Captain Mahama

Perhaps he did not say good bye

He left his home alone for a run.
He set out at dawn to greet the welcoming sun
A run at early morning to breath in the spirit of God
A familiar path

A rabbit dashes ahead, outrunning the traveler, in bid to gather nuts for her babies that are hidden deeply in the forest
A bird twitters above, rushing to feed her chicks that are resting in a nest above the tallest tree.
One day the traveler would sing along with the bird
Another day he would run with the rabbit.

Today he forges harmony with the bird and rabbit, though each is set on its own path.

A run at dawn
A run at dawn to celebrate God’s wondrous ways
Each step is to celebrate the love of God on earth.
The rays of the morning sun brought renewed strength and hope.
But, alas, he crossed path with humans.
But, alas, he crossed path with soulless humans

It rained the day before
A hunter had caught a huge game and shared its meat
The farmers had completed the harvest
No one thought fully satisfied humans would commit murder
Do humans hunt other humans?

How do humans not see the traveler alone on a deserted path?
Suddenly, he becomes a threat to the entire community.
What is an existential threat?
No one heard his voice amidst the swelter of anger
His eyes hurt badly under the glare of faces burning with hate
He was alone on a lonely path
They did not even know his name
Yet they murdered him

Do they even know his life’s journey?
Do they know his destiny?
He carries love for his children in his heart
He remembers the laughter, the light in the eyes, and the harmony in the voice of his soul mate

The marauding mob decide that the run at dawn must be his last moment on earth

The journey at dawn must end with the death of the innocent
He still had so much in his heart
He was alone
He is a threat to humans he has yet to meet
Yet he carried in his heart the endearing love for his kids and soul mate
He carried the hope of many
He was tasked to carry the burdens of many

Now humans transformed God’s life in human into a mangled unrecognized form.
Surely, they must celebrate
They must dance the dance of hyenas
Surely they are intoxicated from peeling flesh from a living human
Surely they must be fully satisfied at seeing torrents of blood seeping into the earth

The earth must not touch the blood of its son
An abomination has occurred
No land is safe when the blood of humans spills onto the earth
A day of mutilation has to be marked with anniversary celebrations
Or else, there would be desecration of sacred tradition.
That would be the burden
We hear cries across the land
We are drenched with sorrow

The sun has departed
His kids and soul mate face unending eclipse of the sun
The earth is still bleeding
We have lost our voices
We cast our eyes downwards
We are not able to look towards the sun to Heaven
We wish we met Captain at the end of his run

But alas, the love of God would lead us through the crevasses of rugged rocks
Soon, trickles of love would form unbroken links of humanity
Soon, the overweening love for Captain would become new shoots to generate love for many
We say farewell, Captain Mahama. We say farewell, but Captain you would remain in our hearts.
Captain, farewell.