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The Kola nut Spirit | Enobong Ernest Enobong

Once were years

when we gathered as brothers

in the huts of our compatriots,

breaking kola nuts in fellowship

of the brotherhood;

pouring palm wines in remembrance

of the blood that binds us.

 

Oh. Once were years,

when we gathered,

munching kola nuts,

gulping palm wines;

telling tales,

sharing burdens,

bursting laughters,

late into the nights,

with innocence, without grudge;

with unity, without fear –

in dark huts;

because all the lights

that we ever needed

were wired in us –

in love.

And our dining tables never broke

nor decayed,

because they were set in our hearts.

 

But what happened to our holy communion

– the broken gourd and platter?

How did the wine wither?

Why did the kola dry up?

How did our feet forget the old, sacred hut of our yesteryears?

And why were the chapters

of our common yesterday

axed

from history’s pages?

 

Why do we update our precious pasts

with cold hands and blood-costumed eyes?

Why are our everydays

a fresh story of stale hearts?

Why do we now break our brothers’ heads

instead of the kola;

and spill our brethren’s bloods

in place of the wine?

How did evil and envy impeach laughter and love?

And how did we forget

that when the pride is scattered,

a lion is vulnerable

How?

What happened?

Where is the kola nut spirit?

Who killed it?


Photo source


About the author:

Enobong Ernest Enobong is a Nigerian teenage writer resident in Lagos. He has particular interest in creative writing and essay writing; and has written several short fictions and poems (including haiku) that cut across subjects including nature, humanity, culture, and social and national consciousness. He has also authored a number of essays and articles. His works have been previously published on Praxis Magazine, Haikuniverse, Nnoko Stories, The Kalahari Review, Nasara Creative, Poetry City and elsewhere.
Currently, Enobong is a law student of the University of Lagos.
Published inPoetry&Musings

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