Grove Of The Death Poem by Tony Adah

Behind our backyard
Stood a fetish grove
Where my father poured libations
And incantations to an invisible god
In the grove were stones, earthen pots
And broken earthenwares
Here during new yam festival
My father squated
And spoke to the invisible deity.

He poured water
He smeared food
On the top of the stones
And spoke to the ancestors
With supplications, incantations
And libation for fecundity, bumper harvest
Triumph in warfare and hunting expeditions

He gave the ancestors food
He gave them drinks
For they showed us
Our way to the market, farm and hunting
And this grove
Is overgrown with weeds
And the deity
Have we forgotten?