Daredevil foxes snatch the feeding bottle
From the mouth of the babe
The babe wails,
The babe cries
Not for her stolen food
Not that men could turn to foxes
But that her babysitter did nothing to foil the foxes
Save for a lullaby to lull them to sleep!
Now the townspeople
Are having a good laugh
As the invited bush doctor is struck
By the size of the beer parlour fishbone
Now rattling the throats of the men
Who had cozied up to the foxes
Now bent double by the weight of ballot boxes
The women, hand-to-breasts,
Stare at the men mouth-agape
In this head-shaking silence of the dumb-struck
Leaving the skies
To unleash a cleansing rain
Of arthropods
This zigzag dance of centipedes …
ANAELE IHUOMA
HAPPY WORLD POETRY DAY 21.03. 2023
