The Evil Forest. Poem by Tony Adah

On the way to the village spring
Was an overgrown forest
Nobody had touched in my
Grandfather's life time.
It was rumoured that the forest kills

During the daytime
A great wind descended here
And the forest swallowed it
With a sound that frightened worshippers
The forest had three layers
And the tallest had a huge canopy
Followed by a lesser one
And the ground floor with ferns, mosses,
Lichens and giant millipes, centipedesetc
Which worshippers believed killed instantly.


At night the forest creaked with the sound of crickets
And its darkness was so thick
A hand could harness it
And it flickered with light from a million stars
There was also an unusual noise
Of a nearby stream whispering
To the pebbles that lined its bed
Women were specially bared
From this forest
And this was the mystery of the forest.