Chapter 26 Anthology of Ghanaian Poetry

Untitled (Ghana) Israel Kaf Hou If I am compelled to hate the country that has nourished me, and to please the common stranger—then let the boat go, and I will go on foot. If I am compelled to point my left hand at my town and my countrymen, who have labored for me—then let the boat go, and I will walk on foot.Komenda Hill (Ghana) by Bosman Raia Oh, Komenda Hill, a castle in wartime, and an altar in peacetime, I have admired your glory, oh, the whole of me is yours, You rule over the vast lands and seas now and forever, and the winds on land and sea salute you. The sun beats down on your peaks, the rain washes down your valleys, but you stand majestic and indomitable.

O sacred mountain, I extol you: To the student you are great learning, to the sick you are wine, to the traveler you are beauty, to the weary you are peace. But what I will cherish forever are the fields around you: The green leaves in the morning dew are clean and fresh, and the orchards and gardens are intricately patterned. They must cultivate noble palms, fill coconuts with milk, add sweet juice to sugarcane, and feed grains. . The night has come to cover your scars, send your fragrance, and also invite the moonlight and the gaze of the bay, to put light on your sea, rock, and sandy shore.

Forever, noble mountain, be there forever to shade, your soft-eyed student, guard your secrets, protect your peasants, and turn my doubts into beliefs, and the darkness in my heart into light.Harmantan (Ghana) Joseph Gadai Howling with the wind, and the woods weeping, Nature is powerless; the leaves forsake the branches, and leave them bare, how sad it is! Blowing down all kinds of red and purple, ①The dry wind on the west coast of Africa. ——Translator Fenfen is exhausted today. The bees are lamenting, the dry wind has announced their doom, their lives depend on the flowers, how do they live now!

All things are in a hurry, water gives them life, dry wind blows everything away; drought makes them wilt. Harmantan!When will it go and let the world have a good time? Withering and sorrow all surround us, but Harmantan is making way for the good news of the world, which clears the world for rain and joy, yea, which prepares the world for harvest and contentment. All life is like this, sometimes Harmantan whizzes past, everyone bows their heads in grief, and sometimes weep. Weep not at this time, for the rain will follow the drought and then the world will smile again.Life in our village [Ghana] Matti Maqui When the old people are present, the boys are not allowed to look at the girls and the girls are not allowed to look at the boys because the old people say it is not good.

The boys are only allowed to play by themselves, and the girls are only allowed to play by themselves. But people's emotions are weak, and the young man and the girl meet. The girls also played hide and seek. The boys know where the girls are hiding and the girls know where the boys are hiding - so at hide-and-seek, the boys look for the girls, and the girls look for the boys, and they sing love songs to each other. Postscript The author of the four Ghanaian poets introduced here, Israel Kafu Hoh (Israel Kafu Hoh), was born in 1912 and has been engaged in education for many years.His first poem was written in 1929. In addition to poetry, he has written several plays and a biography; In 2010, he worked in the Ghanaian government and was one of the leaders of the Canadian Language Association. Raiya wrote some short stories and reviews; Kobena Gya-ta Akwa, born in 1911, is an editorial board member of the Bureau of Oral Literature of Ghana. Matei Markwei's life is unknown.

The first three poems were translated from the English version of "The Voice of Ghana" published in Ghana in 1958; the latter was translated from the "African Treasure House" published in the United Kingdom (edited by the black poet Langston Hughes). (The translated poem was published in the December 1962 issue of World Literature.)