Say It!

The year is 2015. December 2015. It is almost ended and 2016 is almost here. I’m a year older than I was last year and a step ahead  educationally. And that scares me. I remember, my final year in SHS and the excitement I felt that I was leaving a community that was strict and full of rules to one that was independent. But I was also scared (although the excitement overshadowed the fear) because like my mother always says, growing goes with responsibility and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that. A lot of things have changed since then. I, in fact we all aren’t the same as we were a few years ago no matter how much we try to convince others and then ourselves (albeit unconsciously) that we are. The passage of time and happenings of life have made sure of that. We may have lost someone we love either through life’s processes or our ego (you can call it personal foolishness) or through deliberate decisions. Two years on and I am even more scared. Excited, though but this time more sca

Forgive me if I can't talk Forgive me if I don't ask Forgive me if I just watch But it doesn't mean I don't care. Maybe I want you to be open first Maybe I don't know what to say Maybe I don't want to pry But I assure you, I do care It may look like I've set barriers Aren't there boundaries to everything? I just don't want to push my luck with you. If this is wrong please forgive me. I'm sorry I'm overly cautious because I don't want anyone to get hurt. I'm sorry I can't express myself so well to you And I'm sorry, oh so sorry! That the boundaries I unconsciously create sort of push you away. I know I'd sound more convincing if it showed in my actions,  cos I say one thing and do another, I know there's only so much you can take before you decide to let go But my fears are real. Well, mixed with a bit of ego. How do I know you won't reject me?       How do I know I won't regret telling you? H

But I am a part of a whole  And the whole is me and you  Alone I cannot effect much change  But you and I can Truth is I've never really cared before  So if I'm alone in this please let me know so I can go Otherwise take my hand  Together we can. We can come to a compromise I'll think of you, you'll think of me. I want this. This much I know  That don't mean I'm gonna make it work Not that I won't try; I will  But I am a part of a whole  And the whole is me and you  Alone I can't make it work  But together we can 

It is a known fact that the good people of Ghana do not take their government agencies and their works seriously unless they need something from them, especially those who work there. Bad work ethics, poor customer service, you name it and the government agencies have got it. Because people feel 'it's for the government, not mine' and when    some want to be good citizens by coming to work on time, using work hours for just that and leaving after hours they are discouraged by colleagues with statements like 'does your father own this institution?' Or 'is the government your father's?' Yet when decisions are taken without our input we complain. So all along I thought it was just the public sector that had this problem until recently. Now, when one is apathetic toward a cause, and in the case of a business portrays bad work ethics, what other conclusion can we draw than that the one wants to collapse the business? So it surprises me to see even SMEs

Lord, aren't you tired? I ask not because I judge, Lord I ask because of them, I am a part I sin over and over, repeatedly And now I'm losing my conscience. I know that I do wrong, yet I go ahead and do it anyway Because I know of Your grace. After first I felt remorseful, Now even that is gone So is Your presence. The prayer is routine and meaningless, said because I know what I have done And not because I regret Lord, aren't you tired? I forget sometimes that I'm made in Your image This means You feel, too, the pain and the hurt and the jealousy and the fear and all the rest like I do when others hurt me. Please, Lord don't be tired Because the day You tire is the day we die. I want to surrender, I really do Because the alternative, I do not wish to think about So then Lord, since I need You to please You, to love You, to live for you, to...,to...,to... I give to you my heart, my mind, my body, my soul, my breath... I don't know how we

It was about 7.30 a.m  and I was cruising down the street that passes in front of Accra Breweries and leading to Adabraka with my dad, I looked at everything and all my eyes could see. We were stopped by the one-legged triple-eyed green man and on the pedestrian walk I spotted a girl, about thirteen, standing staring wide-eyed at something when she should have been crossing the road. So I turned to the other side to see what caught her attention and mine was caught too. Whether it was fortunate or not I cannot tell, but I turned just in time to see a motorist who had apparently been grabbed by a traffic policemen slip the officer something. Now, I didn't see what it was but I know it definitely wasn't the keys to his motorcycle. I was still staring  and wondering if my thoughts were right when the one-legged triple eye made us go. If what I'm thinking is right then this police man has indeed started the day well. So the girl, I'm sure, waited for the next red light.

