Over the past ten years, African poets have shown a growing interest in haiku with their poems often appearing in journals around the world. One of the leading African haiku poets is Adjei Agyei-Baah from Ghana whose collection, Tales of the Kite was published earlier in 2023 by Buttonhook Press. You can read the entire chapbook for free at this link.

Tales of the Kite includes a Foreword by David McMurray and 102 haiku on the theme of kites. Each poem is presented in English and Twi, which is a language spoken by several million people in Ghana. The availability of these poems in the Twi language will surely create further interest in haiku across the community.

Whether or not you have flown a kite, Adjei’s haiku bring the experience to life:

flying kite
the bird in me
flutters

wind —
swelling the kite
with sound

And, of course, children are always intrigued by a kite in flight:

first flight
my child asks
why the kite pulls back

approaching storm . . .
his dragon kite
meets a dragon cloud

A kite comes alive in the air; sweeping and swooping, rising and falling. Many of Adjei’s poems capture this sense that the kite has a mind of its own:

clear blue sky
a kite’s eagerness
to catch the wind

no more string
releasing the kite
to follow its dreams

Writing on the theme of kites is particularly appropriate when using a Japanese poetic form as kites are an important part of Japanese culture. It is said that kites were introduced to Japan during the Nara Period (710-794 AD) by Chinese Buddhist missionaries. They are still flown around New Year and to signal the coming of spring. Kites are the subject of large festivals such as the Hamamatsu Festival, while carp-shaped kites are flown from poles on Children’s Day (May 5).

wind over strings
the mad dance
of festival kites

sea wind
my kite the only fish
in the sky

I’ve written previously about Adjei’s haiku collection on the theme of scarecrows. Well, in Tales of the Kite, one haiku brings the two themes together in a single haiku:

peeing . . .
letting the scarecrow
take over my kite

Adjei Agyei-Baah’s collection, Tales of the Kite, is such good fun. You might even say it’s uplifting (if you’ll pardon the pun). These poems will be appreciated both by adults and children. Indeed, adults are likely to rediscover an inner child who still delights in the wonder of flight.

Reading these poems leaves you feeling as though you’ve truly experienced the ups and downs, the disappointment and exhilaration of flying a kite in the breeze – all without having left your chair. You can read Tales of the Kite here.