Fadama Goddess Poem by Odoh Okenyodo

What will a shrine do without its priestess?

The Fadama Goddess is a star
Shaped like an empty bottle
Spreading laughter, near, far
She is a wild space shuttle

Goddess, go on spreading your charm like jam
The world is your bread
You will toast it with a graceful smile
You grateful child nodding her head

What will a shrine do without its priestess?

Remember the histories of nights
Told in the emptiness of green bottles
Remember the dying club lights
Mixed in pounding beats as legs shuffle

The Fadama Goddess eats a balanced diet
Despite her baa kifi, baa nama chant
Her diet consists of laughter that hugs the earth
And plenty of liquid, a little solid, plenty gas

Won't the priestess leave more blessings for her shrine?

She goes away with her charm. Why?
You're the hunter who's prey now
Life is poaching you, you want to hide
The sun shall keep you under its brow

Bury your perfume under the sun's armpit
Let the musky ambiance of Fadama sober away
You are the little colour left in the harmattan
Now, he picks it like a greedy king

What, I ask, will a shrine do without its priestess?

She is leaving her domain to be plundered
Her skin, thin, like point-&-kill
The heat, the pepper and bread
Makes the world a lamb's place ahead

Where are you going again, Colour of Katsina?
Amaria and baa Amaria
The night is losing its dancesteps
We witness it, but we can only weep and lament