A thousand kilometers away,

The elements still transport the sound click of your camera,

They bring its light beams to my dreams,

And its images prints in my mind

On waking every morning,

As I pour libation to the spirits of our fathers.

Ajaka, that my Sister’s daughter

Buried alive with her daughter,

You remember her?

The fruit of my father’s sleeping with my sister,

The one the oracle commanded their death,

That abomination of love.

She brought me a picture of hers from a hundred years ago

That you snapped,

Do you remember?

Her face was swollen and her womanhood mutilated,

Yea,

She brought me a picture of hers from a hundred years ago

That you snapped,

And told me to avenge her death.

Should I?

 

Will  you accompany me to the village square

To snap those ladies that sit with their legs open

And those boys that walk with their pants down?

I want to paste their pictures in our cemetery.

To the pulpits ,also follow me

To take  the picture of those pastors

That say Amadioha and Sango are dead,

Those priests that collect our tithes

And preach that our Ezemuo is looting us.

 

Brother!

Take your camera to the rock,

Take the pictures of those old men and thieves,

I want to decorate my dog’s house with them.

To the slums take it,

Snap those women that eat warms,

Paste up in the sky

For their children to see

And destroy or reclaim the rock

 

And then bring your camera to this house,

And take the pictures of our fathers,

The pictures of their wandering spirits

With their gifts we neglected

And then mine;

Paste it on the future,

That all may see and make it come true.

 

Ajaka and Ikemefuna sent their greetings,

Amadioha and Sango sent their blessings,

The ghetto boys are celebrating festival of weed

And are puffing up smoke for you,

Because they are all happy for what you are doing for them

So they possessed my mind and pen

And commanded me to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 

Dedicated to John Chizoba Vincent (a cinematographer) on his Birthday 18^th May 19, 2018

 

© STREET ANTHEM POETRY…