LONE BATTLE FOR CHRIST

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I quenched it
Not with holy water
Nor tears for fear
But with God’s own spirit
It didn’t take long
Although the breath of it was so short
And its Fallopian tubes severed
I did it standing on the Kilimanjaro
Yet, I did it
Don’t mind the band master.

We’re all damned, profit or no profit
Even if we’re offered the best Twin Otter
That’s why for ever our offspring will speak from the rear
Especially for those who know Tikrit
And the scapegoat Washington gnawed and gored for so long
The charge is nothing short of tort
It’s also nothing short of the leader who once was revered
Forget the dirty bodices and shrunken payroll
What really matters is the last candle no one really lit
And the fact that son is equal to father.

Copyright 2011

DAUGHTER OF THE LORD

For Emelda

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

How great is he, I wonder
He isn't a Fai
Neither is he the Chairman
But e is Lord
The Lord of Hosts
He owns the world, all alone
And all the people therein are his oyster.

Are we his canon fodder?
For always, He is nigh
He may very well not be our nearest pressman
But he perches on the fort
And daily receives a thousand and one toasts
All of them on one phone
Above all,he calls me his daughter.

Copyright 2011

GOD FROM ANOTHER ANGLE

For Emeli

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Oh! If I were God!
I would make this world all over again
I would remake it, recreate it
Turn all men into women
And all women into men
And then watch them play together.

I wouldn't feed them with any cod
No, but I would offer them gifts wrapped and stood in the rain
Never would I think any pastor unfit
For I don`t know how the Almighty made his stamen
So, how would I match his deeds letter for letter?

Copyright 2011

WHAT THE VIRGIN MOTHER WANTS

(For Susan)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Beauty and brains, what a combination!Or don`t you think so?
What grabs me most are the contour lines
The missed symmetry and skewed research findings
But not so much the holy water
Or the altar sacrament
Or even the holy rosary.

Aren`t we all products of the great transfiguration?
Even if some of us came in with half a toe?
Nonetheless, we grow our own wines
And bear our own good tidings
Isn`t this also about smartness and the holy Father?
What we don`t want is another peppermint
So that even I, Susan, can boast of a second rosary.

Copyright 2011

ALONE WITH THE PRIEST

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I don`t like ammunition
Although I love cannons
But if I hear loose cannons
Then I rush to the priest for contrition.

Copyright 2011

THOU ART LORD

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Oh king of the universe
Let your love flow down in reverse
You are the most high
For those who want to come nigh
You who know our deepest thoughts
Forgive us our torts
You are our fortress, our refuge, our strength
For to you we pay no rent
Stand by us
So that on D-Day we can all step forward without fuss.


Copyright 2011

ONE MORE FOR THE RISEN CHRIST

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I though I gave you one
Or am I dreaming?
Why would I, when the swan birds haven`t flown past?
Neither has the minister`s heart beat risen?

What we need most in Christendom is a crown
For God`s sake, not another farthing!
Lest the boss flies the flag at half mast
So let`s rejoice for Christ has risen.

Copyright 2011

KIDS` QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

She`s my friend
That`s what Stanley said
About Lizzy
Because she accepted
To play with him
Stanley may not be Hogbe Nlend
Nor the Emir`s Fakir
But he`s Lizzy`s best Boh
See them play together
And Stanley asking her:
“Do you think it`s God?”

Copyright 2011

MY APOSTLE`S CREED

(For Bei)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga


What I wish in life
Is all that I`ll include
In my letter to God the Almighty
I`ll ask him for good health in deed
Not a life of luxury
I`ll ask him for wisdom
Not only beauty
About which I am flattered.

In a world where evil is rife
And people tend to be rude
I`m bent on leaning heavily
On whatever is his will. That`s my daily bid
I don`t want to arrive in a flurry
When it comes to the Lord`s kingdom
Here at U.B., though, I have a duty
And that is to shower my God with praises daily.


Copyright 2011

JESUS OF CRESUS

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I'll transfer the balace
So that nothing
Nothing whatsoever
hangs in the balance
The only person I'll owe is Jesus
Because he alone toiled in Cresus.

Copyright 2011

THE SPEAR FROM ON HIGH

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

What did they say?
That all spears must come down?
But how about the risen one?
Has he come down?

Copyright 2011

THE ROAD TO SCOAN

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

I want to follow him
All the way to SCOAN
If the prophet shows the way
Then the whole nation will rise and believe.

Copyright 2011

A ROPE FOR HOPE

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

He gives hope
And asks for nothing in return
When it comes to our turn
We ask for the rope.

Copyright 2011

FAITH AS ONE

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Give them another chance
Please, don`t shoot them down
They`re the ones of faith
And we, the faint hearted.

Copyright 2011

SALVATION FOR A FEW

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

This is the day the Lord has appointed
Nothing slippery or winged shall walk
Only beleaguered mothers down with the flu
Shall travel the whole length
All alone.

Copyright 2010

THE PALM OF GOD`S SERVANT

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

His palms are moist
Like those of Mr Davidson
Where then is the Lord`s relic
If not once more buried in relics?

Copyright 2010

THE CODE OF CONDUCT

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Watch when I speak
And listen when I yawn
Across the bridge
The good Lord will unfailingly take note.

Copyright 2010

HERE TO SERVE

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

We`re all God`s handmaids
Not drowning men
Or worse still, dying horses
We`re willing guinea pigs
And the last able-bodied seamen.

Copyright 2010.

THE SWAPPED ROLES

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

While with Sakwe and Tomdio I lit candles at the sacristy
She sold groundnuts and akra to the workers
She did so, even more than the preacher
Believing she was fighting human adversity.


Copyright 2010

GOD AS A BIG GUN

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Our God isn`t a small man
No, he`s a real big gun
And a smoking one too
Only he can fire himself
No one else can
Not even you.

copyright 2010