Keta My Love - Kwofie Matthew

Strong winds coax you into the brook with love
caressing every hair and the flesh of your body
as though the world cares about your beauty
Monstrous waves spread their daring tentacles
around your devitalized shoulders with impunity
as though to offer the soothing comfort you desire
Boastful lazy rocks flood your coasts in queues
showing off their apparently sharp edges and cracks
as though to provide the indomitable defense you cleave

But where are those multitudes of wading birds:
the herons, storks, ibises, spoonbills, and flamingos
that used to surge your shores with news of your siesta
Where are those naughty bunch of school boys
who had always boisterously invaded your shores
with their intriguing compositions and inventions
Where are those adventurous old fishermen
who used to engage your corridors every Tuesday
with poetic melodies that stiffen their weakening nets
And where have those tall coconut trees gone
that your house looks so desolate and abandoned
as though never inhabited in centuries

Keta, Oh Keta my once adorable queen
Your children desert you with fear
Your servants denounce you in despair
Your armies surrender with haste
Your calm wails collapse unheard

I see specks of native islands in the distance
I hear the sounds of bold steps nearing
I hear sweet melodies of new beginnings
I feel cool breezes move over your horizons
And the masts of ships on your waters

Rejoice in the midst of your troubles
Keta, Oh Keta my love
Your true sons and daughters
Your servants and army
Are about to arrive



"Keta My Love" is part two of our five-part series of poems on Keta. Further installments will be posted weekly throughout January.

Author Profile - Kwofie Matthew

Biography:

Kwofie Matthew is a professional teacher, and a student of the University of Cape Coast. He enjoys creative writing and hopes to be a great author or journalist in the future.

Five Questions with Kwofie Matthew:

1. What inspired you to write "Keta, My Love"?

First of all, I guess I was inspired by your advertisement. Secondly, I think my usual desire to write about things I see and feel around me also contributed greatly.


2. Have you ever been to Keta? If so, when was your last visit?

No, I have never visited Keta, but I have heard and read so much about the prevalent situation. I have planned paying a visit though. It is just unfortunate; nature forcefully arresting and enslaving a very beautiful human settlement. I think the usual ‘wait and see’ attitude of the Ghanaian is manifested in what is happening at Keta; an early stitch could have saved a neigh. I also think we humans must learn to respect nature and to stay away from places nature considers uninhabitable.


3. What comes to your mind when you first think of Keta, or hear someone mention it?

I think of a once peaceful village now at war with nature.


4. Do you think it is possible for people to understand Keta without having personally visited?

Hmn! I will say yes and no with a lot of caution. Firstly, one can easily paint a mental picture of the state of affairs at Keta upon reading or hearing something about that place, but I doubt if one can really come to true terms with the actual situation on the ground without visiting the place.


5. What similarities can you draw between Keta and your home town of Elmina? What differences?

Can I really respond to this question into details without being biased? I know Elmina very well, but do not know Keta that well. I have read quiet a lot of articles about Keta but I still don’t think I know that town well enough to attempt to compare it with another town.

All I can say basically is that both towns are fishing communities and whereas Elmina is inhabited predominantly by Fantes, Keta is inhabited predominantly by Ewes. Also, Elmina has very calm shores and beaches which apparently is not the case at Keta.

Contact Kwofie:

nanakofi442(at)yahoo.com

Kofi's Past Profiles:

Issue 1.31, October 20th - 26th, 2007
Issue 1.23, August 25th-31st, 2007

My New World - Kwofie Matthew

I’m making a new world of concert
Where the moron shall manage the stage
The dumb shall lead the vocals
The deaf shall control the sound
The leper shall play the drums and guitars
The cripple shall dance the waltz
The blind shall watch the performance
Oh! What a world that would be
Oh! What a concert that would make
My New World of Concert
Forever to change never

Author Profile - Kwofie Matthew

Biography:

Kwofie Matthew is a professional teacher, and a student of the University of Cape Coast. He enjoys creative writing and hopes to be a great author or journalist in the future.

