Silent Voices

Flowing Like a Stream

44 You sit all day Playing with poles Poking at the holes Earning no pay You sit all day Eating their food Dancing on the stool Ignoring what they say You sit all day Admiring boobs Ignoring books Making no hay Flowing Like a Stream (First published in The Post and then in Their Champagne Party Will End, Poems in Honour of Bate Besong, edited by Joyce Ashuntantang and Dibussi Tande) Materials as building blocks to make the message crystal-clear and safe for public consumption must flow like a stream Those at the rear may take their place at centre stage or rank themselves with leaders high because it must flow like a stream 45 Those at the fore-ranks may choose to bring up the rear Or take their place at centre stage because it must flow like a stream Those at the centre may tail the crowd as hand-clappers or join the rank of leaders tall because it must flow like a stream Centre rear or front or where won’t name you goat or dog or pig or whatever won’t bring you frontal headache Backache Stomach-ache toothache if where you are is insurance that it will flow like a stream A Researcher Is (From my research book, Doing academic research) A researcher is trader in reliable products that inform changes in policy and practice and fuel our inventive imagination for guaranteed, sustainable development A researcher is honest collector of data extracting, observing, measuring, questioning ...