I would love to Laye; but you know, the truth cannot be toned down; nor lies turned to truth. It would be like trying to sugar salt; or trying to salt sugar, whichever way we go. One of those impossible feats that we puny little mortals - village, town and city idiots all - are often guilty of trying to accomplish. But as per your request, here is a love poem:
 

Moon Love

 

My heart sank

When I heard

The moon will not rise tonight!

 

Then the clouds smiled

And there she stood

In all her golden splendor!

 

My heart flew and joined the stars

And sang happily all night long

And danced happily all night long

As she floated in my inner skies!

 

Baba

 

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Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:14:02 +0400
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: So The Village idoits call for some respect (In Maafanta)
To: [log in to unmask]

Baba:

I think it's time you tone down the poems a bit. The Village Idiots are very jittery these days. You're causing too much heartache man.....tone it down bro, please. Perhaps a love poem will do next time. Village Idiots are romantic beasts too you know...

-Laye

On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 2:50 AM, Baba Galleh Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Indeed, indeed Suntou. You display a very keen sense of perception in your insightful and deep analysis of my poem. You definitively bring a fresh new perspective to it and propose a discursive angle that is hard to beat. Quite amazing, really. That's the spirit brother. Thanks and keep those sharp intellectual juices flowing.
 
Baba
 

---

Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:58:40 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: So The Village idoits call for some respect (In Maafanta)

To: [log in to unmask]

The poetic license you use Baba allow me to see the village setting in the poem as allusive. The village idiot paints a disrespectful picture. It further cement the unfortunate attitude some has of villagers. It is good that you expose to us your village roots, which is fine but sadly your poem is too harsh on the villager in question.

The dissatisfaction in the poem is that, one would  expect a season writer or commentators like yourself to be open minded and less sarcastic of your perceive targets. But in this case you were not.

The villager who may have incur your wrapt is place in and among the union of villagers and bashed for crimes only you felt the pain about.

I am only expressing my take on the poem. I am sure you willl allow for diverse analysis of it, since that is the essence of dropping it in the public.

Another vital area villagers will find discouraging is that, a man of your statue is fit to become a broad base leader, but if your ink depict a villager that tragic way, what hope should they have of Baba salvaging anything for them.

The poem is bigger than the few line Baba. Villagers continue to say, the setting was unhelpful. The villager in question may be guilty according to you, since we can only assume here, only you are sure. Is Yahya Jammeh indeed a villager? Are we villagers any more, yourself and all of us absconded villagers. The story continuous.
No offense intended.

Suntou

On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 9:38 PM, Baba Galleh Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Suntou,
 
I am surprised at your interpretation of my poem as an assault on villagers. I wonder where on earth you got the idea that I am calling all villagers idiots. Let me just say loud and clear that I am a villager, my father is a villager, and my mother is a villager. So are all my grandparents and great grandparents. Indeed, I come from an ancestry of villagers. That said, I will let you put the pieces together.
 
Baba
 

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Date: Sat, 9 Jan 2010 18:40:55 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: So The Village idoits call for some respect (In Maafanta)

To: [log in to unmask]

The latest Poem of Brother Gallah at Maafanta can be slice in many different bits. Moreso using poetic license to allow for different interpretation. Our famous villager is Yahya Jammeh. But this poem is not at all an affair for Yahya. We the villagers demand that, town folks allow us the respect we deserve. An end to little assault on villagers. Village idoit, indeed, they may have read the masters avoid the obvious. treating light weights issues with magic pens. Indirecting continuously whilst aiming higher. I say, respect to villagers.

www.maafanta.com

 

And so the tears flowed….

by Baba Galleh Jallow

And so the tears flowed
For the death of the children
Conceived in the throes of anger
Born into the arms of fear
Strangled by the claws of evil
Clad in garments of prickly good!!
 
And so the tears flowed
At the demise of honest thought
At the rape of the people’s intellect
The bastardization of love and piety
The ascendancy of slimy rot
Donning the robes of high order!!
 
And so the tears flowed
At the passing of the truthful bard
At the era of the village idiot
Turned saint
At the specter of the mean village crook
Turned champion defender of the poor!!
 

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