Doing Unto Others Poem by Gabriel Eshun

Well Watered Remontant Roots
Would inherently make turgid a shoot
With desire to flaunt turbans
And turbans in a season: But I see
A rose in a street corner with a besoin
As parched as its wrinkled leaves

Oh when I was a pikin; I thought why
Sahara of thirstiness when there is Nile
I thought why
H2O paucity when there are monsoons…

Oh how therapeutic to empty
The weight of these thoughts into a vase…

Sea Pushed by Passionate Wind
Would mould stalwart waves
To succour a coconut marooned to reach
A shore: but I see seasons and seasons
A coconut surge on hefty waves yet reaches not to a shore…


Oh when I was a pikin; I thought the
Mindset of every gargantuan wave is shore
I thought every
Gargantuan wave pushes auroras to shore…

Oh how therapeutic to empty
The weight of these thoughts into a vase…

Oil Palm Trees of Height
Would warmly womb needy
Plants tender targets …
To feel light: but I see a sun seeking fern
Ooze from spears on nearby oil palms

Oh when I was a pikin; I thought every
Oil palm to ferns accommodate…
I thought every
Oil palm to indomitable sunseekers tolerate…

And oh do royal palms
Grow razor fronds?