Lonely Girl Poem by Victor Okechukwu Anyaegbuna

From the street mourner’s dossier
I slipped through; trotting, hopping
but steadily cruising home;
till I came by a bewildered lonely girl,
bereaved and rejected of herself,
hungry for care; the heart that loves,
but hidden in her bosom;
sitting desolately on the pavement
of an empty car park,
head buried in her laps, sober, catarrhic...

I cautiously came by, and gently intoned..
Mildly caressing. It was all she needed;
and like a nervous old woman
she repulsed, but tacitly asked for more.
I played it on, consoling a mind that understands,
needy, meek, soothing and advising;
slowly bringing her along to my musical world
where all problems make me happy
some as they come others as they go
I, the constant.
I stared into her eager, albeit, innocent eyes;
they dipped; and she withdrew, mused
and returned once again to reality.

1984
Idi-Araba, Lagos.