Those Days Poem by Tony Adah

I remember trekking
To our old primary school
That stands in the same place today
Its walls still the way they were
Earth bricks beaten by weather
I remember the assembly ground
Where our teeth and nails
Were inspected for personal hygiene
And the culprits whose buttock
Saw lashes of cane.

I remember the harmattan time
When we rubbed water
Instead of bathing with it
And the chiggers that deformed our toes
In the sand we frolicked
I remember stealing moi moi
From my mother's pot
And placing it on my head
Wearing my papa's cap.

I remember my
Hook, line and sinker
Dragged by a tillapia
That I pulled onshore
Panting like a mountain
Racer on Obudu ranch race
I remember my stuttering
Teacher teaching us
How to pronounce hipopotamus
Hip! Hip! ! Hip! ! !
And we ended up saying
Hurray!