Anokye Contra Yehoshua - Martin Egblewogbe

It is of great interest
to compare Yehoshua and Anokye;
The latter murdered in his deep sleep
by the firing of a musket –
the gun not even pointed at him.
From such a death there is no resurrection:
thus perished the hope of a Guan elixir.

Mark here one notable divergence:
Whereas Yehoshua is documented four-fold or more
Anokye lives on in a multitude of tales
Each morphing in time and space.

So in the remote gospel according to McCaskie
Anokye approaching the town discovered
it was his own funeral in full swing:
Disgusted, Anokye turned and walked away,
presumably into the forest, and thus disappeared.

Yehoshua, on the other hand,
was done to death in a most grisly fashion,
hanging from a wooden stake for all to see –
and how can we not shed a tear, a tear! at least.
Yet Magic Man even in death, Yehoshua fled the grave!
He rose from the dead! and for emphasis,
rose also into the air and thus disappeared.

It may well be
Magic Men all like to vanish
preservéd bones are not the fashion
for prophets thus revered.
In which case the manner in which one disappears
is how the trump is held.
Grant Yehoshua this:
levitating in the light of day
Out-of-doors, and in sight of many –
this was a master touch.
Beaten perhaps, only by Elijah's
terrific ascent into the stratosphere
flaming chariot and all that:
Elijah wins on dramatics.

In any case, we are told
Yehowa engineered Yehoshua's great escape
and had planned the whole thing for an eternity.
But as I am sure you will agree,
it all was done with a very nice touch.
Add Elijah's case, and one concludes
Yehowa cannot be beaten at this game.

But unlike Yehoshua, Anokye was altogether earthly,
with no relations in high places – much less a father;
and so stayed put wherever.
(The lesson has been well learned in this country:
nepotism springs from this).

Centuries on and Yehoshua is leading,
Anokye creeping behind, a shaky image.
And as in the name of Yehoshua, Anokye's fame is dimmed,
We, his people have been thrashed,
and our heads are forced to bow, and bow...
Anokye... next time, walk on water! Next time, be crucified!
Next time have connections, preferably to Yehowa.

How shall we poetically approach Anokye?
Or sing of his powers, and
Create a buff shine for our own black mysterian?
Shall we resurrect this Magic Man?

8 comments:

Darko Antwi said...

As it stands debatable, we may or may not agree with every constituent in 'Anokye Contra Yehoshua', but it would be risky to the welfare of Ghanaian poetry if we lose cognisance of its ingenuity, per the adventure it entails. Upon this note, may I conclude that:

Martin Egblewogbe is a distinguished writer with a mountain of knowledge and the wildest of imagination. In him, Ghana has a Charles Darwin.

Welldone, Martin.

Vacancy said...

I have to agree absolutely with you here, we have the right to disagree certain decisions

Efo Dela said...

These words are so beautiful woven and the story so riveting.

I love it so so much!

Unknown said...

Personally, I admire the storyline imbibed in this poetic rendition of two separate Religions.

It is also true that our own story line of faith has been given up for an "adopted" religion. Anyway, it is for the reader to trully decide, but I love it all the same.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Beautifully crafted to provoke thought and emotions. Great work Martin.

Unknown said...

Salutes..powerful piece of poetry. Leaves much to think about like a puzzle of pictures. Contrasts of time and geographicality, as well as race and religion relatedness makes this worth a read or a long discussion even.

anguah said...

beautifully worded. enjoyed the bit about nepotism. separating my religious affiliation and just looking at it from an artistic view, very IMPRESSIVE

aemaen said...

Like Everything Ugh About This Poem From Style,Tone,Imagery,Mood,Etc... But Of cOurse, It's Fiction. and The Poet DoeS A Fine Job With The ComparisoNs..