Poetry by David Martin Aliker
Dear Dollo,
You have been in my dreams since you left
dancing in a circle with your African brothers
to your favorite traditional Bwola dance.
If you will ever go dancing in the Americas
don’t dance in a circle with your brothers
don’t dance to the beats like your other brothers.
Dance alone like a wild mad man
who knows not the rhythm
of the music they play.
If you dance with your brothers
as if you are dancing our Bwola dance,
you will only attract more bulls in your kraal.
But if you dance like a wild mad man
you will be as attractive as a flower
is to a black bumble bee.
Yours sincerely,
Lovely
Daddy.
Bio
ALIKER David Martin (Aliker P’Ocitti preferred Pen Name) is a Ugandan Poet, Published Author (My Mayor.The Political Campaign Story of a Poor Elite and Rich Illiterate, Biography of Dakta Ojul, a collection of poems titled, – Hidden Scars and Co-authored Unsaid Words), Blogger and Motivational Speaker.
Aliker has been a T.V (Talk Show) Host at Wan Luo T.V (Wangoo P’Kaka) program. He has also been a regular contributor of opinion articles on The Daily Monitor, The New Vision, The Weekly Observer and Chimpreports (Online) and Nile Post (Online) in Uganda. He is a regular on radios, with numerous T.V appearances in Uganda for analytical perspectives.
Besides being Editor for Northern Era News (NEN) and theCooperator Online News platforms, his poems have appeared in African Global Networks (AGN), Musings During a Time of Pandemic: A World Anthology of Poems on Covid19 and Best “New” African Poets Anthology, 2020.
Currently, Aliker is the initiator of Author Aliker Poetry Prize for teen poets. He annually edits this literary works for publication. Aliker has had professional speaking engagements in 13 States in America and numerous speaking engagements in Uganda.
Originally published November 22, 2023