There is so much the streets/ are really shaped like chapels
blood on Large bullets
Many things I did not know until today
Like how many lives we will lose before this country annihilates us
Hands fasten themselves on asphalt as bullets whizz past
Oh God, my people have learned to hide themselves.
How can I dis – own a country without losing my head & my heart?
Take me away he begged. This man is wounded!
Blood gushing out of torn flesh
[I] Was that a bomb blast or fire, the national anthem?
[Feel] We are all growing violence, perhaps that is why they shoot at us
[Like] What is his name? Write it down
[Puking] He is going to die. Do CPR!
My sister weeps quietly beside me. Tonight, a million Nigerians will cower in bed, tens
of millions will become lava. He is breathing! He needs air!
Mark my words. We will all die together you know. We were born for it
We should stop calling this nation [absent of motherly feelings] her. An iron fist
is an iron fist, wrapped or not. They really bring hell fire & call it children toys
Everything is baseless now. See how they reduce us to mere flesh & empty
cartridges. What is it with soldiers stealing corpses? If I am burned,
We will sing our way into death. Let me burn to the
Let heaven know our land
was too green with envy. last
A man passes away from the flicker
struggle. Hallelujah. What am I to tell
my children unborn? That I hoped in
a country which pilfered like smoke
before my eyes or that I once
had a life?
Formatting: The Nigerian Map.
Anointing Obuh is a writer, singer and photographer from Nigeria. A one-time best of the Net nominee, her works have been featured in Rattle, Mineral Lit mag, Honey and Lime Lit, Barren magazine and elsewhere. You can find her tweeting @therealAnniekay.