Poetic Verses of Acholi
By Sam Mwaka-karama
Who so ever understood – that
Belly of world rumbled
So the ancient old said so…
Who so ever understood – that
Tomorrow, tomorrow someday
Tomorrow, tomorrow whole day
Under the pumpkin
Shall be dry.
Who so ever understood – that
Bag of ‘Ataany’ the carrier
Will nowadays walk ‘murodo’
Who so ever understood – that
‘Obwoko’ the emptiness lump in the throat!
Shall strangle grandma,
In the hot sun…
Alone, under the granary.
Who so ever understood – that
Testicle of the evening…
Will ‘ometto-kome’ abandon itself,
That you might step on it!
“Trouble O trouble, why waylay me?”
Who so ever understood –that
‘Cwek-cwek-cwek - trot-trot-trot of the bull-dog,
Spread the rabies
So that castrating the bull-dog,
Defeated the jealous…
Because the garbage dumpy,
Won’t ever belong to all peoples.
Who so ever understood - that
It was really the ‘twighlight’
So that the mother-hen
Pecks and swallows silently…
Gut-gut, gut-gut, gut-gut - was no more,
and the cold chicks will di-di, di-di, and di-di.
Who so ever understood – that
The young rooster cock…
Lost his spurs, that
He might never ever,
Crow at ‘Ayaa’s’…
That had ‘Ayaa’ tasted the saltiness
Of the cock, which was ‘yeng-yeng’…?
She might have eloped with the cock!
Who so ever understood – that
The ‘Lawinos’ of this today,
Will put down the ‘Abiinu’ - pot-of-honey,
So that they now carry…
‘Oderulabolo’ atop their heads.
No wonder the ancient Acholi said it…
Whenever the dead were buried,
They actually went ‘ka pito labolo’…
So that ‘okalo-cwan’gi’ have all gone;
Carrying ‘oderulabolo’ atop their heads.
Walking morning to sunset…
L’labolo ocek-oceki…?
Labolo pud numu
Labolo ocek-oceki…?
Labolo numu-numu
Labolo ocek-oceki…?
Labolo dong ocek…
… rwic-rwic, rwic-rwic, rwic-rwic…
Who so ever understood – that
‘Ceng-a-maki, labolo dok-woo’
Because ancient Acholi said it all…
That you might understand
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