Betrayal Poem by Timothy Ogunsakin

You have betrayed us.
We fed you sweetmeats such as
We hoped awaited you on the other side
But you said No,
I must eat the world’s left-overs.
We said you were the hunter
Who brought the quarry down;
To you belong the vital portion of the game
But you said No,
I am the hunter’s dog and
I shall eat the entrails of the game
And the faeces of the hunter.
We said you were the hunter returning home in triumph,
A slain buffalo pressing on his neck
But you said Wait,
I first must turn up this cricket hole with my toes.
We said yours was the doorway at which
We first spy the tapper when he comes from the tree,
Yours was the blessing of the twilight wine
The purl that brings night spirits out of doors
To steal their portion before the light of day,
We said yours was the body of wine
Whose burden shakes the tapper like a sudden gust
On his perch
But you said No,
I am content to lick the dregs from each calabash
When the drinkers are done.
We said the dew on the earth’s surface was for you
To wash your feet along the slopes of honour
But you said No,
I shall step in the vomit of cats
And dropping of mice shall I deep my feet
We invited you to dine with Kings and Nobles
But you said No,
I shall fight the slaves for the left-overs of the world
We called you leader, and Oh,
How dare you led us apart
We chose you to shield us when we are debtors
But you betrayed our secrets.