Songs of Anisha
“Solace,”
by Nnamdi Ben Nneji
The sky hangs heavy with dark clouds
As strong winds blow on rooftops
Twisting trees and throwing dust…
The women…children run for shelter
Some cursing under their breath
At this impudent interference of nature
For it often means lean bellies…
The sky was white and with ease
Vivid lines ran across from end to end
As elixirs to soothe a laden heart
The emotions of clouds build up
And the sky grows darker and darker
Men scurry as hens to find light
To stay in the dark and unburden
The weary heart that yearns for solace
Then the downpour descends as smoke
Ascends, luminous flame to illuminate
A dark world of wailing hearts…
And the drumming builds in intensity
And drowns the sound of the world
The lines run faster across, defying the
Unrhythmic drumming and pounding
And the straining of alert watchmen
Soon, over, and stiff joints creak
Figures straighten to gaze at a clearer
Sky no longer pent-up but bright as day
The day before the groaning and longing
Heavy with cloud-birth and foreboding
And the brightness snuffs out the flame
The curly strings of beads rise in defiance
To descend no more on a world
Of whites and lines and running streams
Of released pent-up burdens of emotions
And though time we have lost
And the holes in our purse,
Our souls are brighter and taller
We will flow with the little streams
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