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

GOD`S CHANGING WEATHER

(For Bernadette)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Wao! What a good weather!
Don’t you simply love it?
See how meek and lowly
Yet how sweet and charming it is
Yes, it may change
We all know the weather is fickle
But who isn’t?
That’s life.

For all the exotic readings, I thank the Father
The cumulus, the nimbus, the stratus, they all do it
So does the torrential rain when it rumbles slowly
As a Gemini, I know when the weather is amiss
Like a true child of Babungo, I can measure its full range
So it doesn’t matter whether it’s a down pour or a trickle
Thank God for the splendid weather and the snow it isn’t
After all, without the changes, our Faculty has no real life.

Copyright 2011

A PRAYER FOR VICTORY

(For Lydienne Blanche)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Give me an example, dear Lord
And a good one, too
For too long I have groped in the dark
Today I want light
I want sunshine
I want your shoulder
I want your hand.

Give me grace, but of your own accord
I don’t want to stick like glue
I want to run and worship you like in the park
I want to win with you without a fight
Lord, be my grapevine
Be my solace, my fortress and my giant boulder
So that I too can see the Promised Land.

Copyright 2011

A CERTAIN POINT IN TIME

(For Linda)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I’ll think
I’ll think and grow rich
Just like Napoleon
Just let the tides ebb away
And the bottom line of Ant & Soc, thicken
That’s when we’ll even the scores.

I’m not at the brink
That’s why I refuse to twitch
Instead, I demand brand new dandelions of neon
If you will, that’s my way
That’s why I must think and ripen
And then get rid of all the pores and sores.

Copyright 2011

MY NEWEST CREATION

(For Mayayong)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Every new creation is good
On condition that it doesn’t get stuck in the mud
And in the process
Attract odd bits of iron filings
Or some adulterated God’s bits of wood
Or even get steeped in sour lime wine.
And that’s the plain truth.

Whether I’m called Sandrine or Vera
As long as Spanish is my oyster
And the instructor, this man who makes me laugh
And forever I have this leg in JMC
The world shall continue to spin on its axis
I’m not reinventing the wheel
No, far from it, I’m calling a spade, a spade.

Copyright 2011

THE TAUNTED LION

(For Agbor Ambang)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

SO what are you going to do about it?
Let all the chickens loose
Or get them pent up for another month?
Do you think that’s fair?
To show a hungry lion meat from the booby
And then abruptly withdraw it?
Is a hungry man not an angry man?

I have come for my search
And I have a torch, just in case
I’m not seeking the heroin
Neither a I seeking the villain
I’m seeking the way to Mamfe
Call me another lotus eater, if you like
I will stand my ground.


Copyright 2011

MY QUEST FOR LEADERSHIP

(For Kelly)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Why don’t I always have what I want
Why is this life this way?
I love my fellow human being
I offer help wherever necessary
But I also want something in return
It’s something for something
Not something for nothing
That’s what I want.

Yet when I move nearer, they move away
When I go in, they go out
When I go out, the go in
When I call, they giggle
I want my presence to be felt
I want to be present
I want to be seen
I want to be heard
I want to lead
I want to rule the world.


Copyright 2011

A FIELD DAY FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT

For Akye

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

You didn`t look everywhere
Did You?
Did you look among the daffodil beds?Di you look under the enamel flower pot?
Did you look between the Tilly lanterns?
Did you look among the rejected ballot papers?
Did you even look on the honours list?
That of the newly elected ASJUB officials?

I have a future cut out like Chinaware
I have no fear of that which is new
If you like, I can spin you new threads
What I hate is leadership rot
That`s why our new team will always carry lanterns
We do not doubt the value of our peers
So that when the time comes our names shall be on the scroll
That`s why the world, this world, needs presidents.

Copyright 2011

A POST CARD FOR CYNTHIA

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I’m inspired each time I see you
It’s not your eyes or even your smile
Neither is it your looks
No, it’s something else
It’s your aura, your body chemistry
You make me feel good
You make me feel high.

With you around me why would I ever want the loo?
Unless we were both sailing down the Nile
And me holding tightly to all my books
Regardless of wherever are all the Earls
Should anyone mention the registry
Then Ill remind them of my hood
And the fact that Cynthia is high.


Copyright 2011

ALONE WITH A COBWEB IN ZAMBIA

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Did grandpa’s cobweb lie
I mean, did it lie through its teeth
Blatantly and unashamedly
While Kamanga was still rising in Lusaka?
And did she notice it at all?
Or was she too overwhelmed by its
Multifaceted tentacles and web-construction prowess?

Did the comb-footed spider therefore pry?
And spill the beans as proof of sleuth
Or did it once again, like the Palace Clock of Lusaka
Box itself into a corner and refuse to walk tall?
Then why didn’t the rest of us fetch the stilts?
Or were we still waiting for the ill-fated princess?

Copyright 2011

WHERE HAS MY LOVE GONE?

(For Welle)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Is love real
Or is it just a hollow sham?
Is it papered over cracks
Or yet another act of shoddy contrition?
Why does our church pastor think it`s all sweeping under the carpet?
What, for God`s sake, is this love?
This demon I can neither touch nor see
Yet daily it blows in the wind
If it be a flower, then which is it?
Is it the rose, the daffodil,the carnation?
The tulip? The anemone? The gladiolus? The Iris or the rhododendron?
Tell me then; tell me all about it. Will you?

