Mother prayed;
May you not walk on
the road when it is hungry
children played by the
river beside the road
happy to be alive
in the forest
the birds sang
and the road led to hope
Now;
We hear the screams
of kidnapped girls in the forest
step around pot holes filled
with corpses that armed robbers left behind
along the dark tarred stretch
we pick our way
through the debris of faith
may you not walk
on the road
when it is hungry
or live in
my country now.
from the speeding politicians
to rallies of the living dead
I stared long and hard at the print,
it danced like the mad yogi
on my fevered dreams
nectar hungry and flea infested
like sores on the thin neck of despair
I wondered by what devious means
I came to incarnate
on these shores
even the moans fell hollow
sighing I watch each setting sun
how many more?
The voice from deep within
sent cool whispers down my spine
look in the mirror child
and tell me
who you see