the heavens, rocks marching firearms in a protest against brutality, scars of corruption mapping the land and our bodies,…
Human Trafficking
FIVE DOLLARS I am not mine; I am Madam’s. She recounts how much I am worth five dollars every man I bed. A red dress hangs from these bamboo stems my life, my dreams, hang in merciless hands. I…
Human Trafficking: The Silent Conversation
When the BBC Africa Eye team released their exposé on Kenya’s Child sex trade in Maai Mahui, Kenya, on August 14, the Kenyan government labeled it as a hoax. In that same week, TV3 Ghana, a news agency and television…
FIHANKRA – SEE BEYOND THE COLOR
I am not white; I am black. You wouldn’t disagree with me if you saw me. You’d perhaps agree, ‘Of course, you’re black.’ But do you see what is beyond my black? What IS before my color? Unfortunately, we live…
‘AYA’ – FERN + Writing Tips
In poetry, since the foundation of the art itself, there has always been a constant struggle between the chaotic aspect of the art and the formal. The two Greek gods of poetry, Dionysus (the chaotic aspect) and Apollo (formal aspect),…
‘NAIROBI’ – BEHIND THE POEM
There is so much happening on the African continent that as a poet or writer who loves to write about Africa, would require multiple heads just to keep track. Sudan is on the brink of civil war, Cameroon is suffering…
FIHANKRA (ENCLOSED HOUSEHOLD)
Enclosed Household Published Poem Y3 firi ha yi ara, / (We are from here) y3re kc y’ankra / (We bid you no farewells) nanso y3 nua ne moaa. / (but we are your brothers) To the world before now let…
OWUO ATWEDEE (LADDER OF DEATH)
MaMa The last words you held under your breath, your husband came to see you in your restless sleep, you failed to mention you wore a painful longing to touch and to hold what you lost, a sweeping silence…