THE DAMAGE YOU HAVE DONE
Ellis Ayitey Komey
When I see blood pouring down the valleys,
Mahoganys trembling with fear
And palms drooping with disease,
I know you cannot stay with me
Nor hold a light across the land,
The damage you have done.
And when I remember how you looked
The first day you entered my hut,
A candle in one hand and a book in the other,
I know that your days are now gone
With the locust across the farm,
The damage you have done.
And when the first drop of rain
Manures the soil, now almost grey,
A hoe in one hand, wheat in the other
And a curse on the lips, I’ll set to work
If the land is to recover
From the damage you have done.