A Son’s Song
The sweet songs had been replaced by Sad ones “How long will man worship greed?” I wondered “How many sacrifices will man present for cowries? Hope was lost, it had melted like shea butter bathed with our tropical sun I looked at the chains on our limbs, the loads on our shoulders And there was no doubt that some of our own had heart of stones “Don’t they have conscience at all?” someone whispered They had indeed, but it was black as coal and rotten with maggots We had become livestock being bargained for We had been turned into merchandise being sold and dragged away Our own people had betrayed us, they had destroyed us for guns and drinks Greed and love for power had driven them to befriend the corn silk haired men Their stomachs had turned them to deadly beasts, They had been able to devour our smiles and sold us to be used as donkeys on unknown lands “Will we ever sing sweet- melodies; can we even find our voices again? Our land had been looted, its children had been raped and its gold had been stolen I prayed to the ancestors, I yearned for salvation and I called for hope
And I had a response, I had an answer and it was the same old silence.
Esi Mensimah Eghan comes from Saltpond, a town in the Central Region of Ghana. When not writing, she either reads, sings, or cooks.
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