samedi 27 février 2010

IN THE NAME OF LOVE

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

She was at the torchlight procession
Not out of conviction
But out of a desire to contradict the old man
That`s why she came carrying a peacock
Instead of the legendary swastika.

She wasn`t moved by the recession
Price hikes having meant nothing but falsification
That`s why she decided if she must ram
She must first of all call Bangkok
The missing link was the new basilica.

Copyright 2010

vendredi 26 février 2010

OUR NATION, THE BELL AND THE CAT

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

The economy is in a shambles
Interest rates have soared
Inflation has skyrocketed
Purchasing power has dropped
The exchange rate is unfavourable
And the balance of trade doesn`t favour us.

And what are our leaders doing about it?
They are feeding themselves fat daily
They are playing snakes and ladders
And pouring champagne on the protruded bellies of concubines
Meanwhile thousands die each day from AIDS or malaria
And poverty, and misery and famine and ignorance.

This country needs a change of direction
We need a new vision
We need new mean and women who are clean outside and inside
We need leaders who`ll want to give something and take nothing
We need leaders prepared to sacrifice it all for the nation
Their name, their families, their honour, their very lives.

That`s who we need
But who will bell the cat?
Please, step forward
Stand up and be counted!


Copyright 2010

VALENTINE SONNET FOR TWO

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

My door is slanted and lacks a front view
It isn`t Baroque or macabre
But it`s poetic enough
I reserved it for Sweet Laura
The day she will finally come calling.

On that day with plenty of stew
We shall forget about all the iron doors coated with rubber
The only thing that will count is our complexion so tough
She can have what she wants, even a sauna
Does the taste of the pudding not lie in the eating?

copyright 2010

COMPLICITY OVER A SHILLING

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I am heavy-handed
Yes, I agree
But I`m not a finished Sicilian
So if you came looking for Paul`s lost diary
Well, it`s not here, at least not now.
The only thing you can find here is
The old and obsolete shilling
Grand Pa brought back from the war.
Do you want it?

Copyright 2010

THE NO-GO AREA

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I am not a goal post
Neither am I a dust bin.
I am simply tonight`s golden host
All I ask is that you take your sheens in.

copyright 2010

dimanche 21 février 2010

ONE FOR THE TAYONG DYNASTY

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

(For Maxyne)


They were the two-some duo
In together like the couple next door
Out together like the Joneses of old
Who shopped at Oxford Street every week.

Typical earth signs that they both were
They measured each pace with precision
And each word with empirism
So that nothing was wasted.

From my watchtower
I recorded every move, like a scientist
The restless locks of Maxyne
Those intrusions she kept throwing back.

What a cute figure to behold
Nature’s masterpiece flashed at me
A pearl, no! A rare gem not to let go
God’s gift to the world, right here at Dolce.

What a linguistic mix, Mbatu and Alahtening
Now Molière’s, now the Queen’s
Impeccable, distinct, not languages in contact
What a rare breed? Or is it some Texan hybrid?

From my cradle, two tables away
I get absorbed in the angelic glances
Wonderland, so near, yet so far
Yet, here where I am, I’m engaged.

But is this real, or am I dozing off?
I hope it’s not history repeating itself
So that tomorrow I hear another tale
Of a gendarme, the beauty and the gun shot?

Right now, though, there’s no turning back
I have crossed the Rubicon
So, come what may, the ship will sail on
Albatross or no albatross

Pulling myself together, I camp and wait
Wait for the moment I’ll break free
Break free and fly to this foreign land
Where all that glitters is gold.

Weary of waiting, I decide to jump
For, a Tayong does not wait for things to happen
No, he goes out and makes them happen
That’s why I break the ice with the one present.

This was not despair because being Voltaire’s optimist
I knew the moment would surely come
And it did, without the grass growing under my feet
It came when I heard the toilet flushed.

mardi 16 février 2010

HEART OF THE MATTER


(By Tikum Mbah Azonga)


This is no cluster
It`s only a plaster
Or if you like, a platter
Ferried quickly by the Fon`s potter.

Men don`t lose their way
Because they know what next to say
But those called Gray
Are the ones whose wings must be clipped daily.

Copyright 2010

A RARE GEM

By Tikum Mbah Azonga
(For Claudia)

I saw her again yesterday
It was on Planet Boston
As usual she was exuberant and radiant
One would think the sun had come down
Right down here in one swoop
Just for her like the man from the East.

Something inexplicable draws me to her daily
I hardly know what to make of the communion
Perhaps it`s just auras at a high gradient
Her charm is in itself a big crown
Just for her I`ll tie my own silver loop
So that after dinner we can start the feast.


Copyright 2010

NO ONE`S FOOL

(By Tikum Mbah Azonga)

I`m not your pear tree
Am I even a tree?
So no early morning birds for me
At all times I`ll stay put on my knee.

You can go on with your merry-go-round
I don`t care whether it`s a penny or a pound
As long as the peg`s holes are round
There will be no one around to hound.

Copyright 2010

mercredi 10 février 2010

LA DERNIERE VALSE

Par Tikum Mbah Azonga

Les vers de soie
Les mêmes que j`ai pourchassés
Sont de retour
Ils ont fait un retour en force
Tu vois donc que tout n`est pas vanité.

Du coup, j`ai hurlé
Croyant les envoyer en enfer
Mais hélas
Comme j`avais le cœur en folie
Les lampions se sont éteints aussitôt.

Copyright 2010

ARC-EN-CIEL

Par Tikum Mbah Azonga


Mon Dieu, que c`est beau!
Cet univers de fers de lance
Ce corps symétrique et architectural
Ce ciel blanc comme l`ange
Cet arbre a multiples branches !

