Village boy Impressions

Children dancing 'Nagela' in front of a compound. Photo Credit: Franz Kröger ( buluk.de ) When the harvest is all done and dusted  And the fields lie empty and desolate When the groundnuts are all plucked The Bambara beans dug up roots and all When all the sorghum in the field is felled And only sharp prickly remnants remain When tethering the goats is now ended And the boys gain such a relief As to sigh with gratitude bordering on piety Read:  Village Boy Impressions - Tethering Goats When the shepherds no more chase the sheep The cowherds no longer shout at errant bulls And the moon is happy enough To make the cripple hungry for a walk, Do we nightly gather before the house; Mothers, fathers, uncles, and aunts, Teens, children, toddlers and babies Brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces With cousins, bastards and orphans too. There we tell many a tale and laugh Unrestrained juvenile squealing That rouses the sleeping chickens and ducks. W

Photo Credit: Franz Kröger All over the land of Buluk, over hills and fields  Where long grass grows and stout trees thrive   The trade wind comes racing, swelling about the trees   What news from the north, Oh hurrying wind?   What tidings do you bear in your dusty breeze?   Have you seen Azantilow the tall and mighty   By sun, moon or by starlight bright?   Where now is he, the bold, the ancient, the brave?   Maybe you have heard the horn of the son of  Ayieta.   Echoing in the hills and vales of the land Upon azagsuk , long I stood and listened Under the shade of acham I tarried in vain Tell me not that he is no more! But alas, his horn is silent, and his feet are cold The north wind is still, impotent with tears                             Read:  Village Boy Impressions - The Song of Atuga Towards akumcham ever shall I gaze There our foes fled in dismay Before its dying stump, ever I sigh Under its withered crown ever I wait, O, Ayieta b

Blest the bygone days of sweet remembrance, When childhood was innocence indeed. Moonlit nights were songs and dances And New Year treats were ‘alewa’. Colourful tongues told the story. Read:  Village Boy Impressions - Folktales The days when pito was the drink, And we only ate to quell hunger, A large protruding belly was our goal And the oily mouth, an envious sight. Only fun, food and friends mattered. Our teachers still taught us manners and prayers  And learning was its own reward  A holy curiosity to discover the secrets Of our environment drove us on To outshine the other in class was the prize. Read:  Village Boy Impressions - The Days of Bliss In homes were heard loud rolling laughters, Guests were welcomed with genuine smiles, In happiness, we celebrated all successes Burrying in sorrow and tears, our friends And aiding freely and willingly, those in need. But what do we have here now? An unchained ‘modernity’ of madness

Behold the light fades and rises not And the cute little stars hide in shame The moon fears to show her face And day and night become as one Here the heavens are shut up tight And the earth cries out in thirsting All that is lusty and green withers Have you read:  Village Boy Impressions - Loved at a Glance? The streams return to the mountains And the oceans pour out their eternal rage The darkness return from the abyss And the mountains explode in anger Burning all that was once green and fair Vipers come out in the day to hunt And the crows hold a banquet at noon Alas! the nations bare their teeth And the rulers rage in drunkenness Oh how kith devour kin And mothers drown their infants To entertain their nightly guests. All roads lead nowhere And the gardens turn into graveyards. Have you read:  Village Boy Impressions: Serenade to my love? No, my love, our love cannot die. For when all the love is gone, When we let it al

Photo credit: http://in-progress.org/research/ Science is a body of knowledge that prides itself on reproducible research information. Science is tentative and lends itself to change in the face of alternative independently verifiable information. However , science is not a feeling and not a belief. Although Science has stood against conservatism as witnessed in the days of Galileo and Co, it nonetheless has a screened liberalism. Much of what we know of science today is several years of cumulative change driven by research. And with advances in technology, the body of knowledge of science is on a constant revision. This revision, however, is not on the basis of individuals or groups assumptions of facts. Science in much of its communication on new findings employs modest expression such as “could have an association with”, “has the potential” etc. and shuns sounding authoritative. Skepticism and disputes of scientific findings are welcome. Such an enterprise should, however