Shall I then never strike this deal
In a world where everything tastes like ham?
Can I blur the writing on its tracks?
Or must I first blow the moderator`s trumpet?
I thought I had hit the treasure trove
And so I quickly wrote to Basel
But look what I have got on the hind
Surely not enough theories or hypotheses to posit
So, when shall I find my long lost love and hold it without frills?
Does it mean I`ll never dance tango for two?

Copyright 2011

A RIDE WITH GOD`

(For Jacqueline)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Is that what I want to be
Or is it just a mirage of it?
Am I between a rock and a hard place
Or simply at the end of my tether?
Nay, for a Gemini and a Lesan to boot
I surely deserve better than that
So, tomorrow at midday and unprovoked
I will rise with the falcon
And hedging my bets as best I can
I will with one giant leap but without a single spring
Land on God`s dining table
To him in private will I state my case
And make my point
I`m sure he`ll nod and smile
And lift me back to earth
This time with feet of reinforced steel
No longer molten clay.

Copyright 2011

THE GIRL WITH A HEART OF GOLD

(For Laurantine)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

May be I did but did not know I did not
That’s life, isn’t it?
It isn’t about Facebook or yellow nectar or the new gold rush
No, it’s the hapless, hungry, stemless sky larks
Who burn their last piece of wood at both ends?
Like the foolish virgins, they walk on their poor heads
And shamelessly dance in the rain on Sundays.

I’m not one ever to blow cold and hot
But as a researcher, I can hypothesize and duly posit
Like the royal broom, I can sweep away any thrush
I know the names of all my brown sharks
And I am an expert at monetary trends
As a Virgo, I can walk on threads
But mind you, I also have my fun days.

Copyright 2011

THE CHANCES I TAKE

For Minnette

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I like strangers
Yes, I do
And I make no bones about it
I am prepared to wine and dine with them
Even if it means treading where angels fear to dare
You may say I’m spreading myself out too thinly
So be it
After all, he who ventures nothing, gains nothing
And life is never a bed of roses, anyway.

Do I like debaters?
Of course, I do
Because I firmly believe that to get it you must work for it
Life is not only about Bethlehem
It’s also about being fair and paying one’s fare
Although I may criticize sorely
I do so in good faith for we can’t afford to live life dreamily
Whatever we do must fit
So that for ever we don’t lose the silver lining
If we do, then what on earth will ever again hold sway?

Copyright 2011

IN QUEST OF NEW RUNGS

(For Musi Jane Nanhyigha)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Who am I, really?
A piece of wood flung at the callous wall?
A rotten chunk of meat thrown at the archbishop’s dogs?
Or a lone candle stood at the altar by Christ’s own successor?
Or am I the next standard bearer to walk up the stairs of the Kremlin?
Even without going to Delaware? Do you care?
Are you even listening or am I left to my own devices
Stood out in the cold to sing out my voice and lungs?

Why can`t I also move and have my being freely?
Why, like the man of Sisyphus, must I always stall?
Yet my wheels are hampered by no clogs
For I know I belong to the protector
Even if I`ve never lived in Melim
Sometimes I wonder why for once, I can`t also dare
And shout to the world that I too am full of devices
Even if what I need badly are a new set of rungs?

Copyright 2011

TROUSERS THAT WON'T FIT

For Missline

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Happy and unhappy trousers
That's what I wore yesterday
That's what I'm wearing today
And that's what I'll wear tomorrow
After all, why not?
Is life itself not happy and unhappy?

I fret when mankind flounders
And nothing else holds sway
That's why at all cost I shun the fray
As Sagittarius I also feel sorrow
But as the born fighter I can reduce it to naught
Outspoken? You bet! But I'm also snappy.

Copyright 2011

SEVEN UNMARKED POSTS

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

What caused it, then? What?
The submerged fjiords or the barren farmlands?
And you stand there and babble and swat
Who do you think will pick up the pieces?

Copyright 2011

TRIPS WITHOUT TIPS

For Gaelle


By Tikum Mbah Azonga

The glasses, the teeth and the lips
Those are the trump cards I hold
But perhaps that is only the tip of the iceberg
Which is where our cherished STV comes in
Even so, aren`t we all too slow for the flow?
Have the loose ends at this Carlos Hotel workshop been tied up?
Have all the `T`s been crossed and the `I`s been dotted?
Or have the bosses simply papered over the cracks?

Despite our multiple stilts, I still need some tips
Because as far as I know, I`m firmly back in the fold
Despite the devastating gale from Johannesburg
You are my fresh fish without the fin
My golden compass for the nation despite the foe
Forget about my shouting lipstick so finely lined up
Or my Taurean obstinacy too closely knit to be transported
I move warily enough to avoid the Delegate`s cupid packs.

Copyright 2011

MEMORIES OF LUSAKA

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I own no mango boughs
Although I have worked in boroughs
A child of a mangled past
Since the good old days with Chipimo in Lusaka
I hop in and out as I like
And the holy ground at all times
Remains the holy ground.


Copyright 2011

COMPASS READING

For Nasare

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I`ll go no more aroving
I promise you
Even if the sky comes down on my head
And that`s final.

So when you go round beaming
Spare a thought for Jacob`s zoo
Where wrought iron has turned into allowed lead.
If you trust me, buy me a sparkling crystal.

Copyright