We are the seedlings of both worlds
Beaten by paltry rain and golden sun.
We have seen the hyenas
Squeaking afar, mocking our first fruits
And throwing the seeds on our faces.
We have seen our huts mutilated
Turned into firewood of hyenas’ feasts.
We have seen seedlings of our red earth
Cast into shreds and torn among thorns.
We have seen the radiant orange full moon
Knitted into crescent dim light.
Blessed with nectars
Yet the pollen grain withers.
The hummingbird sucked it all
As the petals fluffed in patchy garment.
At a distance, vultures gathered
To feed on pallid carrion.
However, even though the sun is dark
And the wind billowed in smoke screen
We will never stop playing the drums
Stamping and thumping to ancestral rhythm
Enshrouding our heads under palm trees
To imbibe the spirits of our ancestors
With every smile, lynxes’ eyes.
Read – Adulthood – A Poem by Yero Fatima – Nigeria
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The author, Joseph Marcel, Ikhenoba is a Biochemist by profession and a passionate writer. He has published several poems, articles and stories which have been published in Amazon, Poetry South, Short story.net, Poem Hunters, Core Humanity Commons and Academia.edu and Writers Space Africa, Goodreads, Afri-Library and Kinsman Quarterly.
Joseph is the semi-finalist for the Black Diaspora Award, shortlisted for the Natives Award, and longlisted for Iridescence and Dr. Paul Kalanithi writing awards in 2024. He likes sports, writing and scientific research.
However, the fiction “The Reunion” is an impact family relationship has on children. In the work, John’s strained relationship with his father almost ruined his life, but thanks to his mother. So, family union plays a huge role in moulding children’s lives.
