(From A Basket of Flaming Ashes)

For Weka

I fell headlong for you

Your saintly face goaded me to sing

Your seminary days lured me

Your snippets of my language at dawn caught me

I matured on the wings of your new deal

But you betrayed me too soon

What happened to the ring binding us?

The “united” in our names?

I obeyed you as my lord

I draped you in colorful clothes

I made my house home

And called you “fon of fons”

Everything of mine became yours

The nectar from my tea leaves

The pods from my cocoa trees

The coffee from my farms

I let you swim in my sea,

You anchored at my harbor.

I enriched you with my oil

What else was I supposed to do?

Like your true love I stayed

Wide eyed waiting for you

No airports lead you to me

No roads can bring you home

Yet I sang dimabola*

Hoping for sunrise at dusk

Now decisions excite me

And my future bugs me

Can we meet at the Moungo bridge?**

*Church song in Cameroon made anecdotally popular when it was used in pro-government political rallies in the 90’s

**This bridge serves as a boundary between English and French speaking Cameroon