The West says
Nigerian writers howl.
We have first hand experience
Of what to be in a hole means.
It is whole!
The only place we want to be
Is sanity. The country has touched
Our mind – setting us on fire.
Different from love
That drives lovers crazy,
Nigeria makes us feel
Like hugging the transformer.
We howl.
We cry.
We war.
It makes us cry whenever
We wake up unlike when
We see the name of our lovers
On our phones.
This kiss of citizenry
Is treating us like death
Stealing the parents of a toddler
Who has no relations except fate.
I was just thinking about how uncute
The country has become
And have to howl like the legion
Of Nigerian writers.
~Odimegwu Onwumere
August 29, 2024.
