Home Of Stray Angels

He: You're a stray angel whose path back to the heavens has been thwarted. You now have a home here with me, live under this shade of mine and let's see if we can make a more heaven out of just sticks and thatch"

She; I wasn't created for the heavens dwell. Why do you call me strayed when my home is with you built? This is heaven, here's where angels ought to be. I shed my wings so I can live among men…I renounced immortality so I can dwell in this life with you, however short. The gracefulness of life is not living forever but dying with a fulfilled heart, knowing you lived for love. If this isn't heaven, then where is?

Ghana On My Mind

The fathers who built the structural foundations of our nation Ghana meant well. Within their means, they sought to place Ghana on a democratic pinnacle where Ghana could be a shinning light that beckons other African countries to the worth of true democracy and redemption. When Dr. Nkrumah declared on that fateful night that "Ghana, our beloved country is free forever", he didn't mean only freedom from colonialism and imperialism, but also, freedom from all things that seek to draw the democracy of this nation unto its kneels. When we inherited this nation from our fathers, the least we could have done was "to uphold and defend the good name of Ghana". This never happened.

We have always sought to bathe in the glory of democracy much to the extent that we are unconsciously sinking into the wallows of what should have been our saving grace. Silently, our perception of democracy is killing the moral fibre of this country. We pretend to speak for democracy but the words that come out of our mouth is nothing but venom that seeks to cripple our moral well being as Ghanaians. How long can we follow this path as a nation? How can we lend a helping hand when bitterness has clouded our sense of reasoning?

The most important questions we need to ask ourselves are "can all our problems be solved by the political parties we seem to have sold our souls to? Can there ever be a leader who can put food on the tables of all hungry mouths in this nation? Can we ever achieve a better Ghana when political leaders shroud the truth and feed us with gravels"?

Our political will and democratic zeal is under a threat. It's about time we opened our eyes to the truth instead of worshipping political parties. The time has come for us to run to the shelters of the righteousness of our conscience. With the armour of a righteous conscience, let's put our leaders to the sword and cause them to be accountable. As we do that, we should not forget to also start the change we've always wanted to see.

Change is only gonna come when we position our selves well to make it work. We should always endeavor to reflect the change we demand from others. It's only when we open ourselves up to the hope of change that a better Ghana could be realized. It's not our speech but our actions that can throw light into the darkness we are yet to face. We should rise up as one people and shake the foundations of ideologies that seek to make us poor, and as one people lets help promote the light of the better Ghana we all want to see. This should be the point of our awakening. This should be the time we regroup to think about building a nation not only for ourselves but for our children. God bless our homeland Ghana.

The Sling

In the journey to find a restful ground,
where the total peace of my heart can be found
many unguarded territories I trod
I trusted there would be gold at the end of my search path
I believed though failure looms bigger than life,
I knew miracles could come out of the ashes… so I held on
The pictures on the horizon told a story of defeat yet I held on;
Knowing my reward shall be in gold

Through it all, the beauty of the sling kept me still
Shinning my path like the birth of a new sun
Keeping my heart's beat among pebbles of diamond
And supporting the foundations of my weaknesses with the sling of love
The sweat on my face, with velvet of care, she wipes
The sling, the pillars of my common dreams
The womb to my little hopes;
Feet to my wobbly desires,
The shelter for my weary bones and the orchestrator of the sound of my heart beat
My sweetest dreams in a blossom of darkness and;
The gentle breeze that stirs a peaceful slumber in my soul.
My glorious aster in the morning of September's birth
Thy love I crave, like the broken bone yearns for the sling.

The Mind of a Confused Soul

Life on this space called earth is whole lot confusing than I've figured out. Lately I've been thinking about things and how they affect our lives either positively or negatively. The whole thing don't make sense if you put it in line with what others want to make us believe.

Let's talk about time…is it real? Or it's just an illusion we've created just to explain the series of changes that go on around us? Who change, time or us? Do we change to signify a shift in time or times change to usher us into a new sphere of life? Which one comes first, time or change? Things change so we can appreciate the existence of time or it's rather the time that changes things so we can appreciate the power of time? It's said that "the only thing that is constant is change". Does that mean change forever exist so that all other things including time move around it?

Now LOVE…what's love. Today you're madly in love with someone, tomorrow you realise that that someone is who you should live without. At first your heart tells you it's true, you even have sleepless night over the thought of your love one but what about tomorrow? Is your heart gonna be this true when tomorrow comes? No, you wake up and love don't live in the heart no more. Where does love goes when it flies? Is it really true what they tell us about love? I was one day going through my old letters. I came across one letter a formal girlfriend wrote to me. After all the love promises in the letter, she stated very clear that she's going to love me till she dies. As long as i know, shes still alive and now she's someone's wedded wife. So is there anything like love or is just a name we give to our feelings for someone at a moment in time? Does it really make sense to waste your time today in love when you know tomorrow your effort might hit the rocks? Crazy old love.

