Ode to Professor Paa Kwesi Mintah

Ode to Professor Paa Kwesi Mintah of Ghanaweb
By Kwesi Atta Sakyi 25th September 2013
( Forumers may note that Paa Kwesi Mintah calls me cousin, since we come from the same area in Winneba)

Oh, what are friends for
But for love, care and sharing
You and I are friends
And we’ve been friends all these years
We call ourselves buddies,
Sometimes we say we are pals
That’s why we are not apart,
We stick to each other like clams
And latch onto each other like leeches
Or like a pack of playing cards
Which complement and cancel each other out,
Oh, what are friends for
But for love, care and sharing

When we were young
We enjoyed playing hide and seek in the woods
And on the sandy beaches we played softball,
Sometimes, we played on and on and on
Till the tide was up
And our sandy castles were washed out to sea
Like faded paintings on a vast canvass
So shall it be to all human memories, lustful or loathsome

Yes, as the ages wore on,
We got married, had children
And the friendship also moved on
The invisible chains that bound us got rusted,
Our spouses got our friendship busted,
The chains may have given way
But the invisible chords that bound
Our umbilical chords and twined us in accord
Before our birth,
Will continue bonding us till death,
And thereafter to eternity,
If the Good Lord wills it
Oh, what are friends for,
But for comity, comeliness and conviviality

The sounds of wide guffaws
At late night parties resonate and ricochet
Off our apartments
Like the aak, aak or ratatata
Of the AK 47 rifle,
Indeed, they are telltale moments of bliss,
Oh, what about the occasional, ‘I thank you card’
From a friend for a kindness shown
In time of need,
They are reminders of the wonderful
Little joys that utter friendship,
And make indelible etches on our brains,
Lasting and lustful experiences,
It’s said a friend in need,
Is a friend indeed

But I say, a friend in deed
Is a friend through and through
Not a sucker, nor an opportunist
Oh, what are friends for
But for support, rapport and constructive criticism,

Oh nay, to liberate us from our narcissism,
And oh yeah, from our latent passivity,
Friends fire the fuels in our ambition rockets,
Providing us with payloads of ideas and hints,
Which launch us into dizzy heights of creativity and success

After lunging into Zambian and Sylvia Brews
All in our camaraderie to drown our blues,
After grazing, browsing and surfing rapaciously on Ghanaweb,
Saaalute, from forehead to waist,
Enter Professor Paa Kwesi Mintah,
Polyglot, polymath, prolixious and prolific super critic!

Contact: kwesiattasakyi449@gmail.com