So I haven't posted anything lately but I assure you it isn't from laziness. I'm having a very bad case of writers' block. I can't write anything and when I do start, I can't finish. Believe me, I have tried  cos I hate not being able to write. I think I lack inspiration. Could any of you sweethearts help? All I need is someone(or something) to give me a push. In the meantime though, I'll leave you with this poem. The guys, please take it easy with me when you're done reading. Lol .  Please, enjoy, comment, share and help me get started again! It's another Saturday and he stood me up again I lock the door behind me and fall my bed The tears effortlessly running down my face, again My head hurts, but not as much as my heart I don't even know why I'm crying; he isn't mine. He won't ever be; at least not entirely All I get are stolen kisses and quickies and excuses and apologies that come with presents All I do is sit and w

So I lay down and it's you that's on my mind You and what we had, shared You touching me, holding me... As I lay on your chest the first time, your arm around me All I can think of is what just happened What just happened? You just happened We just happened You, on me, in me, around me, filling me, over and over In more ways than one All at once A memory imprinted in my mind forever Did I ever mention I love the way you say my name when you-oh! Can't tell nobody that Your lazy smile when you wake up the morning after, that kills me And you tell me how beautiful I look from sleep, that makes me melt Fresh in my mind like today It's only for a short while; I know that, yes The way you make me feel makes me think it is worth it Whispers in my ears as clothes come off Whispers that get me shivering with excitement of the things you're gonna do to me.... Just then your hands begin to move over my back I look up to meet that scintillating early morn

As much as there are enough reasons for us not to be too happy about our nation, there are ‘lovables’ as well. First of all let me say that we do not even need a reason to love our country; the mere fact that we are born Ghanaians should make us proud. Don’t we feel proud when we hear about Ghanaians doing great things both at home and abroad? When we see people carry our flag or wear our colors in other countries, it makes us glad that some of us out there are being true to our homeland. When we see our African prints, especially the Ashantis’ kente and the Northerner’s smock being worn by outsiders, we are proud to say that it is from our country. Similarly, there are some actions of ours that i think are so uniquely Ghanaian that they never cease to remind me that I’m in Ghana. Most people are of the perception that Ghanaians are hospitable. It is therefore no surprise if while sitting next to someone in a bus, the person invites you to whatever he or she is eating with a welcomin

The Lights... Please turn out the lights Give me back the night I don't wanna see day The lights... A few more moments of sanity Blot out the truth of reality Fool me into believing the lie that everything is alright Solitude isn't always lonely Solitude is peace That's what the night gives; Peace. Peace that is taken away with the coming of day Why else do we sleep at night? Oh, please, for a few moments only  Give me back the night Help me believe the lie Please turn out the lights.

Apathy has always been and is still an attitude that Ghanaians have cultivated for themselves (ourselves, I should say) and are reaping the fruits which is contributing to the development of our dear nation. We are almost blinded about a lot of things that go on around us except for politics (exceptions should pardon me). When we do show concern, for most of us all we do is to talk about it and it ends there. I say ‘we’ because I am no different, for I am in the process of doing same through writing. At least, talk is a step forward. There is something that as a concerned citizen, I am showing my concern the best way I know how. Indeed, it hurts to discover that whilst some people are honestly searching for jobs that would enable them function well to the best of their ability others are just comfortable to be just employed and do nothing except receive pay. There is man who lives in my neighborhood whom I shall call Mr. Coffie. Mr. Coffie is newly married but unfortunately the gover

So you are walking along the street smiling at something that happened earlier in the day. Then this man passes by you and looks at you in a way that says ‘You must be crazy, walking and smiling to yourself like that.’ And you’re looking back at him like ‘What? Your face is scary, do you mind smiling a little? Or one day your mom gets you really angry so you storm out of the house but the anger is showing on your face and you do not care about what anyone thinks. People pass by you smiling and you think ‘why should someone be happy?’ Or u wallow in self pity because someone is happy. But, come to think of it, what should those happy people think of you when they see your face? I think that someone who is nice is a person who is beautiful both on the inside and outside. Not just physical beauty but beauty in character, relationships, language, you name it. Have you realised that when you’re happy, you mostly want it to show and want everyone to feel the same way? You greet everyon

Last week we looked at the kind of love that is dependent on certain traits we see in a person, which I call superficial love. And this week we are gonna try to explore the other side of the coin; unconditional love. So as the name suggests this kind of love is independent of anything. It never dies or fades away or diminishes. It is love without any constraints or limits. Have you ever felt anything like this or close to this before? Where you would do anything for the other person and nothing they do can change the way you feel. You may get hurt and disappointed, sure.  The way you feel still doesn’t change even though you may want it to. You see, this kind of love is not by choice; it just happens. You don’t choose who to love or there are some people that would never experience the beauty of love. That’s why it’s difficult to accept certain couples and their union because maybe one isn’t physically becoming or has a terrible personality. And because you don’t choose who t

