and I am a spider

racing my cousin

in the river

and a crocodile

is chasing

both of us

until the crocodile

becomes a leopard

and the river

becomes a forest

and we are running

and my cousin trips

and falls

like a ship

sinking

and I climb a tree

and all I can do

is sit on my eight legs

still, watching

the beast

tear my cousin’s limbs off

as he looks up

at me, eyes drowned

in fear

crying for my help

as my maame’s voice

echoes

inside my dream

telling me

to help him

NOW!

THINGS MY MAAME SAYS

KOFI OFFIN MENSAH! GET. UP. NOW!

You will sleep until the goats come home if I let you.

You will go with Kwasi to fetch wood.

Ei, boy! Do not make me use the cane on you.

Your sister has made bean stew and pounded yam.

Ahhh, he lives at the sound of food.

Be sure to thank your sister.

And after you eat, you best clean your teeth until they gleam.

We must not be late for Bayere. It is your brother’s big day.

Ei! I SAY GET UP! No more dreaming. Is THIS world not enough?

NANA MOSI SAYS

Dreams are today’s answers for

tomorrow’s questions.

Why do old people speak

in riddles? I wonder.

Maybe we only dream

because of too much

beans and yam.

AFTER WE FETCH THE WOOD

for Maame

I race to the river

and swim furiously

shoulders lifted

every movement clean

every muscle

in my arms and legs

dancing

in rhythm

to the way

of the water.

I race in the river

farther

than I have ever swum before

with so much speed

and force, it is like

I am chasing something

or being chased

when an idea hits me

and I realize that maybe

Nana Mosi was right

because inside

my dream

might have been the answer

to my biggest problem.

THE BIG IDEA

My cousin is

a better wrestler,

a faster runner,

and stronger

than me and Ebo

put together.

One time,

after the fireside tale,

Nana Mosi got a pain

in his back,

so I ran to get Kwasi

and my father,

but when I got back,

my cousin had lifted him up

and carried him

to the home

of the local healer.

But there is one surefire way

that I can outshine him

once and for all,

and I cannot wait

to tell Kwasi

and Ebo about it

later today

at the festival.

WHILE EVERYONE WAITS

for my sister Esi

to finish braiding

and wrapping

my great-grandmother’s hair

for the festival,

I sit in the courtyard,

watching closely

as Nana Mosi

handily defeats opponent

after opponent

in Oware.

OWARE

The game starts

with six holes called huts

on one player’s side of the board

and six on the other.

Opponents begin

with four stones

in each hut,

for a total of twenty-four per side,

and take turns

picking up stones