From One 'Kalou' To Another Poem by Sheikh Ahmed Tijan Bah

From one 'Kalou' to another.

I was totally amazed travelling by bus today,
cruising through the slums of Delhi,
seeing the lives the people live daily.
An old men pedestrates with a decorated cow,
roads all jammed up like 'Junction Kaw'.
Scent so stinking,
hard to get used to,
coming from the habitats of those staring,
laughing and calling, running and screaming,
with "dapata" ending,
"kalou, kalou" the least they keep repeating,
hoping to make me and Me mad,
their story so sad,
but they living it with mum and dad.

I continue to bare, cuz my mission is so dear.
They know not what is beyond the closed doors of what their minds conceive,
as they continue to live the life they have being taught and they now perceive,
the humiliating consequences of which we are forced to receive.
As these lectures were not only taught by the obvious lower minded,
but also by those amongs us and others that portray us as retarded,
leaving them vainly misguided.
I therefore keep my message simple and easy to understand,
with a mission to teach a lesson,
that is missing in the systems of education.

Which is: to not disregard the few civilized ones,
as a result of the majority's ignorance.

Besides, we do have our part,
Or should I say; some of us have played a part.
It's not our fault that the colour of our skin,
has become the uniform of the people that can be abused and made fun of,
even by legitimate "miskeens".
So let's appreciate this blessing and represent it proudly but rightly,
and not be irked that we are either from West Indies,
South Africa or Nigeria,
even though I was born, breed and came here from the Gambia and you probably somewhere else.