WHAT COLOURS MEAN TO ME

(For Marelen)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

The girl in white and purple
That’s who I am today and tomorrow
That’s who I was yesterday
I am my own mistress
I build my own bridges
I trace my own path
I fight my own battles
Life has taught me that the world is inside of us
Not somewhere else
That’s why I’m the girl in white and purple
But the colours are the Almighty’s, not mine
He alone pulls the strings
And I go at his bidding.

My white and purple
Are not bows without their arrows
They are not the valley lily birds fed yesterday
No, they are a new breed of flower sash from the seamstress
But certainly not a re-enactment of Benson and Hedges.
When we read the Wife of Bath
We do so with due regard for her rattles
That’s why my students come here daily without fuss
And my staff work harder than Oscar Wells.
Here at ABCIT where standards are high and far from rubble
We invite all and sundry to come and discover our deep gold mine
If there is anything tied here, it’s certainly strings
That’s why with my verse stringer, I’m prepared to go in hiding.


Copyright 2011