Two Poems by: Aku Dzifa

SERENDIPITY

In a land where who you are is not a name or the mask you put on 

May the shades of originality not fade away 

May the blinds not be drawn on the beauty of the sunsets 

Let chance be given to the moon to brighten our dark alleys 

May we find beauty in the present and hope in the future 

May we adorn our mornings with hallelujahs and cloak our evenings with amens 

AFTER 

Maybe we’d learn to love—family, friends, foes, ourselves 

The question of our existence 

Would not be a reunion of all unhappy memories stored in the attic 

After years of trying 

We can finally learn to let go—with hope 

Maybe next year we can all get our sobriety chips 

For not getting drunk on our loneliness 

We would have figured out that 

Life is the meaning we attach to our breaths 

When we wander far off may the trails of passion guide us home 

Home— a person, a place 

When all our senses are numbed May our presence never be forgotten