We Bleached Me Poem by Vincent Onyeche

Born in time when I seldom see the hazy heydays
My chest and calf are flattened and so lazy
I am not a shepherd to the calf who jogs after his mothers’ breast-milk
The times of farming against famine are no longer mine,
We bleached me.

My cowries, fur wrappers and painted faces had gone blinded
By the dust lost in the whirling wind
Once one steals a glance at my tough face
You see a great farmer, merchant and hunter
Not forgetting, we were born Kings
Like a sharp spinning hawk, I saw clearly from the sky
The palm-wine sharpened my wolfish-yellow naked eyes
I saw all including the unfriendly ghost
I feared; but, the chick also feared the hawk
Respect was reciprocal, we picked our roots
Never held the dumbbells
But I was muscular and strong
Everyday people, I had problems but could predict the pregnant cloud
Not educated, I thought as sharp as though
Enlighten I have become, we bleached me.

The tails by moonlight of such kind
Childhood and youth age were so keen
God’s finger touched us at due time
I saw joy in my children, friends and relatives
Not forgetting my many wives.