Five Questions with Kwofie Matthew:

1. Where are you most exposed to poetry: on the internet, in newspapers, in book form, or in something else?

I'm equally exposed to poetry through all the media above. I am principally exposed to poetry through books (course books and the Psalms of the Bible) and the Internet (One Ghana, One Voice).


2. Do you religious beliefs have any impact on your writing? If so, how?

I am not very sure myself, maybe they do. Do my style and line of thought suggest so? Well, my writing is clearly influenced by my dream of equal opportunities for all humans (no matter the class, creed, color, location and age) and the wish for a day when leaders shall show proper commitment and responsibility towards those they rule.


3. In your poems, you seem to identify strongly with lower-class Ghanaians (the majority) in their struggle against rich and powerful forces. Do you do this very intentionally? In other words, do you identify your writing as part of a lower-class movement against oppression from the powerful? Or instead do you write what you see and feel, without consideration to wider polical or social movements?

For now, I write freely in expression of what I see and feel around me. Though I have always hoped and wished for a change in the way things are done, I have never conceived of the idea of a movement.


4. Building off the last question, when you write your poems, who are you writing for? Is it mostly for yourself? For the average Ghanaian? For those in power?

Hmm! Who am I writing for? I guess I write, first of all, for myself as a way of dealing with the depression and disappointment I go through whenever I think about what is going on. Secondly, I write my poems for any person who shares my emotions, to the average Ghanaian, to those in authority and above all, anyone who enjoys poetry and is willing to assist in changing things for the better.


5. In you last profile, you spoke of the hard work needed to keep a creative writing group going. If a full group like your Komenda club is too great a task for some people, do you have any other suggestions of smaller actions poets can take to connect with one another and work on their writing?

Yes, what we did at Komenda was a bit challenging but I don't think it was such a difficult task for us. I also don't think it should be so difficult for anyone who wants to replicate it. However, talking about smaller actions that can be taken up by up-and-coming poets to connect with one another and work on their writings, I think some sort of smaller networks could be productive. These could be correspondence networks, a few poets writing to each other from different parts of Ghana and perhaps the larger world, as well as the creation of small groups in the same locality. Also, I think projects such as Miss Emma Akuffo's will play a very important role [ed. note - Emma Akuffo, in conjunction with Julian and myself, are currently working on a project to see some of the poems and poets featured in One Ghana, One Voice published in print in the UK. As the project progresses we hope to be able to provide readers with more information].

Contact Kwofie:

nanakofi442(at)yahoo.com

Kofi's Past Profiles:

Issue 1.23, August 25th-31st, 2007

Crows - Kwofie Matthew

Before you became
Few were they that knew you
Fewer were they that heard you.
Before you arrived
Little was that spoken of you
Very little was that read of you.
When you arrived and became
Amidst the agitated cries
We all were here.
We all saw you
Your only riches and wealth
The well-rehearsed stanzas you recited
Your only strength
The well-rehearsed chorus you sung
The message; well packaged and parcelled
Well polished and blossomed with hope
You kept saying-
From one stand to the other-
"I will bring your lost sons home
I will make your babies men
I will clothe they in rags with silk
I will multiply your bread and butter"
But! Are these that we see?
Are these that you do?
You sell our sons into slavery
You reduce our men to babies
You clothe they in rags with thorns
You divide our bread and butter for your dogs
You keep echoing
"You are not doing enough
You are not yielding enough
We are running at serious loss my dear friends"-
You ride in the best chariots
You parade yourselves in the best suits
You eat the best loaves and drink the best liquor
Your laughter
Hmm! That deafening laughter
Just makes me remember your arrival-
We surely are running at serious loss in deed!
But why do we make you?
Gods too high to reproach
Why do we keep you still?
Gods too proud to care
Why do we all speak of you?
Why do we all read of you?
Why do we all suffer to see you?
Why do we keep standing in the sun?
For you who arrive late in gold chariots
Is it your well learnt stanzas that excite us?
Is it your empty assurances we seek?
Whenever I saw you, I wondered...
Are you anything worth keeping?
You crows in suits!

