The light turns red The man wearing twenty-seven hats and carrying thirteen more in his arms ambles between the bright yellow tro tro and the towering truck beside it. He navigates a path wide as a grocery aisle. But there are no carts in these aisles There are, however, motorbikes. They appear suddenly, snaking the …
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power through
You’ll be in the middle of it, whatever it might be. And everything that seems important stops. Lights, fans, A/C. All still, all silent. All off, instantly. Life in a country with a sometimes irrational power grid demands flexibility. And a good flashlight. But the benefits of a sudden outage help to keep us, like …
Supply and Demand
Everything. Is. Dependent. On. The <pause>. Supply. Of Dollars. In. Relation. To. The Cedi. The shrill, halting voice of the African economist filters in and out of my consciousness as I stare blankly at the vehicles, stacked row upon row, seemingly to the horizon. I consider changing the station. Since it’s Thursday, traffic shouldn’t be …
Isaac Knows
The welcome breeze sneaks into my shirt. Today, this week, this month, have been equatorial-style, shirt-drippingly hot. Of course, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. But it’s also the heat. With dusk comes breeze and welcome relief. Our taxi is cozy but full of light and energy. The four of us peek out the …
beat
The whir of the treadmill is rhythmic, sedative. Andres runs, a steady pace, beads of sweat pool. But now, we need a beat. It’s my turn to run. I leave him. Crack the door, bright sunlight confronts me. I step, hop, move. With purpose. Through a swaying mass of swim caps, arms windmilling, stretches accompanied …
aqi
I step out of the room and approach the three steps to the playground when I am assaulted. We’d been here for a couple years before we started to pay attention to air quality. In fact, we had been working on the assumption that the air here is fine. Of course, the Harmattan is its …
legends
I did not come here to sing I did not come here to sing But he does sing, anyway. Unexpectedly. The band leader called him out, and up. We are in the company of greatness! Please, Mr. Ambolley, please come and join us on stage. Lounging in the back, chatting with friends under the stars. …
Bigger goals
The generator is humming today, but it’s the crickets buzzing that grab my attention. There must be so many, hidden in the grass. Krrrrrrrrrrrt. Krrrrrrrrrrt. Don’t they get crushed by the boots? I breathe heavily, not quite panting, but close. My heart bumps as I regret a lack of exercise over the past week. Month. …
Commute
First bend, a right turn Papa Did you know this is the smoothest part of our ride We round, the morning still quiet. Our ride together allows us to slowly wake, in unison with the world. We pass a young boy on his way to school. He seems lost in thought, but still has time …
Spiced
Leticia and I have quiet agreements. She glides, like a ray patrolling the reef, graceful, steady, her daily rounds. She has her stops, a pattern to follow. At the same point in each morning, she pokes her head in the door, makes bright eye contact, and smiles. Without saying a word, only raising her arms …
Get Up Eight 