A Ray Of Light, A Dog And A Couple Poem by Obed Akuma

A ray of light struggles through a pin hole on the ceiling less thatched roof
Casting a bright clear spot that betrays the rugged mud floor thereof
A green-bottle fly crosses the spot, changes its mind and circles it
As if looking for something valuable that got lost when on the cow’s dung
At the last revolve, it makes a tangent and off it goes only to hit a barrel chest
The buzzing of the fly had caught the attention of the lady who did not hear the streaking sound of the door
Her eyes registered a shadow of remorse
“So, he is here? ” her eyes seemed to inquire
From the chest her eyes moved up the stiff and stump-like neck to the long untrimmed, unkempt beard
She admired his dry lips for a second then the moustache
Then the eyes clicked, their eyes met
His eyes were moistened, like that of a wounded lion
Her gaze was more determined than then
He frowned
The fly sensing the frown flew off,
Then midway changed its mind came back and made a complete circle roundabout the barrel chest
Before perching on the door leaf

A dog runs in, sniffs at the man, stands on the hind legs and extends the fore- legs upwards
As if to greet the figure at the door with proper respect
Sensing it has been ignored; the dog retracts, wags the tail and barks off through the door ajar
The smell of burnt beans fills the aura; the lady turns sharply and makes for the cooking area
That was the only hope for the evening meal and now up in smoke it goes
“This man, this man, ” the lady curses
She looks up while in her bent position
A dropp falls on her lips
As the hand goes to wipe the lips, her eyes jerk upwards and more drops fall down
She saw it
It happened, he cried

It has been a long time since they ever ate together let alone talked
Where has he been? Her eyes betrayed her feelings
He put his finger at the center of her lips and helped her to straighten up
While holding her back by one hand he wiped off the tears that were running down wetting her round chicks
As if led by an unknown force they both looked at the bright spot on the floor
Followed the light upward and for a moment seemed to be looking at far beyond the thatched roof
Slowly he led her towards the ajar door; the fly flew off the door leaf
Her eyes resisting showing the warmed she felt, followed the fly
The dog came back running and wagged its tail in between the pair
And the trio walked on through the gate
The fly resumed its position on the cow dung on the way as her eyes now settled on the waiting crew
Arrayed in white robes
She gazed at him and he returned the gaze
A bright optimistic gaze
A sweet melody filled the air
As the crew sung a song of a new home
The pair were helped and carefully sat in the chariot’s cabin
A sweet scent filled the air

Then it hit the lady that he had gone to build a mansion for her
A magnificent home for her
Her heart was glad she waited
This is more worth than all the suffering she went through
Sure, it’s worth the suffering, the man said and drew closer to her
The dog at their side looked at them with blissful eyes
She closed her eyes and went to sleep with her head resting on his barrel chest
She was woken up by cheerful songs and what she saw could not be described in human language
“Your new home”, he uttered softly with a bright, broad grin, she just nodded tears of joy streaming down her chicks
Now and for eternity the pair will be together
And thus we will be with Christ