Clouds
written by: NNANE NTUBE
@NnaneNtube
The city has changed its face.
Mmm… Silence has replaced neighbours.
… I munch worries with a host of flies
Rolling screening looks on my battered face
As if to ask, ‘When is your turn?’… ha! ha! ha!
On the street behind my broken window
I saw dead bodies eating up their own carcasses
And vomiting shapeless hope once swallowed.
On my windowpanes dust kissed the wind
And brought stale memories to life,
Memories that collided with skinny hope
At crossroads of life and death
but the wind kicked hope into oubliette of broken walls
Where silence resides, coughing out mucus of the voiceless,
Breaking through tears and pages and,
Spitting valueless pieces on faceless faces of kids.
Today we wear our hearts on our heads
For our chests have been inflated with tears
And our hearts desire heads, not a frail fiend leaking its mess.
Today we wear our hearts on our heads
For our mothers have removed their wombs
And beneath boots placed them with unease,
Else their children become target firing lines.
Today we wear our hearts on our heads
For we stopped counting the falls:
‘how many fell last month?’
‘And this month?’ ‘This week?’ ‘And today?’
And life goes on… Waiting for another latest news to peep.
Hey! Are you thinking about the end?
Mother once said, ‘the end will come with our hands freed.’
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
This poem is inspired by sociopolitical happenings in Cameroon that have left untold sufferings and countless losses. It highlights the psychological state of Cameroonians affected by the crisis, directly or indirectly.
- Clouds - May 30, 2022
- Nothing Like A Kiss - February 2, 2022
- Eerie - October 28, 2021
