A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to redeem them from starving.
They all have food in their own houses.
We also gather together in the moonlight village ground,
not because of the moon’s boon
but we come together because it is good for Kinsmen or people
to do so. (Chinua Achebe, in his book, ‘Things Fall Apart)
Therefore,
It is amazing how cultures differ
Religions transform
Marriages cut borders
And human societies flourish
When I hear a Chinese speak
that is soothing enough to be a song
When I see a Japanese dance in mid-morning gong
that is rich food to satisfy an empty soul
from the grips of depression.
When I sit on a dinner table with a Panamanian
that is brewed taste of reggae love
and an echoing worship,
mildly singing “Love each other”
When I chance into Russians and Germans
there’s fine Vodka and Beer away
summoning my instinct to keep coming back home for more
When I am home with an Italian couple
that is pure art of a rising sun
and an emotional spot for unmarried poems
who are yet to taste the stanzas and rhymes of beauty
When fine art of lazing smoke
entraps my inquisitive nostrils
that’s a Cuban Cigar of magical wonder
attracting as the wealthy queen of Arabia
in dancing yonder
When you spot Elephants on the Chobe River
and the Makgadigadi pans experience rains
that’s a Batswana painting and sight as a Mona Lisa
When a Zambian is served an Nshima with an Ndiwo
that’s an expression of tales of hospitality and folklore
brewed from an African pot
When I stare in awe to the Samba by a Brazilian
that’s times way of healing in the most unbearable of pain
When you greet a Ni-Van and she responds unusually gently,
ask her about the meal she prepared for dinner
and if it is rice, then, there is famine in her home.
Wear the traditional canon of an Ethiopian shawl
and that’s a taste of elegance before the altar of prayer.
When I see a Kenyan on board a Delta Airlines flight
In snooze mode to America
that is another Obama in the making
When you fall in love with a Ghanaian
that’s immortality in the face of death
and a cure of depressed hunger
Therefore,
We came together for a grand feast
which exposed us to different traits and characters
So,
Let’s recognize ourselves as a people
dealing with people
even in the scarcest of cultures and religion
as we might not know where another Obama could be born.
Love Each Other.
Keep on loving each other
As I could be the next Obama
‘coz I felt in love with a foreigner of another land.
Copyright © 25-06-2017
Michael Kwaku Kesse Somuah
aka Poet et Cetera
Written in Beijing-China during a 3 week seminar on Climate Change where I fell in love with the amazing people from different cultures and backgrounds. Credit to Igwee of Kenya and all participants to the conference. It was nice seeing you all.
mkksomuah 