Tangled Like prison walls Your heart is a dark room Where elegies are composed In verses, stanzas, and acts Like a webbed abode Devoid of sanity Not even a vacancy You got me this attitude. Cause me to melt Like the scorched ice Under this spell, I'm stuck Riding on the wind of emotions. In the middle of your heart I became a wanderer, as you twisted my tongue To savour unseen dishes Now, I've embarked on This blunt journey, in the deepest darkness of your crocodile smiles Thoughts mixed with images Turning the dark into lullabies Sung to a topped union Tangled into eons.
The Encounter I decided to wake up, it was going to be an unwanted long night already before the sun rose, before the stern knock was heard. Not too long I thought about it, I heard it. A beckon to embrace the topsy-turvy of the day. A voice raised to get your hands clearing a shit. It wasn't to be ignored, we were to delve into its nook and cranny. Not of the class of the prim and proper. Thinking of an escapade was out of the question. Cries and groaning soaked the inner self of the paupers. The aged, too, were part. Theirs was a concocted cocktail of bitterness. Seemed we were medially positioned. Out of bound surrounded by the captives. Hard-work, vigilance, and serenity were the ancient landmarks that we got to follow, if we were to live. Our hearts prayed for liberty. Proselytes, in a way. But we sought liberty. The resort came as if we were timed. Like a bomb ignited with a volcano. It surged us into boldness. It was time to knit our brows. Then, we knew we had mouths to shout, the hands to fight and noises to make signals. Our lives suffered, but a plea was rendered. The cages must be opened Every prisoner must leave being free Yes!! The cruel reaped what they sowed. We did it. We caught them flogged them and burnt them. That was when I knew all that were with me were my brothers. We saw ourselves for the first time. Laughter with cries, there lay the joy. Though, they held us handicapped, we had the victory at last. Again, rose a shout. From here and there, wailings. But they were shouts of victory. We got it!!!
About the Poet
Adediran Olusade is a final year student at the University of Ibadan. She loves writing, especially writing poems. Currently, she resides in Oyo town.