Voice to the Voiceless Fortune Nwaiwu
Can you tell me , Did you undergo widower ' s rites ? Was your hair shaved ? Did your mouth taste the purification water ? Did anyone ask you to swear or Accuse you of killing your wife ? But why must my own be different ? Why must I suffer under the rules of widowhood , Ruled out of the things I love Ruled away to live alone in the desert Where not a single soul sighs . What offense did I commit ? Did I murder my co-wife ? With what ? Did I kill my husband to deserve all this ? Undergoing of widow ’ s rites , And casting me away from home Is too heavy for me to bear .
The Voice of the Victim ( Spoken by the Widower ) Your husband ’ s spirit was summoned , And judged by the ancestors because He succumbed to your vices To silence the voice of the victim , The voice of agitation , The voice of protest . The gods wanted to give voice to the voiceless But whether their action is justifiable or not , I do not know . I ask :
20 | P a g e