by Kofi Thompson

Created on: July 05, 2008

Title: Tribute To Mr and Mrs Kofi Dabanka)

They own an African idyll
A wondrous
Peaceful
Beachfront paradise
Afia African village hotel
An African labour of love
Beautiful handiwork
Of a dynamic cross-cultural duo
A marvellous interacial marriage
He a charming and charismatic
Ashanti prince and dread-locked
Musical Rastafarian
She an upper middle-class Yankee
And before my very eyes

Did I see them build
Their superlative sea-front eco-village
A wondrous spiritual essay
In ecological greeness
A African study in eco-poshness
Par excellence
An African beachfront paradise
Created from sun-dried laterite blocks
A rare beachfront fantasy in mud
A very modern "green" hotel
With every mod-con
To make your stay serene
A peaceful evocation of a rural African idyll
In the very heart
Of Ghana's capital Accra
Ga Dangbe's own heartland
Osu
La
Ngleshie
Teshie
Korle Gono
Kaneshie
Opanin Kofi Dabanka Ayekoo
Ohemaa Mrs Kofi Dabanka
Gentle American matriach
With a heart of gold
Married to a royal son
Of Asante Mampong's
Ancient Silver Stool
Ayekoo
Your husband's many
Seeking-for-meaning journeys
Across West Africa's heartland
Collecting pieces
For your fabulous art gallery
Has Filled Afia African Gallery
With many heirlooms
Wondrous ancient art pieces
Of past glories
Of long-gone
West African Empires
Opanin Kofi Dabanka
Kofi Rasta
Ayekoo (Twi for: "Well done")
Mrs Kofi Dabanka
Upper middle class
White
American saint
Ayekoo
Yeda muyinaa asi! (Twi for: "We thank you both!")

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