Where I am from Poem

I am from Ancient Ghana

I am from the culture that’s name is lost in Arab documentation

I am from the thriving city of Kumbi Saleh

I am from the sparkling white Taghaza salt mines

I am from the Great Mosque of Djenné, the largest mud structure in the world


I am from the rolling dunes of the Sahara Desert

I am from the tropical savannah of the Sahel Belt

And the fertile valleys of the Sudan region

I am from the rushing Niger and Senegal rivers

That gives us transportation and water


I am from tales lost to ages

I am from the story of Anansi the Spider buying stories from the gods

I am from the story of Biida the Black Snake, giving the wealth of Wagadu to the people

I am from the story of the river python giving the people the ability to have children


I am from the nameless kings of an empire

I am from the priests of unknown gods

I am from the family that raised me and my siblings

While still keeping a farm and trading for our food


I am from wheat and barley from our fields

I am from soups made by hand by my mother

I am from Gari Foto, Agushi, and Omo tuo

I am from mutton, chicken, and thick broths


I am from the hand carved masks

Made by the local craftsmen to sell to traders

I am from the large mud temples

Where we worship our lost gods


I am from the sound of drums

Beating like the rhythm of our hearts

I am from the hand weaved baskets

Made from reeds around the rivers

I am from the golden jewellery that I see on our kings

That we will never be allowed to wear


I am from the trading empire

I am from the large markets

With strange goods as strange as the people selling them

I am from the camel tamers

Who tamed the wild for the sake of wealth and prosperity


I am from the polytheistic worship

I am from names of gods lost to time

I am from the spread of Islam

And learning that there is only one god, not many

And that we listen to his words in the Qur’an


I am from the pass times

I am from playing drums and singing songs

I am from dancing and celebrations

I am from camel racing and chasing


I am from the hot sun beating down my neck, making me sweat

I am from the sight of waving heat lines off the ground

I am from a parched, sandy tongue

I am from the laughter and sounds of drums

I am from the smell of cooking and farm animals

I am from Ancient Ghana