Anthropomorphism
I don’t hate gods for being unpredictable
Slow to punish the wicked
Slow to bless the good.
Poor harvest.
Droughts!
Man proposes
Gods dispose.
I like be niameh!
Beings that require just cola-nuts
And palm wine to host them.
Yes!
And they serve us well.
A wall you can’t go through?
A river you can’t cross?
Or a giant tree you can’t climb?
Pluck sleep from their eyes with
Sweet swaying
Soothing sayings
And gifts:
Palm wine, cola-nuts,
Palm oil, alligator pepper,
A cock, a goat — blood.
Invite them for dinner
With incantation,
the language of the gods.
And then the wall melts,
The river dries off.
The tree shrinks.
Those who answer in times of need
Are all-time heroes.
HYPOTHETICUS
If it should rain today,
Our rusted zincs would collapse
Under the weight
Of rain droplets.
And we would all drown:
The Young, the Old…
If it should rain today,
We would have ourselves to blame
For inviting
The wrath of the gods.
We have kept silent.
No one is innocent!
If it should start raining now!
It will rain hippos and elephants
For 20 Days and 11 Hours
And then Noah, perhaps, would have to consider
Building a bigger ARK.
REJECTIMENTA
It was the year 1920
And our village had just been gonged out
To the Melaninless
Sans abri, The Great March began.
I was only ten then
But my future had been
Eaten already,
By mouths of promises.
Ah! Our sightless Philosopher King
Who was being reminded that a leader should be in front,
NOT BEHIND!
“Paul The Great!”
An anonymous voice from the crowd said.
So we marched;
The scotching sun caressing our flesh.
So we marched;
The burning earth embracing our feet.
So we marched;
Our mouths, longing for food and water.
A feast for Sorrow!
The March Never Stops!
Valery Ngime Epie is a Cameroon based poet.
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