When you despair
When all hope is lost
When the lights seem dim
And the darkness grim
Listen,
The still small voice beckons
Hush my child, I am with you
When the road is drear
And the thorns cut deep
When the night seem endless
And the daylight far off
Listen to him say
Hush, I am with you child
When in desperation you cry
When in distress you weep
When in hopelessness you grovel in the dark
When in the darkest part of life
Remember, he is closest, if thou would but pause
And listen
To the still small voice say to you
Hush, my child hush I am with you
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Journey
It may be weary
It may be thorny
Sometimes the rains beat
The sun burns
And tree stumps cut deep
Yet He is with me in my life's journey
It may be long
It may be rocky
Sometimes I stumble
Sometimes I fall
Yet He is with me in my life's journey
When in despair I look up
And see his sweet and bidding face
I know He is with me
Even when His presence I do not feel
Yet, i know he is with me in my life's journey
It may be thorny
Sometimes the rains beat
The sun burns
And tree stumps cut deep
Yet He is with me in my life's journey
It may be long
It may be rocky
Sometimes I stumble
Sometimes I fall
Yet He is with me in my life's journey
When in despair I look up
And see his sweet and bidding face
I know He is with me
Even when His presence I do not feel
Yet, i know he is with me in my life's journey
He Is A Friend
Sometimes in the dark nights
When all is quiet and the heart distressed
I go to him who ever is awake
And ever waits to listen
Then I pour it all out
He never turns me away
he listens' 'cos he is a friend
When the days with joy are filled
And the heart with buoyance leap
And I turn to him my joys to share
He never is too busy to celebrate with me
He listens, 'cos he is a friend
He is a friend
Who cares and listens
He never turns me away
When at night I wake him
When at noon I call
When at eve i demand his presence
He never turns me away
Come, no matter when
'Cos I am your friend
The friend, who?
JESUS
When all is quiet and the heart distressed
I go to him who ever is awake
And ever waits to listen
Then I pour it all out
He never turns me away
he listens' 'cos he is a friend
When the days with joy are filled
And the heart with buoyance leap
And I turn to him my joys to share
He never is too busy to celebrate with me
He listens, 'cos he is a friend
He is a friend
Who cares and listens
He never turns me away
When at night I wake him
When at noon I call
When at eve i demand his presence
He never turns me away
Come, no matter when
'Cos I am your friend
The friend, who?
JESUS
Their Words
Words, words and words
That tell their fraustration
That show their struggle with reality
That seek to veil the truth
Their words
Words, words and word
That reveal their denials
of the relaity of the time
That cloud reality
And unveil false but accepted perceptions
Their words
Their words shame them
Their words betray them
Their words show their delusion
Their words judge them
Listen, they are their words
They lied with words
Killed with words
They fed us words
Taught us words
Their words
Now their delusions are their words
Their doom their words
Their words
06/02/2001
That tell their fraustration
That show their struggle with reality
That seek to veil the truth
Their words
Words, words and word
That reveal their denials
of the relaity of the time
That cloud reality
And unveil false but accepted perceptions
Their words
Their words shame them
Their words betray them
Their words show their delusion
Their words judge them
Listen, they are their words
They lied with words
Killed with words
They fed us words
Taught us words
Their words
Now their delusions are their words
Their doom their words
Their words
06/02/2001
Thursday, November 22, 2007
2001
The dance is the left
The fast swing of bossoms to the left
The steps, so well learnt
The dancers, long at the floor
Great and wonderful steps they take
The steps lead forward
The drums throb faster
The feets swifter
And the dusts rises higher
Brows in streaming sweats
Torsos in exhaustives heaves
The dance to the left is on
The swift feets to the past leads
It is the progressive dance
The dancers, long on the stage have been
Progressive steps in backward strides
Progressive steps that lead to the past
Progressive steps that lead nowhere
Inspiration
2001 marked a new era in our political history, these were my reflections on the NDC's slogan of progress in continuity
The fast swing of bossoms to the left
The steps, so well learnt
The dancers, long at the floor
Great and wonderful steps they take
The steps lead forward
The drums throb faster
The feets swifter
And the dusts rises higher
Brows in streaming sweats
Torsos in exhaustives heaves
The dance to the left is on
The swift feets to the past leads
It is the progressive dance
The dancers, long on the stage have been
Progressive steps in backward strides
Progressive steps that lead to the past
Progressive steps that lead nowhere
Inspiration
2001 marked a new era in our political history, these were my reflections on the NDC's slogan of progress in continuity
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Center for Creative Ministry : Such as These
Center for Creative Ministry : Such as These
"But Jesus said, 'Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" (Mathhew 19:14) NASB
Friday, November 2, 2007
The Masked Ones
They came with a smile at morn
And beamed as sunrays at dawn
They brightened our shores with their masts
And sang sweet melodies of love
At noon, turned their smiles snarls
And their dazzling light, blind dark
Then their beautiful masts were tainted
With the blood and sweat of our own
At dusk, and all the smiles were gone
Gone were the sweet melodies of love
the christly brotherliness and oneness
pain and ruin had taken their place
At night we watched them carry our sons away
On great machines across the waters
To lands afar, where i hear the sun sets not
And white demons of cold, the bones wreak
I hear the toild and sweat of our own
The rails and roads of the white god built
And their coarse and rough palms
their plantations and mines nurtured
I hear the early morning greetings,
Were the sounds of canes and chains
That cracked their bare and tender backs
And bruised their ankles and wrist
I hear the priestly voice of the white god
now utters curses, commands and orders
And I hear the dignity of our own
Was replaced by shame, scorn and scars
Alas! I hear the saddest of all tales
that our brethren no longer their names bear
I hear they have forgotten their past
And know not whither, whence or hence
That they are forever lost
In the land of the white god
Far away across many waters.