Comme ton royaume est infini
A défaut de la dernière danse
Epargne-moi de l`arrêté préfectoral
Remplace-moi au bureau de change
Et surtout laisse-moi terminer ma dernière tranche.

Copyright 2010

mardi 9 février 2010

IMPERIAL PRESCRIPTION

(For Cynthia)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

A fresh and healthy person
That’s what this world needs
It’s not a magic wand
Neither is it any elixir or panacea
We need a wholesome person
One who can command and be obeyed
One who can humiliate endemic corruption
One who can reset the chiming clock
And above all, one who can stand the test of time.

We four huddled up here have every reason
To undo the queen’s pleats
But we must swear by the new brand
Despite what was written by the overseer
What we dread most is treason
Because that is justice delayed
Civil service uprightness must come by compunction
Otherwise our efforts will be thwarted by a block
That’s why between vinaigrette and lime, I choose lime.

Copyright 2010

RECIPE FOR THE PRIEST

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I like coral reefs
But I prefer sea urchins cooked raw
I don’t mind Chinese chicken soup suey
Forget about the budget lines
And the semester long sessions.

I don’t cherish stagnant creeks
They creak, smell and refuse to thaw
So once the Lord Mayor says his wife is Sue
Call up the journalist Winsome Hines
And fetch the priest for the final intercession.

Copyright 2010

THE WAY FORWARD


By Tikum Mbah Azonga


Suspend the semester
Take off your boots
And send in your resignation letter
Do it, if that is what you must do.

If you want a barrister
First of all hire two Akum cooks
Ask them for basketsful of nectar
And by all means, set a table for two.

Copyright 2010

COSMIC ISLAND


By Tikum Mbah Azonga


There’s a tiny lake nearby
It protrudes like the hanging gardens of Babylon
It isn’t the Barombi or the Nyos
Neither is it the journeyman of Hindustan.

But it’s all defined by Hornby
And confirmed by politician scientist Dr. Baninlon
The place is a replica of the cosmos
And it makes me dream of the horsemen of Tajikistan.

Copyright 2010

DANCING IN THE VACUUM

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

He clapped each time I spoke
Goldfish twisting and algae weeping
Over there, drowsy looking seals mocking us
For once, I felt I was, guess who?
Another Mobutu in the making.

At the eleventh hour when day broke
And new born babies were still sleeping
He picked up his pocket-size radio and without fuss
He stepped out and ordered dinner for the new
That’s why all alone, I stand here chaffing.

Copyright 2010

lundi 8 février 2010

DIVINE VISIT

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

(For Prof Daniel Duprey who taught me La Linguistique Générale at the University of Besançon in France)

God came to my place last night
Accompanied by Professor Daniel Duprey
And his retirement papers
Stragely enough, the prof didn`t carry Melcuk
Nor Benveniste
Nor Jakobson.

In eighteen years, he hasn`t changed if I`m right
For fear of picking up the wrong ray
The Virgo man hasn`t wavered by one iota
He moaned about unfairness of life and Kirkuk
Especially as they called someone "arriviste"
But Prof had the latest edition of Ibsen.


Copyright 2010.

BAD MEMORIES

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

This old place
This same old place
Is hell on earth
For anyone who has seen a hearth.

It`s not about race
Nor about the pastor`s disgrace
It`s about Christs`s birth
And man`s rebirth.

Copyright 2010

SOS CALL

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Call the doctor
Or the fireman
Or the ambulance
Or even the baker
Call someone.

Ring and tell the rector
Tell him the registrar has gone to Bafmen
But without falling into a trance
What he took along was the figure, `One`
And a sandwich for the bursar
In order tobe the number one.

Copyright 2010

TELL TALE SIGN

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I knew you`d come
It couldn`t have been otherwise
The priest`s altar bird told me so
The town crier posted it on the Council wall.

Copyright 2010

ONE WEIGHT, TWO MEASURES

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

That`s too small
Try again
But mind the rain
In order to break free, walk tall.

copyright 2010

THE CROWNLESS JEWELS

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Jewels aren`t anything at all
They`re too loose and too wily
Don`t think it`s about fashion
No, it`s about passion.

copyright 2010

samedi 6 février 2010

QUESTIONS TO MY LOVED ONE

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I run a risk
A big risk and I know it
It is the risk of falling in love with you
I don’t love in halves
I love totally, completely and utterly
It is all or nothing
I love with all my being
When I love
I forgo myself
I retreat and send my loved one forward
I no longer exist
I decrease so that she may increase
If I live, I live for her
If I eat I eat for her
If I drink, I drink for her
If I pray I pray for her
If I think I think of her
If I dream I dream of her.
And if death comes to claim her
I will step before her and say to death.
"Spare her and take me."
But I have one question for you
If I fall in love with you
Will you treat me in exactly the same manner?

Copyright 2010

RARING TO GO

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Stoke the embers if you will
Wedge the metal door if you can
But if the butcher runs up the hill
The only thing that can stop him is a jerry can.


copyright 2010

BEFORE THE BISHOP’S EYES

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I won’t stand down
So don’t waste your time
Don’t even think about it
It won’t work.
Why should I?

I too saw her
The beautiful blue princess from nowhere
I saw her small and well clad doggie
As together they sauntered to church
And entered while the homily was on
Monsignor smiled at her
And said nothing about her lateness
Or the fact that she perturbed the peace of Christ’s mass.

But that’s not what troubles me most
What really bothers me is the plaintiff stained glass window
The altar candle
The peaceful and innocent host
The naïve mass boys
The sweet fragrance of the incense
And the snoring of the catechist on the front bench.

Copyright 2010