Poetry

I’m a Waif in my Homeland

I thought I had missed the way to my hometown
after four years’ sojourn abroad. The road to my
town is barricaded, my town reduced to rubble my
old father slain, his decomposed body food for
the vultures, where I’m trapped shivering with
fear the incessant bombings never scare these
vultures hovering above the grey sky from feasting
on piled-up corpses of innocent farmers. You call
Western education Haram

is farming also Haram?
I left my town calm and rustic, now a hotbed of terror
rife with bombings and shootings, the human voice
silenced by the wailing of giant guns. I see scores of
sculls litter the deserted streets. The dispersing ashes
stink of human flesh, the youth held captive forced to
take an oath made confirmed monsters in your custody
of dehumanization my little sisters raided from Chibok
bullied to satisfy your sexual madness. Only blood served

straight from the chopped up heads
quenches my little boy’s thirst, who delights in blood-
sucking and shivers under the weight of heavy guns
he shoots at will, you hypnotized him to kill her mother
and be on my trail for my acquired Education. And you
claim his new way is Islam, my Education is Haram,
your killing is halal. Your koran must be self-made
ghosted for your dastardly purpose. My town now
overtaken by terrorists and vampires

with the Army…
overtly namby-pamby.

Here I’m stranded the route to my town leads to death
all routes in the Northeast ambushed no part is spared
you have bombed everywhere in the name of religion
UN Office and Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja destroyed
weapons purchase being the Government’s priority budget,
I’m rendered a waif in my dear land where Aso Rock seems
to cop out…as the word stokes the war…

Adewuyi Ayodeji

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