Lights Poem by Alade Abayomi Idris

And darkness of the night came upon us
From where the light had kept it
Everywhere became blacky black
So black, we could not see our forms
Adults anathematized
Children cried for their fears had come upon them
The room became strange and mystic
Everyone stretched out their hands to feel the air
Like a group of blind men walking without walking-sticks
Colliding and jamming, pressing and trampling
Falling and stumbling, injuring and grimacing.

And darkness of the night came upon us
Its dolours stole our colours
Adults anathematized
Children cried cacophonously
Crescendoing as they fell and rose in the womb of darkness
Kerosene lamp had been played away with during their noon-play
This darkness, so dark, flogged the imps for their awful plays.

And darkness of the night came upon us
So strong and so dark
The blood of the lamp had been spilled
It was but a carcass on its stand
We reached for the windows, spread the thick curtains sideways
And the silvery moon smiled and said sorry
So loud the children stopped their cries
And adults nursed the wounds from their collisions
The little room became silvery like the silvery moon.