The Bashful Suitor Poem by Tony Adah

The Bashful Suitor



Three men came
Any of them could my
Spouse be,
A man not necessarily wealthy
But a sustainable land tenderer
Of our time,
Hardworking and reliable;
My father's prayer;
Not the slumberer who would
Drink and sleep and wake up
To beg.

Three men came
Nicely dressed and ready for me
All in one night with all
Our culture's demands, gourds
Of palm wine and kolanuts
Father's generosity offered fresh
Parboiled peanuts, a whole basketful
Relish of the lean season.

The bashful one
Ate as if his dentures ached
The pretenders folder his arms
Watching the dinner go on
The slyly one milled and left
Shells between the feet
Of the bashful one.

A flicker of oil lamp
Left their nostrils sooty
In that night of tricks
The morning ended the game
Father went to inspect their
Sitting positions and where a
Mountain of shells stood,
There I belonged
Good or bad.

Saturday, August 20, 2016
Topic(s) of this poem: marriage
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