By Kwesi BISSUE
His was the voice that rose above the suppressive silence
That vocal cord used to hurt
That voice rang out loudest
That voice shouted itself hoarse
That voice screamed so deafening
That voice sounded so definite
What he smelled sent shivers to inflict quivers
His were the feet that navigated the path to dissent
Those feet preceded many more to march in tow
Those feet proceeded to lead the protesting throng
His were the feet that narrowed the distance
…between the masses and the bosses
His was the pen that powered the petition
…to the powers that used to be
That pen printed pages to be presented on the podium
That pen painted the precarious picture of the people
That pen pointed directly to the pain
…planted in the path of the poor
II
He was the only one they came to know
…only one to follow
Only one to rise to the occasion to slave for action
Only one to stand opposed to the powers of oppression
Only one to pose a threat to that greedy misappropriation
He was the only one they proposed for a speedy resolution
III
His was the jaw that dropped at the discovery of the colossal robbery
That jaw worried about the thievery from the pot of gold
That jaw vowed to halt the daytime robbery
That jaw swore to seal the pot of gold
That jaw promised to deal a blow ruthlessly
To those who dared to steal from the golden pot
His was a job that called words to match with works
But!
But that jaw warmed itself into reality
…gradually
That jaw wandered a lot while inside his unloaded wallet
That jaw wondered why he was worried
That jaw’s willpower was weakened by the waiting wealth
Wealth waiting to welcome him into the well of wealth
Wealth worth wishing to own before death
That jaw
That voice
Dipped a finger
And then fingers
In the pot of gold
Then that voice shattered into smithereens
…into eternal silence
Never again to say something
IV
He had just learned table ethics
“When you are at table
You choose what to pick
You don’t spit
You don’t speak
You can only eat
And eat
At the table of men”
He had just joined the brokers
“When you are gargling green bucks
You don’t suffer the beak to unlock
You belch, you suck
Else you spill the green bucks”
