May Ours Not Be by Funso Aiyejina

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May ours not be like the story

of the Ear and the Mosquito;

but if it is, remember, o plunderers,

the Mosquito’s eternal vow of protest,

for we shall become like lice

forever in your seams,

ant-heads that even in death

burrow deep into the flesh,

chameleon faeces that cannot

be wiped off the feet,

and regenerating earthworms

that multiply by their pieces;

if there is no rainbow in the sky,

we know to create one

by splashing water in the face of the sun;

if sleepers’ hands protect their ears,

mosquitoes must learn to bite at their legs

to awaken them into their broken pledges;

if treasure hunters disturb our Orukwu rockhill,

thunder will break behind our tongues of lightning

like arrows in flight…