Growing up is what I've always dreaded. I've always dreamt of living forever, possibly living to witness the return of the messiah. But, each moment, each minute and second draws us to the ultimate goal of man; growing up. Why don't we ever stop growing, isn't there a stage where we can say no to growing up and forever stay young? They say growing up makes us intelligence and more wise, I've seen a stupid old man before.

There are dreams, there are wishes too. What part do they play in our lives? So many dreams don't come true and so many desires end up in the garbage bin just as all other garbage. Why have them if they can't come true? Is it just there so we can feel good about ourselves and senses for a moment? Why can't we fly with the eagles just as we dreamt it? Why can't we have the best of life just as we desired?
The whole thing looks as blur as we look very closely. Just like prayers, you might scream it or say it from deep down the well of the heart, but not all ever get answered even those that get answered happens in pieces and makes it very difficult to realise if it's really what u prayed for.

Someday, I believe we might all wake up and realise the whole thing was a scum. Life, love, time, dreams, desires and even death.

The Dark Side Of Memories

"I thought you would rejoice my eternal sleep, I thought all was lost and forgotten. Why do you adorn me with flowers when a single care I couldn't deserve?" she looked up to his face with teary eyes. Her voice shaky, her lips couldn't open to let words out; "all I've done is to love you" she said. "The ice in your heart kept you frozen to my love gestures. Even when my hands held too tight to yours, you called it pain instead of seeing love's claws."

There was a deafening silence, the only sound was the fall of dry leaves from up the dying trees. The air was serene, the harmattan has made ghost of all once upon green leaves.

She asked a question she thought would bring a smile to his face; "Do you remember the first day we kissed?" "Yes I do", he answered. "I remember how your palms got wet out of sheer bliss. I told you heavens would enjoy our union. Your eyes dazzled in beauty I haven't found anywhere else. Did you believe me when I said we would be forever?" he asked.
"Yes, I did." she answered. "I felt your heart beat and I knew that was the beginning of love's journey." the answer made him quiver, his face went pale with sadness. With a quivering voice he asked her; "so why did you leave me cold when you alone knew the source of my light?"
"I didn't leave you." She answered. "I only left to see whats behind the horizon. I thought love would bring us together again. I thought you would look for me. Seasons past but I never saw you, all I had was this hidden memory of us I've kept so tight in my heart".

His heart turned cold, his gaze fixed on a butterfly dancing it's way up in the wind. He dropped his gaze on the dusty path leading to the cemetery, realizing the dawn is about to break, he told her; "it's over now. You've been able to live on a memory of us all this while…that's all I am to you now; memories. Leave my spirit alone. Stop bringing me flowers and let this sleep of my soul have eternal joy. There's nothing more to take, love wasn't for us to keep. All is dust and gone, what's left is just the glory of our memories. Open your eyes and end this dream, I have a journey to make, to the unknown, that's where I belong now."

On saying that, a flicker of light pierced through the haze, he started moving backwards in gentle strides when the light fell on his saddened face. His tears never stopped, he looked on as she fell flat on the ground, screaming "wait! Wait! Wait.

She suddenly woke up from her sleep with the scream still on her lips. (Story Ends)

This is how frail our lives on earth is. We can't say it all but we can say just enough to make our existence worth while. We should not waste our time of existence contemplating on what could have been. Life is too short to let every sign fall in wastefulness. Why didn't he see what's in her heart whiles alive? Was he too busy taken care of things that did not feed the soul?
Why did she leave when she could have stayed right there in the arms of love?

Look around, all the things we need to have a share of bliss in this life are right there. Stop wondering what lies in the horizon and enjoy what you have at the moment. Life has a subtle way of passing us by. But if only we can listen clearly to the echoes of life, to the roaring of tomorrow's tide, we would have a fulfilled life.

Look at the person next to you; someday you would miss their presence. Someday you will miss their little deeds of kindness that brought warmth to your heart. When that day comes, all you could have are memories. Make good use of what's around you.

Life is to short but very far. The problem is the uncertainties surrounding our steps to the doors of tomorrow. Anytime we go to bed and hope for tomorrow, we should make sure we've tasted the best of what today brought and make it a point to always live above our fears just as the water lilies above the brook. There's no tomorrow but today…forget about tomorrow and live long today, that's all it takes. That's all the joy we can have in the embrace of life

Footprints of Shadows Gone

The cameos people sometimes make in our lives are so many that we usually lose counts of them. sometimes it's for the obvious good and other times our heart don't seem so comfortable with them. It becomes a load on our hearts when the person taking the bow is entrenched at the very corners of our hearts. The question then becomes "why don't they stay there for a little longer?"

