Clan-root’s Demise

Komla Afeke Dumor

truthSpeaker

who sealed the mouth of  crocodile’s children,

Whatever prompted Kutsiami to boat you mid-duty

Blurred the diviners’ visions

And tamed the leopard-clan

Afeke

Root of the clan,

They say

Crocodile children clamped you

On a gun’s noose

Watching watching

If you will shiver

But

As a Tuesday man of the leopard family

Your smile set fire to their dreams

So they pulled the trigger

Placed you on the dining table

For Salagatsi to feast upon

Death eats juicy hearts from our clan-house

But yours

Must appease Salagatsi’s eternal hunger

He has gone too far

Death swept too fast

Even seers were deaf to his lingo

Let death know that

It just touched a bee-gourd

With a left finger

The fire still burns

Komla

Your fire still burns