My mother said stay home with me
Let’s hold the fort
For the ones in front
She said stay home with me
My sight you may hate
But better a distaste than an end date
Stay home with you?
How do I stay, when the street beckons to me?
In a month or three, my belly – the first sight you meet
My muscles cry to be flexed
Home with you constrains them
I am a strong independent black man
Sculpted from birth for warfare
Our heroes past didn’t die that I may cower in fear
Everywhere I turn, I don’t find guns but I hear sobs
Doesn’t look like a war, but why do I feel defeated?
The streets are quiet but it’s like 1914 all over, with my bronchi on fire
…
I should have stayed home with her and save lives with her
(C) Oyin Akeredolu
Lagos, Nigeria