One day, when the sun was almost Set, at twilight, I found myself on a dusty lonely road leading to a small village. At a point I was wondering what has taken me to such lonely path, where all I see are birds and flies buzzing and hustling to settle in their nest after a hard day of search and stone swerving. Whiles my mind was on a pilgrimage, my eyes were feasting on the amazement of sheer colour and beauty these little creatures bring to the scene. My thought was suddenly broken by the approach of a lady at the opposite direction. Judging by the dust on her feet, she has covered a lot of grounds. Her face was plane with doubt, like someone who can't find her way out of a maze. I could see there were questions she wanted answers for. She reluctantly spoke to me; "Do you live around here?" I wanted to be as funny as I could to see if I could draw a smile from her so I answered "I'm as lost as yourself" (well, I failed, she didn't even wiggle her lips) then she started pouring out her troubles, where she thought she was going and why she was at that place at that moment. She had an interesting story to tell from where she was coming. I thought she was beautiful cos she had teeth so unusual of a village girl; so beautiful. I saw a friend in her, at the spot I knew I've found a friend, though at an unusual place. She was very comfortable talking to me as if she's known me forever. I wished I could take her home, I wished I could spend the rest of the day with her…so many wishes flashed my imagination. Alas! It didn't last...it was a moment too soon to come to an end. "the darkness is nigh, people like me still have grounds to cover, we would have to depart", she said. Reluctantly I agreed. I went home with her in my thought…I woke up the next morning, still thinking of this encounter.

The next day ran slowly and later it was evening, just as the same time. I took to the road again with hopes of seeing her so strong. I got there, waited and even went ahead to the direction I saw her going. I visited few homes around to see if I could see her. Nothing happened, I didn't see her. Seven days in a row I kept going there but…it was fruitless.
She made me a friend and left me in wander land.

In our ups and downs on the path of life, we meet such people who don't need forever to carve a shape for themselves in our heart. The impressions they leave ripples on the brooks of our hearts. We wonder how It didn't last forever. But the hours a character spend on stage doesn't necessarily make the story, what weaves the fabric of the story is the contribution the character makes in developing the story, it doesn't need to be long. Sometimes a cameo is all it takes to make impression on your audience, how well you handle your cameo is all that matters. People can make a forever out of a second, what it takes is what you put in there. A blazing trail of footprints is worth everything. Life is short but too long. We don't have all day. Very soon the stage has to be cleared, the audience needs to go home but the question is, when you take a bow, would you deserve a thundering applause or just a mention? Would the audience shout your name with an encore? Baby, your audience (friends) paid a lot to be here, to see you play your part. Don't bored them to sleep, get their heart enchanted so you can be worthy of the last applause.

When The Dream is Dreamt By Artists: (Why I'm 1312Dreams)

I was born on the 13th of December, at a period when my family wasn't doing too well. As a child growing up in a peasant community with my grandma, I didn't have a lot to enjoy apart from going to the farm with my granny and ask questions that bothered my little brains. My grandma was an avid story teller. She had a way of putting my imagination to work anytime she tells a story. Sometimes I could even imagine myself being the hero of the story…it was really awesome the things I could imagine myself do.

One day, everything changed. My grandma died and I had to change home. It was very difficult for my young heart to bear. I remember counting all the things I was going to miss through the change of home; my little room, friends, my backyard garden, surrounding trees and my two caged birds, but I had to move on. That was the first of ten homes I would later change.

My first day at my new school, my teacher told me a story that would later reawaken my senses of imagination and open a whole new concept of life to me. The title of the story (as I later grew up to know) is "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and just three days ago I watched a 1962 adaptation of the story. That story was everything that changed my perception of life and opened a new horizon of dreams to me. I understood the power of dreams that day and since then, I've always loved to wander in dreams and allow myself to be in wonderful places only my mind could allow me to be. I don't treat life as evanescence as I used to but have shaped my desires to treasure every little moments of life and also take moments to say hello to little things life has to offer. I've always seen myself as that prisoner on the bridge of Owl Creek. The distance between life and death was an inch tall but he dreamt. He dreamt of a road back home into the arms of a loving wife and kids. He made an escape in his mind's eye. The soldiers thought they've captured him but in the beauty of his dreams, he was running to meet a family he left behind. He even had had time to smell the rose along his path, looked into the skies and breathed again.

The impact this story had on me was so immense that I had no option but to add "dreams" to my date of birth and make it a name. It's my spiritual name as you may call it. I had life on the 13/12/19..and I have dreams to live on.
I've always believed in the power of dreams. I believe in the refreshing dew it spills on the spirit and the serene rest it gives to the laboured soul. like Thomas Edward Lawrence said, "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Dream on…


Those who want to read the story, here's the link: http://fiction.eserver.org/short/occurrence_at_owl_creek.html

Those who want to watch too: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EHqnSX4SJ_A