Baby Ambasonia

Was from time immemorial born
Was through time and age grown
Was of the Federal Republic lured
Was of the united Republic deterred
And by the La République killed
And in death tied to the skilled
Assassin since in hiding gone
By his wall of soldiers and canon
Shielded
By the whole wide world greeted.
Need not emphasise a true story
For all know and none does worry.

Poor Baby Ambasonia
From your ashes rebirth is so near
For my belief in this myth
Has nothing of a heath.

A Cellphone

Badinant avec le Noir

Tranquilles, nous fûmes à la rive
Ne voyant pas la dérive
Voulant nous voir loin de Bavière
Nous poussèrent-ils dans la rivière
Sans bateau et ou sans espoir
Furent-ils maîtres et firent les lois
Nous colonisant y compris
Cons ainsi que sages à tout prix ;

Prix que nous payons depuis lors
Pour la couleur noire de cet or
Identique à celle des peaux noires
Noircissant blancheur d’abreuvoirs
Qui vaille que vaille doivent couler
A flot pour les étanchés
Ayant tout sauf notre rire
Même s’ils croient notre cas pire !

Coûte que coûte, ils pratiquent les maux
Où nous avons le dernier mot
Justifiant pour quoi derrière nous
S’acharnent-ils comme des loups garous
Voraces en quête de proie facile
Qui nie de rendre difficile
Leur jeu de bourreaux arythmiques
Aux calculs bien mathématiques ;

Pour eux une récréation sportive
Pour nous badinage subversif
N’amusant que les régisseurs
De malveillant joug de la peur
Bourdonnant dans les oreilles noires
Permettant de faire couler à boire
Pouvant assouvir les futés
Qui par ailleurs sont disputés.

$£¥€

Our best fight we put to host
These strangers who’ll never their hosts’
Expectations meet sincerely
Where all hosts do for them truly
Die leaving their leafy green backs
Here as hosts have left stabs on backs
Killing, lying, slandering for them
With sane minds to see shit in them;
Such strangers who never come stay
But on man’s psychology prey
And his world does turn upside down
God bless America won’t drown
Flying the flag by such strangers
Flown and guarded by their rangers.

SCHIZOPHRENIE NATIONALE

Comment peut-on être Camerounais ?
Le français est-elle ma langue maternelle ?
Non, je suis né à Bamenda où l’on ne le parle pas.
Comment peut-on être Camerounais ?
L’anglais est-elle ma langue maternelle ?
Non, je suis né à Bertoua où l’on ne le parle pas.
Suis-je même Camerounais ?
Vraiment, je le crois et m’en expliquerai
Mais de ‘pure ethnie’ qu’en sais-je et qu’importe ?
Ne m’insultez pas !
Séparatiste ? Autonomiste ? Régionaliste ?
Tout cela, rien de cela. Au-delà !
Mais alors, nous ne nous comprenons plus.

Qu’appelez-vous Camerounais ?
Et d’abord, pourquoi l’être?
Question nullement absurde.
Camerounais d’état-civil, je suis nommé Biafrais.
J’assume à chaque instant ma situation de Camerounais;
Mon appartenance au Cameroun,
N’est en revanche qu’une qualité facultative
Que je puis parfaitement renier ou méconnaître.
Je l’ai d’ailleurs fait ;
J’ai longtemps ignoré que je suis Camerounais.

Camerounais sans problème,
Il me faut donc être Anglophone en surplus.
Camerounais sans ambages,
Il me faut donc être Francophone en plus.
Si je perds cette conscience,
L’appartenance cesse d’être en moi.
Le Camerounais n’a pas de pièces d’identité,
Il n’existe que dans la mesure où,
A chaque génération,
Des hommes se reconnaissent Camerounais.
A cette heure, des enfants naissent à Bamenda,
Seront-ils Camerounais ?
A cette heure, des enfants sont mis au monde à Bertoua,
Seront-ils Camerounais ? Nul ne le sait.
A chacun, l’âge venu, la découverte ou l’ignorance.

© Peter Vakunta

Ink and ench

The clinker boat's
boards are clenched

As clink is to clench
So drink is to drench
And stink is to stench

Therefore should
we not allow
pink is to pench
wrink is to wrench
frink for the French?

Henchmen may give
(a word to the wise)
a wink to a wench
a bink on a bench
and other inventions
too mincing to mention?

©Phillip Mahnken
11 October 2009

Strong Rock Solid Love

My word my bond with you here will stay
Far from the love that did rot away
For you so love me that I won’t doubt
And if I did so, I won’t call out
As I do by the day and by night
Showing you the love that’s yours by right.

Here I sit and here I wait, you in mind
Being the special find by mankind
Sought after in that love threadbare world
In which like the serpent hatred curled
Around in wait for the innocent
In order to prey on sentiments

Where you are, there I am on my marks
Ready to take you home with no barks
For those dogs willing to still our move
To push our love right atop the roof
Shading new meaning to the word love
With sound knowledge of peace brought by dove

Here we are, love we know that will stay
With no one able to make her sway
From this gleeful glide on these smooth rails
Leading home a love that blazes trails
For dreamers who slain their dreams way back
With no thoughts someday it will come back.

Now we know what to keep that we’ve found
Which is what in love will keep us bound
Together loving and respecting
Each other with just no misgiving
But thanks giving to the light that lights
Love’s path on which we tread without plights.

Count the lines; know the span it’ll survive
In the eyes of men striding in life
All clad in abjection fanning flames
Heating up the air for baseless claims
Claims that in our union has no grounds
Where our rock solid love’s ever sound.

Two kind pipole

Whiteman bin too like Blackman
Ye come for long take Blackman
Make ye ninga for long time
Di gi ye big taste for lime
When ye want go ye spoil place
Like nko di chakara place.

Chop Chop Club

Chop a chop bin be dia mimba
For get chop dem make we ninga
Ninga dem we no want for be
Bicos which mop no like honey?
Dem tif all money sey na crish
Don cam catch economic finish
De small lep whey we bin get am
And we see dia plate carry yam,
Dem hold knife with fork want for chop
Na taim make we pipole sey stop
Bicos wonder fit foolish pass
We no go leave dem fool we pass
Since we no want drink dat quinine
Whey dem shi don no scratch dem skin
Some man must tell papa chop chop
Sey yi must fill up wia cup
No be with lie lie promise dem
We want na just true true one dem
Bifo we go sing choir for ye
So teh ye no go forget we
Whey we Kill dia club for chop chop
Whey boma dem di chop no f’ll-up.

Patience is All

Just when I was about to give all up
I saw sincerity marked on love’s face
By Patience; she was patient with grace
That off my feet knocked and swept me to drop

Head over heels as if by a spell doomed
To this life of happiness as a groom
With honey textured soul in readiness
To cast away that life of moodiness!

With such love am I graced to embrace her
With my glance at her, looking no further
As the bells resound with marital bliss
Leaving me nor any room for a bliss

Tell me why the world I shouldn’t give up
For one so dear lifting me to the top
In form and in spirit full with pleasure
Caressing the heart, knowing no measure.

The strength of love bonds with understanding
Giving our show to the world, astounding
And hoping not in history such would be
You the bee that produces sweet honey

And who said honey was sweet? You’re sweeter!
You make the bitterness in life slumber
Like one who has come and come till he can’t
Embrace and understand jack by Kant.

But once into your bee hive with honey
Full, the genius in him would spite money
And would start digging in nature, pleasure
As would any hunter hunt his treasure.

My Patience had laid patiently in wait
And such treasures as Patience are no bait
But babes to be cherished and lavished well
With love that runs deep, the like of my well!