Tell Me Ananse Why Royals Demand Front Seats Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

Now that I am queen of the climb,
For my thumb peels off dollars, from
A pile I should answer these questions,
But sheer modestly says it is better,
To ask a question than to answer it,
In the conversations of the world.

Why do royals demand front seats?
I asked my mother for she was a
Princess of Magedu, a small village
Not known, and she said never to answer
A question, when you sit on a queenly
Stool. So advised I ask why it is
That royals demand front seats.

Is is because it is easier to get to the
Front, than it is to get to the back because
The steps are many on the upward climb,
And fewer as you go down?

Is it because when the wedding
Cake is cut they must get the first
Piece because they are closer to it,
And leave the last pieces for us for
That is what we deserve?


Is is because when the pianist plays,
They will hear the distinct note, yet us
At the back we hear the rhythm, and start
To dance? What else can we do for
We also need to be seen and known for
What we can do best?

Is it because their necks are so
Labored with power that they are
Too heavy to stretch at the back,
Lest they twist their backs and lose all
The power they carry?

Is it because we do not want to
To see their foreheads, but just
The bald spots that are seen in
Half, from the back for they shine
Like the money trays they eat out
Of?

Is it because power corrupts and
Puts others in front and others
At the back, where come push or shove
Because there is nothing we can do?

Is is because we want to hide at
The back, lest they see we are just
A bunch of birdies flying in the
Dark, like bats and still wet behind
The ears?

Is it because life in unfair and gets
Us out of any womb, at anytime throwing
Us onto any lap, that rocks us into
Our invisible thrones, where
We are kings in the making in our
Own way?

Is it because they hope to live lives
Like us, and face the danger that presidents
Face, when the altercations of life fire
At us all, and block them from us all,
For they always do so from the front?


Tell me Ananse, for you are the knower,
And chose to sit at the front of every
Issue on my mind like a real queen on
The climb.