You stole their hopes, deceived their eager thumbs!
…
I have eaten the moin moin together with the wrapping leaves
And unsweetened akamu that never passed through sieves!
I have eaten boiled groundnut with the tasteless shells
At the compelling impulse of wicked hunger spells!
I have used water and salt to cure stomach aches
And ice block in fist, I have fought recalcitrant headaches!
Diarrhea I have cured over with raw akamu from Mama Risi,
For even if I could get the money, do you, here, any hospital see?
…
So when you come to me now, smiling like a circus Gorilla
(One moment away from the comforts of your Villa),
And you talk to me of sweet nothings, I listen mute,
For I can play only discordant tunes on my flute.
meet the poet: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson
