The day dawned
Like the influx of an organized pogrom
The serene town of Isu
Blazed in fury.
Commotion sat on the cliff
Hushed voices sealed the lips of the market women.
The lethal tail of peace, touched
Twinged
Taboo! Taboo!
The air awash, in ululation hazed
The desecrated land must be cleansed
The violator must pay the price.
Incredible ears have heard it
The royal house is the victim of voices
Umejei, the royal son
Is the victim
But can it sail to reality?
Who shall carry out the penalty of ages?
A sacrilege, it is.
He killed and must be killed
No one have so done.
No! Ears have never heard
None have killed during wrestling bouts
Yet, elders hid in their wisdom to commute
The laws that garbed the land
The fiat of the spirits
Who shall withstand?
Another crime in another night
Mouths were shut
As old as wisdom and age
Hatched in holes, justice killed
As truth hid under the armpit
Concealed to die in death.
But eyes scared
Mouths hung agape.
Where is Umejei?
Where is the killer?
Curmudgeon fighter at will
Docile escapee at night.
Armed with instruction to dwell
Where the gods led.
He sojourned far
Through the creeks of the distant farms
To anchor at Anioshe
He roosts to build the tainted life of exile
Isu fu ogu ju nni! He bears in cross
As a fearless warrior.
- An epic from my collection of poems titled 'CROAKS'
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