Kobena eyi acquah biography of martin garrix

English

In the Navel of the Soul
(For Okyeremaba Kobena Asimeku)

The heart has its own reason that reason knows nothing of
— Blaise Pascal

In the navel of the soul
the midwives of the spirit say
they can hear a heart-throb

The experts, of course
disagree
The urine test they ordered
said, Negative
confirming their palpation results
Our fundal height is at an
all time low
our breasts bear no
tell-tale tints upon their tits

Yet in their finger upon
our navel
the midwives of the spirit say
they feel a foetal throb

God
the things that are done
in Your name —
I mean, the things that are undone
behind
the flimsy facade of Your name
If our own eyes
had not seen in broad daylight
the things they have here
disclaimed on oath
we would be believing we
dreamt it all

Indeed, even now
under the heat of their
quizzical glare
the benign indulgence of
their smile
we are not sure —
No. We are sure

They say we have gone
all out of our mind

If madness nurtures such lucidity
God, make us mad —
make us even more mad

For in the navel
of the soul
we, too, have felt at times
the throb
of a heart straining
a spirit refusing to be drowned
in its own waters
before birth.

ACQUAH, Kobena Eyi (1952-), Ghanaian poet, was born in Winneba, in the Central Region of Ghana, and educated at the University of Ghana, Legon and the Ghana Law School. A legal and investment consultant, he also contributes to Ghana’s public life in such organizations as the Copyright Board, the W.E.B. Dubois Centre for Pan-African Culture, and the Ghana Book Development Council.

Though some of his short stories and essays have appeared in print, Acquah is best known for his poetry, which has been anthologized, translated, reviewed, dramatized, broadcast, and read to large audiences worldwide. His publications include The Man Who Died (1984), Music for a Dream Dance (1989), Rivers Must Flow, and No Time for a Masterpiece (1995). He dramatizes the nightmare that independence has become for Ghanaians and Africans, as well as the plight of oppressed black people the world over, in poetry influenced by the history, folklore, proverbs, idioms, riddles, and drum language of his people as well as his personal Christian faith. While lamenting the brutalities that go with oppression and insisting that oppressed peoples take their destinies into their own hands, his priestly voice cautions moderation in the quest for justice and equality, and insists on reason and forgiveness, not vengeance. While documenting human suffering, the poetry insists on hope and redemption, not doom. (cited: Maureen Abotsi, http://www.ghananation.com/biography/16593-kobena-eyi-acquah.html)