Wonderful poem, The wording is excellent and the contents very clear. Keep
it up.

>From: amy jallow <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Harmattan wind
>Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 16:23:22 +0000
>
>                  HARMATTAN WIND
>     From the  north you came, draped in brown
>     Roaring like an old lion.
>     Gathered in the folds of your gown
>     Tiny granules of gold
>     Which you scatter unceremoniously
>     Into Subsaharan Africa
>     Your icy breath, shifting the landscape
>     And serenading willowy palmtress into
>     Rhythmless dances
>     Making it almost impossible to abandon the
>     Comfort of a warm bed
>     Heating water for bath,
>     The 'siwo', blackened by tongues of
>     Wood fire, creaks noisily on its hinges
>     A cirlcle of wrinkled faces
>     Thoughtful around a bornfire
>     Stretch gnarled, calloused hands
>     Towards the glimmering yellow center
>     To 'Jarue'
>     Warming up old bones
>     And reliving the  glorious days of Kabu
>     When the Ceddos were 'Mansa'
>     And 'Dolo' the juice of the day
>     Bent figures wrapped in wollen blankets
>     Fighting to hold to the last vestiges
>     Of warmth
>     Scampered towards the fields
>     Mothers bundle up children in layers of clothing
>     To ward off 'Saeda'
>     And rub 'Karite' on young skins
>     To moisturize and prevent 'Mboyo'
>     Your dreaded companion
>     Mentholatum selling like hot Akara
>     To alleviate the symptoms of a chapped lip
>     School children, in arrays of sweaters
>     And 'windbreakers' huddle around
>     Bowls of steaming milky 'roi'
>     To warm up and nourish empty stomachs
>     And to be in school on time to avoid the switch
>     That cracks and bleeds the hands
>     At this time of the year
>     'shameless' lovers tango in limbo
>      In the clutter of a one room apartment
>      High above, you, the Harmattan
>      Dance in a cloud of dust
>       Blanketing the whole land
>      In gritty fog, that swirls and
>     Mockingly settles on everything
>     Chasing everyone indoors
>     Thus disrupting the idyllic movement
>     Of a village life
>
>
>
>
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