By Valentine Gana
Tragedy strikes at the break of dawn
As the window of death
Cracks an opening at the sight of life
And makes a widow of our nursed hopes
Death; an assured thief that steals indiscriminately
With a method that promises notice to no one
And reserves tomorrow to neither you, nor I
Sorrow abounds in the hearts of fans
In the soul of brothers and comrades
As sadness looms over a people
Drowned by a legendary loss
Death;
Enough of your dreadful deeds,
Pirate of our loved ones, Unwelcome visitor
Give us a break;
The time for your vacation is past due
For you took Besong, Gangwa'a, Ambe
Who never belonged to your merciless hands
The writer as a tiger said his thunderous last
Unbeknownst to him, as he set his sights
To where only eagles dare to dream
Bate Besong; Writer, Critic, Dramatist
Or if you prefer, Unrepentant Intellectual
BB; Orator, Poet, Patriot, Philosopher
As were his comrades, ambushed by death
Leaving us at a loss for words
Adios to a towering mind
Who insisted on staying as a gift
Who never stopped giving
To the world of critical thinkers
And true to his calling,
Died with the brethren of his craft
When will the howls of the afterlife
Cease to dial
With a tone, that makes an illusion of life
In its snatching away of such formidable men
With such refined minds
That turned life’s perplexing challenges
Into the mirror of a dramatical illusion
Valentine A. Gana
Student of Bate Besong
In honor of the Writer as a Tiger
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