... But I see a new dawn approaching
And the dreams speak of an awakening
A homecoming of the departed
A reunion of the lost with their own
Is it but a dream
Nay! They come indeed.
The Background
I wrote this poem in 1998 after reading Walter Rodney's "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" and some accounts of the slave trade. It was performed at Panafest 1999 with late Kiki Gyan at the key board playing their Osibisa classic "Welcome Home"
And beamed as sunrays at dawn
They brightened our shores with their masts
And sang sweet melodies of love
At noon, turned their smiles snarls
And their dazzling light, blind dark
Then their beautiful masts were tainted
With the blood and sweat of our own
At dusk, and all the smiles were gone
Gone were the sweet melodies of love
the christly brotherliness and oneness
pain and ruin had taken their place
At night we watched them carry our sons away
On great machines across the waters
To lands afar, where i hear the sun sets not
And white demons of cold, the bones wreak
I hear the toild and sweat of our own
The rails and roads of the white god built
And their coarse and rough palms
their plantations and mines nurtured
I hear the early morning greetings,
Were the sounds of canes and chains
That cracked their bare and tender backs
And bruised their ankles and wrist
I hear the priestly voice of the white god
now utters curses, commands and orders
And I hear the dignity of our own
Was replaced by shame, scorn and scars
Alas! I hear the saddest of all tales
that our brethren no longer their names bear
I hear they have forgotten their past
And know not whither, whence or hence
That they are forever lost
In the land of the white god
Far away across many waters.
... But I see a new dawn approaching
And the dreams speak of an awakening
A homecoming of the departed
A reunion of the lost with their own
Is it but a dream
Nay! They come indeed.
The Background
I wrote this poem in 1998 after reading Walter Rodney's "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" and some accounts of the slave trade. It was performed at Panafest 1999 with late Kiki Gyan at the key board playing their Osibisa classic "Welcome Home"
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Do You Care?
A lone soul walks by
Deep in thought and despair
A destitute of love and care
An orphan of loving and kind words
Nowhere to turn to, he went for the robes
Where were you?
When all he needed was
Jesus loves you and cares
Another soul walks along drunk
Intoxicated by the burdens of life
Weary under the yoke of worries
false solace sought in the bottle
Wasted for lack of hope
Where were you?
When all he needed was
Jesus will listen and help you
Smoked out by false hopes
Cooked in coca for recognition
Heralded by heroin with madness
Hushed into eternal damnation by hashish
Where were you
When all he needed to hear was
With Jesus you are one of a kind
Treading this vast expanse
The weary, sick and destitute
The hopeless and faithless you meet
Do you just watch them perish?
Don't you care that they waste?
Being tossed about by false hope and doctrines
Where were you?
When all they need is the amazing love of Jesus through you.(Sept. '95)
Deep in thought and despair
A destitute of love and care
An orphan of loving and kind words
Nowhere to turn to, he went for the robes
Where were you?
When all he needed was
Jesus loves you and cares
Another soul walks along drunk
Intoxicated by the burdens of life
Weary under the yoke of worries
false solace sought in the bottle
Wasted for lack of hope
Where were you?
When all he needed was
Jesus will listen and help you
Smoked out by false hopes
Cooked in coca for recognition
Heralded by heroin with madness
Hushed into eternal damnation by hashish
Where were you
When all he needed to hear was
With Jesus you are one of a kind
Treading this vast expanse
The weary, sick and destitute
The hopeless and faithless you meet
Do you just watch them perish?
Don't you care that they waste?
Being tossed about by false hope and doctrines
Where were you?
When all they need is the amazing love of Jesus through you.(Sept. '95)
Such Are The Men of Integrity
Men who swear its white
When sucklings see black
Mean who swear the king is clothed
When the blind see nakedness
Men who swear slaps are peck,and punches, pats.
Men who vomit excess food
Though their tummies rumble in hunger
Men who swear they laugh
Amidst streams of bitter tears
Men who swear all is alright, when all is wrong
Men who defend the unjust
Though they preach justice
Men who make the law
Yet cut the long arm of the law
Men who preach accountability yet unaccountable
Men who preach transparency,yet are opaque
Men who carry high the banner of integrity
Yet are deceitful
Men who preach probity
And yet flee the probe of the masses
Men who want an enabling environment
Yet promote an unable one
Such are men who leave children gaping
Thinking the old are dumb
Such are the sacrificers of truth
Such are the murderers of social values
Such are our men of integrity (Dec. 29, '97)
Background
I wrote this sitting in the Newsroom of the Ghana News Agency; i was on attachment as a cub reporter. The NDC was then in power and had tried explaining away some acts of theirs with the claim of being men of integrity. I rememeber that, the present Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation, Frank Agyekum, then a senoir reporter at GNA was one of the first to read it.