Photo credit: liyouthsafetycoalition.org It is not uncommon to find derogatory expressions and remarks with the use of Tramadol on social media and other media of communication. The unfortunate trend must not be allowed to continue unabated. Tramadol is an FDA approved prescription drug for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is a mainstream drug in the country’s health system for the management of pain. For the drug to be associated with derogatory comments in everyday Ghanaian communication should be a cause of worry. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid drug and like other opioid drugs interferes with normal release of neurotransmitters, chemical mediators. This could lead to drug dependence and tolerance on continued repeated use. Drug dependence develops due to debilitating withdrawal symptoms and tolerance results when higher than normal doses are needed to elicit drug action. Affected individual thus need a continued and higher than normal doses of the drug for comf

Photo credit: liyouthsafetycoalition.org Hitherto I had no sympathy on drug addicts or drug dependents. I had thought of their situation as a free will choice to continue to engage in substance abuse. In my ignorance, I thought that they could on any day take a decision to cut off from substance abuse if they so wished. I showed outright scorn against addicts. Not even remorseful feelings of addicts during their subtle withdrawal and subsequent relapse could make me see an invisible force at play against them, for me to at least revise my harsh thoughts of deliberate irresponsible behavior attributed to them. Many like my former self, assume addicts hold onto the chains of the misery of substance abuse willingly. I, however, had my prejudices against addicts reversed when I took the course “Drug Tolerance and Dependence” under the veritable Prof Lutterodt as part of my training for an MPhil Pharmacology degree. My ignorant assumptions against addicts got cured after the course

  When the day unfolds and the sun begins to smile, When light spurts in the east and the wind begins to stir, And all the living awake in wonder and delight, I rise with eager hope to contemplate your love! When the warming sun stretches forth over the fields,  When leaf and blossom with fragrance fill the air,  And the birds their morning hymn of praise intone, I hasten from my lair that I may behold your beauty. When golden noon comes and all beasts shelter seek,  When the wind is at rest and sweat is on the brow,  And beneath the blazing roofs the kids must retire, I sit and muse upon your beauty and my heart is glad! When the sun is in the west and wind returns from the north;  When the farmer in field with longing gazes at his road home, And the labourer observes his weary day draws to fruition, I hasten the sun to his grave with longing for thee. When light and beauty is in the west, and leaf and blossom fall, When eventide hastens, and darkness must waning

1.      A person who abuses others is hardly ever asked to stop. We don't want to stand up to the person doing wrong. Rather, we ask the victim(s) to tolerate the abuse. And if the victim refuses to accept our advice, we conclude that he/she is a bad person - not the abusive person. People who abuse others are like 'small gods' to be complained about but not stood up to. They are treated like victims to be understood and pitied and their victims are to be advised and praised for tolerating abuse. 2.       Praying in tongues is a shouting competition. A test of endurance. At the first Pentecost, we are told that the tongues (languages) of the apostles were understood by a multitude of devout men from 'every nation under heaven' (Acts 2: 1 - 8). In our time, no human being can understand the tongues we speak; an endless stream of discordant sounds emitted by people in seeming agony and disarray.  3.      We swat a fly with a sledgehammer but always attemp

Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves: They will live long and enjoy life. Blessed are those who can tell a mountain from a molehill: They will be saved a lot of anxiety. Blessed are those who do not make excuses: They will sooner achieve their dreams. Happy are you if you can appreciate a smile and forget a frown: You will walk on the sunny side of the street. Happy are you if you can be kind in understanding the attitudes of others: You may be taken for a fool, but this is the price of charity. Happy are you if you know when to hold your tongue and just smile: You have opened your heart to the light of the Gospel. Blessed are they who think before acting and pray before thinking: They will avoid many blunders and much trouble. BUT ABOVE ALL, Blessed are those who recognize the Lord in all whom they meet: The light of truth shines in their lives. THEY, HAVE FOUND TRUE WISDOM!! (Anonymous  Author )