When the sun has only just lit the sky
enough to see rows of reed-woven baskets line the streets
and cloth-draped women arranging assortments of vegetables
in neat little pyramids on wide-bottomed metal pans,
sleepy feet begin shuffling through and in between
the maze created by
the constellation of baskets, produce, women
beckoning you to buy
fresh pepper
fresh okra
‘Ԑyԑ five, five cedis!’
It’s mango season
and heaped baskets of juicy yellow fruits
sit seductively at every corner
but don’t get distracted
from your shopping list;
it’s too easy to arrive with a budget of a week’s worth of pay
and leave with only half a week’s worth of produce.
You know you have many stomachs to feed
and you can’t go shopping with your eyes.
The sun is now higher in the sky
beads of sweat accumulate between rings of necks
trickle down
to butter glistening shoulders melting into one another
many arms
move simultaneously in every direction
like the limbs of a glossy millipede
someone shouts ‘Mi gbԑ ee!’
and the millipede splits in half
to let through a pair of trembling legs
running with cargo twice its weight
then zippers itself back together.
There are many pathways to meander
and many alleys to peer into,
indeed every square metre between buildings,
along streets, is a possible trading zone.
So if by chance you find yourself
walking down an unfamiliar street
in your treasure hunt for grocery supplies
priced reasonably for your pocket,
do not get swallowed
by the mouthless millipede
for there is no map to navigate Makola market;
but if you do,
amidst a throng of thousands
there is always someone to ask.
Olivia Kayang is a Ghanaian-born visual artist and writer who contemplates the body as a site of memory within her making and writing practices. Her writing practice is shaped by her experience growing up in different cultures, living in different countries and in a multi-ethnic household, and continuously experiencing Ghanaian cultures through multiple lenses. Her writing often accompanies her artwork which she has exhibited in academic spaces in the US. Kayang currently lives and works in Accra where she continues to grow her practice.
IG: @sourblackolive