I t isn’t easy to state with accurate precision what love is; I don’t think any one person has succeeded in exhausting love in a description because it is just that- indescribable. But that doesn’t mean people haven’t tried. Bernard Shaw said that love was the most misused and misunderstood word in our vocabulary. I agree. How would you define love? Here are a collection of love definitions from sources I cannot recollect at this time. -          Love is a state of perpetual anesthesia. -          Love is a grave mental disease. -          Love is a fiend, a fire, a heaven, a hell, where pleasure, pain and sad repentance dwell. -          Love is a folly of the mind, an unquenchable fire, a hunger without surfeit, a sweet delight, a pleasing madness, a labour without repose and repose without labour. -          Love is a feeling you feel when you feel you are going to get a feeling you never felt before. -          To love someone is not just a strong feeling- it is a decisi

As I sat in the bus today I saw a girl with golden hair I sighed and wished I were as fair Then I saw her hobble down the stairs to leave Oh God, forgive me when I whine I have two legs; the world is mine In town I entered a shop to buy some candy The guy who sold them had such charm It didn’t hurt to chat a little When I turned to leave I heard him say It was nice to speak to someone like you. You see, I’m blind Oh God, forgive me when I whine I have two eyes; the world is mine Down the road I saw a group of boys playing soccer And a boy, he stood aside with eyes so blue Little boy, I asked. Don’t you want to play too? He glanced at me and turned away, looking unseeingly into space Then I realized he was deaf; he couldn’t hear me Oh God, forgive me when I whine I have two ears; the world is mine By the road sat a man, designer shirt and Italian shoes, Feet dangling in the gutter, scratching his head Writing in the sand murmuring to

Hello there! We are still trying to determine where the line is between rape and sex, where something that should be beautiful turns ugly. We created a scenario for the guys where we saw a girl in compromising situation with you, her boyfriend. You had been kissing and caressing and she wanted to stop but you wanted more. So you try to get what you want and next thing you hear is her scream. Next thing you hear is her scream and it’s from deep inside her, soul wrenching and piercing and it makes you stop. But not for long. You begin to move slowly, thinking the best is yet to come and she’s gonna love this by time you’re done and hell, even thank you for not listening to her.  Let’s say after that scream she just lies there, not fighting you anymore. And tears run down the ends of her eyes a while after that. But you, you’re too busy gratifying yourself to notice. And slowly the silent tears become audible. By that time you’re done with…whatever. Soon she’s shaking violent

Today I just wanna touch on an issue that may or may not be sensitive, depending on the way you look at it. And I want you to share with me as well. What would you call rape and how would you define sex? How different are they from each other? Let’s create a scenario for the guys. Say you meet up with your girlfriend whom you haven’t seen in a while. You are really looking forward to meeting her. So meet after work, do dinner and go to your place afterwards. It isn’t too late and she’ll leave in a couple of hours. At your place you guys get cozy with some kisses and caresses and cuddles… just delighting in being together again. You’re getting your groove on and want more. Then your girlfriend stops you; she enjoys the cuddling but she doesn’t want to go further (she doesn’t spell it out, though). Now she’s turned off. You try to get her in the mood but it isn’t working. She doesn’t want this. You try again, without words and her actions respond no to you. Then you try persuasio

I Beg You While in senior high school I discovered this poem that I loved on sight since. It gives me great pleasure to read it and I never tire of reading it. So much so that I could recite it off-head within a week. A few of my friends thought I wrote it myself (because I’m that good) and I never really bothered to correct them. I don't think I lied; whenever they asked if that was my own I just smiled and they concluded. Maybe I misled them.Sorry about that. For the purposes of plagiarism and intellectual theft though, I can’t lie here. So this poem is by Laban Erapu and it was published in “Poems from East Africa”, an anthology of poems edited by David Rubadiri. I thought I should share it with you. It is called ‘I Beg You’ and here goes. ‘I beg you, If you feel something like love for me, Not to let me know it now When I feel nothing so certain for you. Wait until you’ve conquered my pride  By pretending not to care for me. I beg you, If you know your

                                  So Efe (that’s my mate from high school) liked this guy for two years. To be fair, they have been crushing on each other from the first meeting (on her side). But at this point I know it got mutual. Trust me, she has done silly things and told stupid lies because of him and had a few first times with him. For the first year or so Efe was just hoping he was gonna ask her out. It was all she could think about and as her friends we were growing tired of that topic. It never happened by the way. She said he was fun and funny and tall and good looking. Plus he knew how to treat a girl, and Efe always felt good when around him. Maybe it was her and her inability to hide the fact that she liked him or maybe it was him. Whatever the reason was, people around us begun to question if they were in a relationship. Of course, they were. In their own special way; it just wasn't official yet. So the answer was always no. Twice she’d been told that she was gl