Ijakadi by Eke van Victor

Ijakadi - Eke Van Victor
(In Honor of Nigerian Students)

Smiling and suffering all these years
Like the wavering waters enjoying the storms
Where do I belong, here or there?
Through the forewalls of a college
My head must pass
Why and how?
They care less to know
I just must be better
Better than the neighbour's sons
Hunger lurks within these walls
Thirst that sears the eyes in its company
Whose head will the curses of a peasant farmer bear?
Whose head will the next almond fall on?
On whose intestine will the next rosselle descend?
Who will be the next dubious governor of a class?
Blessed is he, for he shall be
Like the seaside trees in famine
A glowing countenance in a thousand's midst.
Who shall lean on a tyrant's chariot?
Who shall hang out with the chosen ones?
Who shall go and fight for our liberation?
His failures as fresh as the morning dews
The day has just dawned on his calamities
His days here, twice the age of his mother.
How many have gone?
How many were done?
The psychologically-bedridden
The Adam's apple consumers
The sons of peasant traders.
Should I join this train?
Does my destiny lie within these walls?
For when these chops becomes tales
I may be found
Lost in the embrace of skills
Knowledge and lore junked
Certificate and honors, rodent-eaten
Hopes and dreams jettisoned
Thanks to the greatness of a nation.
Give me of the cup of patience
Lest I trod this long alley, a path to nowhere.
Give me of the cup of humour
Lest I graduate to the sixth feet of earth's depth
Give me of the cup of silence
Lest I be tagged a frat
Give me of the cup of sacrifice
Lest my candle stand remains as good as new
And my woes here compounded.

..…....................................
El Activista Polémico
Vpoem 0615