_____TALES FROM THE VILLAGE ROOM_____

On the ”apram” I sit
In the dark with ”bobo” around
To fill my book with the ”nt3kyer3”
And the ink
To smile of woven words____

Some human are encircled
In a corner and surround the ”mukyia”
Which spreads its wings
And flames high to give light
Where the old woman recites her ”ananses3m”____

”abaayewa” bi so gyina h)n nky3n
With a baby swaddled in ”kraada”_____

The ”3koo” paints the story of ”3kurase abrab)”
On the wall of my ear drums______

So I bend to spit the tales from the village room
And this is what I see::
From the wardrobe_____
Children burry the stones
On the ground with their bare foots
”Ak)kon” dances in the ”be33kwee”
Inspiring the fire to paint the pot black_____

From this parade
Many emanated to graduate
From the village room whence they showed me ”akaw”
Yes! And ”bor3dze a,h)n atoto ho”____

Birds sing in the forest
And the rippling flow of the rivers
Dangles in their souls_____

They dance to the tunes of their ancestors
And feel safe in their mokes____

The farmer glues not his eyes
To dry his cloth
But the cocoa to survive
When the ant pulls the goods to the ground
It then dances to the rythms
And the sounds
Of famine____

Adze rekye,adze resa no
Nna nkusi na akrantse
H)nho akyer h)n
Nny3 h)n bia
Na mbom,3kurase abrab)!

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Kofi Acquah

apram=a bamboo made bench in the village
bobo=a type of lantern used in the village to give out light made from a tin
nt3kyer3=feathers
Mukyia=a local object for cooking made from clay
Ananses3m=ananse story
Abaayewa bi so gyina h)n nky3n=a lady stands besides them
Kraada=white kalico
3koo=parrot
3kurase abrab)=village life
Ak)kon=a kind of meat gotten from a dead palm tree
Be3kwee=a kind of soup made from kontomire and coconut
Akaw=cocoyam boiled without peeling it
Bor3dze a h)n atoto=a roasted plantain