Another Man’s Tongue
Three poems about the familiar and the unfamiliar — from Ghanaian Nikitta Adjirakor
Remnants
My mother feeds me the leftovers of her shame
that I chew and swallow with familiarity.
I am a patchwork of ‘what have I done(s)?’
Another Man’s Tongue
I always loved you in another man’s tongue which I have claimed as my own.
Even as my tongue begins to contort in unfamiliar ways to love you,
mine feels distant, lost and incapable of loving you.
When we spoke last night and I began to explain Jollof,
you cut me off and said
quietly,
lovingly,
I know what jollof is.
You loved me in my tongue.
Suddenly, it is not so lost.
Dar-es-Salaam
I spent 1 month in Dar es Salaam.
1 month in the residence of peace, reality hot as hell
narrow roads overflowing with bodabodas¹ and daladalas² and bajajs³.
1 month of a full-blown assault
of a distinct fusion,
a mixture
of a vibrant culture
on my very existence
I spent 1 month in Dar es Salaam
with pilau⁴ and wali⁵ and ugali⁶
and mboga⁷ and chapati⁸.
1 month in Dar Es Salaam
sitting on the sands of the beaches
staring at cargo ships and luxury ships
floating and traversing on this huge expanse
of water flanked by islands that dot the face of the sea.
This tranquility before me that abruptly turns into
a barrage of cars behind me with continuous honks and tyre screeches
as drivers try to get ahead in traffic that seems a permanent fixture in the city.
I spent 1 month in Dar es Salaam
and everybody said mambo vipi⁹ and sasa hivi¹⁰ and safi sana¹¹.
Where everybody knew Kiswahili, said Asante sana¹²
and called me rasta¹³ or mrembo¹⁴.
I spent 1 month in Dar es Salaam.
I lived 1 month in Dar es Salaam.
I lived in the residence of peace, reality hot as hell
narrow roads overflowing with bajajs and daladalas.
- Bodaboda — motorcycle
2. Daladala — bus
3. Bajaj — auto rickshaw
4. Pilau — cooked rice with spices
5. Wali — rice
6. Ugali — cornmeal porridge
7. Mboga — vegetables
8. Chapati — unleavened flatbread
9. Mambo vipi — a form of greeting that translates as what’s up
10. Sasa hivi — now (also used as a form of greeting to mean what’s up)
11. Safi sana — very neat (also used as a response to the above greeting)
12. Asante sana — thank you very much
13. Rasta — used as a form of greeting to people with dreadlocks
14. Mrembo — beautiful
Nikitta Adjirakor is a Ghanaian academic researcher in African literature with a specialty in Swahili literature. She is also a creative writer with her works focusing on women’s health, trauma and belonging. In 2018, she produced a documentary titled “A Thousand Needles”, which tells the story of women living with various sexual and reproductive health issues. She currently runs an online platform called “More Than Period Pain” that publishes narratives on women’s health. You can see more of her work on morethanperiodpain.com and follow her on Twitter @nikitta_dede.