When sucklings see black
Mean who swear the king is clothed
When the blind see nakedness
Men who swear slaps are peck,and punches, pats.
Men who vomit excess food
Though their tummies rumble in hunger
Men who swear they laugh
Amidst streams of bitter tears
Men who swear all is alright, when all is wrong
Men who defend the unjust
Though they preach justice
Men who make the law
Yet cut the long arm of the law
Men who preach accountability yet unaccountable
Men who preach transparency,yet are opaque
Men who carry high the banner of integrity
Yet are deceitful
Men who preach probity
And yet flee the probe of the masses
Men who want an enabling environment
Yet promote an unable one
Such are men who leave children gaping
Thinking the old are dumb
Such are the sacrificers of truth
Such are the murderers of social values
Such are our men of integrity (Dec. 29, '97)
Background
I wrote this sitting in the Newsroom of the Ghana News Agency; i was on attachment as a cub reporter. The NDC was then in power and had tried explaining away some acts of theirs with the claim of being men of integrity. I rememeber that, the present Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation, Frank Agyekum, then a senoir reporter at GNA was one of the first to read it.
The Past
They tell me
Don't live in the past
Don't glory in the past
Forget the past and move on
Don't live the present in the past
But how? I say
When like strings, the past pulls
When its memories away won't go
When its pains still so much hurt
When its scars so deep are
When the thoughts, those of the past are
When the past the present begot
How do i forget?
When a smile
A name
A tilt of the head
The loud crack of laughter
All bring back the memories
That i must forget
How do i learn
To forget what the present begot
Tell me (Nov.5, '99)
Don't live in the past
Don't glory in the past
Forget the past and move on
Don't live the present in the past
But how? I say
When like strings, the past pulls
When its memories away won't go
When its pains still so much hurt
When its scars so deep are
When the thoughts, those of the past are
When the past the present begot
How do i forget?
When a smile
A name
A tilt of the head
The loud crack of laughter
All bring back the memories
That i must forget
How do i learn
To forget what the present begot
Tell me (Nov.5, '99)
The Song
My soul sings
A song none can sing
It stirs my blood
And soars my spirit
It is the song of silence
That sends me soaring
On blissful heights above (May 26,'98)
A song none can sing
It stirs my blood
And soars my spirit
It is the song of silence
That sends me soaring
On blissful heights above (May 26,'98)
Words of the Saviour
Give love to the world
Smile at the listless one
Tell a foe these words of love
Tell him "I love you"
Change the world with love
love the beloved
But love the foe more
Love all and hate none
Teach the world to love (Nov. 19,'96)
Smile at the listless one
Tell a foe these words of love
Tell him "I love you"
Change the world with love
love the beloved
But love the foe more
Love all and hate none
Teach the world to love (Nov. 19,'96)
Tell It
Tell it when it hurts,
Tell it when it's uncomfortable,
Tell it though it tears bring,
Tell it even when it a heart breaks,
Tell it though pride be burt,
Tell it in the face of scorn,
Tell it on the verge of disgrace,
Tell it on the brink of death,
Tell it when it hurts most,
Still, tell it always,
THE TRUTH (Nov. 21,'96)
Tell it when it's uncomfortable,
Tell it though it tears bring,
Tell it even when it a heart breaks,
Tell it though pride be burt,
Tell it in the face of scorn,
Tell it on the verge of disgrace,
Tell it on the brink of death,
Tell it when it hurts most,
Still, tell it always,
THE TRUTH (Nov. 21,'96)
Send No Roses
Send no Roses, When I am no more.
Don't, when the eyes, Its beauty not behold.
Don't, when the nose, the sweet fragrance not scent.
Don't, when the hands, the soft petals not feel.
Don't, when the heart, its gratitude not render.
Don't, when it a grave adorns and not a room.
Don't, when the sand the vase becomes.
Send roses while I live,
While the eyes behold,
And the nose scents,
While the hands feel,
And the heart gratifies,
Send Roses for the Vase and not the Grave.
(Nov. 18, 1996)
Don't, when the eyes, Its beauty not behold.
Don't, when the nose, the sweet fragrance not scent.
Don't, when the hands, the soft petals not feel.
Don't, when the heart, its gratitude not render.
Don't, when it a grave adorns and not a room.
Don't, when the sand the vase becomes.
Send roses while I live,
While the eyes behold,
And the nose scents,
While the hands feel,
And the heart gratifies,
Send Roses for the Vase and not the Grave.
(Nov. 18, 1996)
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Soul Music
If we can all listen well enough, we can hear the silent songs of the soul pouring out to charm our fears away each day.
My songs are the poems I write. Enjoy them.
My songs are the poems I write. Enjoy them.
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