Cameroon Anthology of Poetry

Patrick Tata ( )

79 Patrick Tata ( ) Immaculate Feet Coal brands flung white hot Bang this night stained mantle cap To this shy tyrant’s baton lash I beat And steam with the tickled land, Victim of fury, brunt of bashes carpy Then heaven’s face frowns black from blue, Roars the yawning crackles of white fire, Zipping the skies, cannon cracked bullets A thousand spears spray, splat and torrent, Cascading on floured earth in rush, Jumbling all looseness to scrambled eggs Splashed with chaffs, rags, broken bits, baggings, Bottles gashed and tangle-merged with Zebra dung, and foods and skunk flavours… This is town heart of man and nature tart Nose-clogging, gut sickening to the finicky And this ruthless rustle of city rush needs hype Fine-tuned, sonorous and sleek Of this pavement street guard, gutter filler Forgotten in the sea-rush rough speed… Where do I step immaculate feet to spare my ward? 80 T The Teacher When in this can of worms nauseous mates, Worms, all worms wallow in the filth of ventral debts, The teacher wings with the eagle Pulses with the quasar A worm with a difference A Glow-Worm blighting the sun’s blaze Glowing in the darkness of ignorant-cence When the cowardly sun fails; He is the sun of innocence. Some nights scare the moon of borrowed beams As the racing sun razes her blinking gleams And the teacher shines always With inborn radiance While stars thrill with quivering winks From untouchable heights of unconcern The teacher is at home here Affably available for all. All the lamps of smart life From bushfires to neon lights Fire-lighting the callings of men Have not touched the heart of innocence Like the teacher’s fire-fly pulses. The teacher is a winged quasar No man-rigged glory compares Nor shouting sun nor smiling moon nor winking stars All so dumb, all dusty. Professing or born, the teacher is a brainstorm To earthy grubs, to bonfires, to wayfarers The teacher is the Pole Star-Worm Guiding innocence, lighting ignorance And we have not sung him yet. ...