ELITES (A Poem)

Samuel Daniel mirrors the stark reality of Nigerians in this thought-provocking work of poetry.

Read below:

They want to rule and govern
Over folks cornered in the tavern
Like new yams in a tattered barn

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I remember when you said to us
With stars dancing in your eyes
That you were our brother
We saw the stars in your eyes
And the plea within your clasped fingers
We believed you

I remember too when you said
With a soothing balm on your tongue
That you were our kinsman
Our representative going to stand for us
We felt the sugary charm from your mouth
And compared it to the vinegar full in our bowls
We followed you

It’s been a while
And now we ask ourselves
How you can be our brother
When you don’t look at all like us
When your fat full-blown face having the gleam of the moon
Does not resemble our dull sunken eyes
When you fly with ease across the sky
And we can barely crawl
Over the broken portions on the ground

How can you be our kinsman
When, like a complete stranger,
You do not recognise the entreaty in our mother’s eyes
Or the anger on our father’s brow
You have forgotten everything you told us
And our words don’t mean a thing

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You just want to rule and govern
You do not care that we are cornered in the tavern
Like new yams in a tattered barn