The poetry of Dr Kebba Bojang ‘The winnable candidate’ “Politicians are like a bunch of bananas. They start off green, turn yellow…” In The Gambia, They can start yellow And ripen into every shade there is. Still, the winnable candidate — Don’t play victim to gain sympathy. They offer policies to earn votes. They don’t […]
By Malik Kah How can you turn away when the earth itself screams beneath shattered walls? How can you not know — when truth is no longer buried, but broadcast, streamed, screened, etched into the soul of the world? Children, malnourished, hollow-eyed, dying not just of hunger, but of fear and trauma, of watching their […]
This scribe wrestles to write, The pounding pains of the voiceless On pulverised petals of pages. Words goes on like a meandering stream, As he inks with a pouring heart To speak for the voiceless. He writes the silent sorrow, That speak in their hearts And the scorched tears, That sit red in their eyes; […]
It scorches our hearts that Once again teachers are treated as coolies Pulled and flushed out of the race for economic security Being placed on the altar of sacrifice To be the stepping stone that resides in the bottom to elevate others Once again fruits have oppressed their roots Overlooked and flouted as a spitted […]
If history hasn’t lied to us We would all bear witness that the bloody Nigerian Biafran war was ignited by tribal politics When the electorates voted based on tribal bases and not leadership quality We don’t want to have a taste of the bitterness of tribal politics in our beloved Smiling Coast We don’t want […]
In recollecting our history, the mystery Our invented yet still a rotten identity Consciousness on a sick bed, what a misery Nation ‘like a tree without roots’, what a pity An island on a dinning table of decay Even after bearing the name Kunta Kinteh Still standing like a market without traders In schools without […]
By Muhammed Sidibeh The Magnetic Poet The door of education is, learn. I say learn the son of the doors, learn. The cord of slavery shall be cut from your neck, So you remain equal to your world neck and neck. Learn Arabic to understand your religion. Learn Western Education to understand your world as […]
Strings of remorse raved in my chest Deep down my inner feelings drench Into the waters of dismay and dissolve Bitterly like a solute in a solvent Creeping sounds of corrugate and trees Ruined and rendered my nerves reckless Lightning became the only light Our blinded town could sight My poem slept in the dark […]
To many, I am an illusion; To some, an allusion. You see, words are my toys, And writing my pastime. When I reach out, I come swinging, Like a wrecking ball, Not to damage But to make whole Through entropy. I am hard to follow, Difficult to understand, Complex to size, Impossible to comprehend: Your […]
Ramadan has taken its luggage And bid Farewell to its hosts After thirty days of self discipline And nights of Qiyama, Qiraat, and Dua Thus, pitiful is the state of a person Who has aborted the routines of good character and conduct That Ramadan made him adapt Pitiful is the matter of a fellow Who […]
I was just seventeen, Ten and seven, When I had a dream, A journalism dream A dream in the media, A dream to disseminate news A dream to be a broadcaster A dream of NYIMA BAH on the byline Yes, it was a dream Then, I got accepted into UTG Yes, to study journalism Ever […]
By the passage of time, Every far event is brought near Every new thing is made old And every guest packs his luggage to say goodbye Despite the good times and sweet memories made together A guest must always be parted from the jaatiyo As we say farewell to the blessed month of Ramadan We […]
When the drummer’s foot is on the drumming stick The riddim of the beat can never be achieved The message of the song is contaminated And dancers are compelled to dance to the wrong tune Again! Not all men are killed With the gun Some are killed With the pen and ink of dishonest poets […]