Poetry: The Old Effigy
*S Kojo Frimpong*
The old effigy
There used to be a man
Standing still in front of my school
He was motionless but he reached out to
Every student when they are fast asleep
In the darkest hours of the night
He wore an old rickety cap and haboured power beneath him
For he had knowledge under his feet
He stood with his one leg
Positioned on a pile of books
And the other hanging in the mid air
Like a cock afraid of loosing a leg
As he darkened the whole school
With a torch in one hand
And a collation of chaotic heavens in the other
With the demons trapped in the moon
Dancing like heathen inviting Hades to dine
By tormenting children.
What a father he became!
Because he was believed to be a protector
No wonder we woke one morning
Only to witness him fall
And break into pieces
He fell with such great might
That the earth trembled and heavens roared
In so much pain that the earth was flooded with tears
Because his fall was something never thought of
*P K Addisu* Poem
Before the Assembly grounds
Stood this figure
A man of history with a broken arm and legs
His frozen arm held high the torch which never shone for decades
And history could not recall
How long he stood strongly on a leg
Yet he never gave up
He had the spirit of a soldier but failed his one purpose on earth
The man never made his light shone
He looked very weary and scary
But He was the only Image that beautified the school
On his dooms day,
The gods descended into one mighty man,
Gave him the weapon of Thor
Which landed him in one strong stroke
Oh what a pity! to witness his fall
It took the messenger of Zeus
Dozens of blows to befall mighty Hercules
He was treated unfairly
Like he was a cast out of heaven like Lucifer
And his mortal remains remained
Swimming in the deep gutters constructed by erosion
That was the only memory left of him
On the path that led to our mystic well
Right in front of the teachers bungalow.
A Ghanaian poetry by S. Kojo Frimpong & PK Addisu