Author Profile - Kwofie Matthew

Biography:

Matthew is a student of the University of Cape Coast pursuing a Degree program in Education. He is a good Christian and a member of the Gethsemane Methodist Church at Ntranoa. He enjoys creative writing, especially poems. He also enjoys music, movies (especially cartoon movies), chatting with friends, siteseeing, computer games, cracking jokes and offering assistance to others in need. He hopes to be an author or a journalist in the future.

Five Questions with Kwofie Matthew:

1. How long have you been writing poetry?

I can't really remember exactly when I started writing poems. However, I remember I was writing short stories at primary school. I also remember that I wrote stories that were acted by the Ankwanda Church of Pentecost Sunday School, of which I was a member. I became fully conscious of my ability in poetry when I was at Senior Secondary School. That was around 1995 and I have been writing since then, though I have never really taken it very serious.


2. Who are your favorite poets? Which poets have most inspired and informed your work?

For my favorite poets, I think I will go for every poet whose poem I have read. Well, for those who have inspired and informed my work, I can name poets like John Wain, Kwesi Brew, Atukwei Okai, Ayi Kwei Armah, and William Shakespeare, among others.


3. Do you believe poetry can play a role in improving Ghanaian politics? If so, how do you hope for a poem such as "Crows" to change things?

Sure! I know it for a fact that poetry can play a very important role not only in improving Ghanaian politics but in reforming the Ghanaian society as a whole, and also in bringing people's attention to some very important roots and fibers of Ghanaian society which have been relegated to the background. That is a very adorable aspect of our culture and traditions.

"Crows" was written as an expression of the frustrations and disappointment the good and "ordinary" (as we are popularly called) people of Ghana have had to endure over the years at the hands of the very people (politicians) we trusted and vested our powers in. We did this with the good hopes of creating the environment and equal opportunities for achieving what we aspire and to live average lives as humans, in the least. "Crows" brings to the attention of the reader how these people (the politicians) have deviated from our (us, the so called "ordinary" people) plans over the years. It talks about how the politicians have continued to lord themselves over the people who vote them into power rather than serving them. It also talks of how we, the "ordinary," have contributed to this unholy attitude of our politicians, who now enjoy being served rather than serving the people. "Crows" brings us face-to-face with the continuous use of vain words by our politicians and the persistent failure to deliver on promises.

With these and many more lessons that "Crows" brings to the fore, it is hoped that it will be able to awaken the ordinary voter to hold politicians accountable for what they say on political platforms and to insist on the fulfillment of promises made to them by these politicians. It is also hoped that "Crows" will serve as a reminder to our "honorable" politician as to how far they have deviated from the rules of the game so as to retrace their footsteps to the ideals politics stand for.


4. Is there much poetry-related activity in the Cape Coast/Elmina area? If so, what? If not, what do you think is lacking most?

I am not aware of any poetry related activities in the Cape Coast/Elmina area for now. I will ask around for information as regards that though. What I know for a fact is that not many people enjoy poetry. However, I also know that with deliberate efforts and programs people can be made to enjoy the genre just as they enjoy other genres. I think such efforts and programs are what we are lacking.


5. At one point you were a member of a creative writers club in Komenda, Central Region. What was this experience like for you, and do you think it would be easy to replicate elsewhere?

Well, being an ordinary member of the club was very interesting and I enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed the submission of my articles together with that of other members to the editor for editing and approval, and the consequent display of the articles on the school's notice boards. I especially enjoyed the enthusiasm with which other students flooded the boards to read the articles. However, being the editor of the club was very challenging. Most of the time, I needed to stay awake throughout the night to get the articles edited as our membership strength kept increasing rapidly and more members started putting in articles. There were also many challenges in trying to reconcile individual norms and interests with that of the club and the school without offending the author. This always led me to do a lot of consultations with other executives and members and more importantly, the patron. Yes, I think what we did at Komenda can be replicated elsewhere though it might not be that easy. However, I believe hard work and determination can propel one to achieve any height and anything one desires.

Contact Kwofie:

nanakofi442(at)yahoo.com