The Boy Grew
There was a boy
He ate peaches for breakfast
He sang with the birds
He ran with cheetahs
Climbed trees with monkeys
Lying on grass fields
He fell asleep gazing at the stars
He was happy
He was content
He loved his life
The forest was his home
Then one day
The forest became too small for his hungry mind
The trees too short for his growing heights
Cheetahs too slow for his long legs
The oceans called to him
He dreamt of a new home
Somewhere far away from here
He couldn’t be bound
Once innocent to the world
Now sought to be defiled by it.
Cliché
We know how the story ends
The dialogues so familiar
Memorized and overused
It’s become natural to us
“Arise, O Compatriots”
The words have lost their effects
“Nigeria’s call obey”
They are recited just because
“To serve our father land
With love and strength and faith”
The promises they hold void of truth
The lines so ordinary
A routine, it is now
It is now just a cliché.
Dark Tales
When I was fourteen
I used to sit by my window at night
Waiting for my neighbour’s light to go off
Then I would sneak out
To meet Judith
She said, “Call me Judith.”
While she did things to me
Things that I loved and hated
Things I begged her to stop
Then begged her to start again
Things I never told Mom
Things only Judith and I knew
Things only Judith and I shared
Things wanted to tell my friend Joe
But I couldn’t
And I didn’t
Because Judith was Joe’s mother.
Gift Oyewole is currently an undergraduate at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria where she studies English and Literary studies. She enjoys writing and reading and loves all forms of art. Follow her on Facebook @ Gift Oyewole.
