Elegy to Kofi Awoonor

By Kwesi Atta Sakyi 29th September 2013


Death has claimed,
What shall we mortals exclaim,
Kofi has gone home
To his ancestral Anlo dome
What a loss to Mother Ghana
Oh what a blow to scion of Senghor’s Negritude,
In poems, drama, prose, dirge, and literary works
He lifted us to higher latitude and altitude
From the torrid to the frigid, he conditioned our attitude



Kofi fought gallant battles on paper and in academia
And left us legacies of his lore of tome to ponder
Long after he is gone yonder
His profuse writings, a wonder

Only yesterday, Kofi was here,
But today at GAW (Ghana Association of Writers) roll call,
Kofi’s name was called
And called, and called,
But silence answered in discordant accord
Kofi had crossed the river to the land of no return

Some say his writings raised rancour,
Others aver he spoke his mind aloud,
Are we not our thoughts in public allowed,
In Nkrumah’s land of Freedom and Justice
Kofi spat out the word, and freed his soul
What was writ, was bit of his wit which hit and bit


Fearless Kofi Awoonor vomited the unsayable
When he exclaimed, “This Earth, my Brother”
Kofi has gone the way of the earth,
Smitten by death’s rod,
The path every human of woman born shall trod,
Be they good, rough or bad
But Kofi was tough, a celebrated gem of a wacko Bard
At birth, a new literary bud
At death, a renowned bard


He played his part in thespian mode
Man came to do, but not undo what was done
By his Creator at his creation in the Grand Design
Kofi more than played his part in many roles of life’s drama,
At his untimely exit in Nairobi
In tears galore he left us bereft
Much the poorer for loss of his sagacity
But consoled our souls that he left for a better city
Dammirifa due!

©2013 Contact: [email protected]
By Kwesi Atta Sakyi 29/09/13