Appeasing The Owner Of The Pear Poem by *Tony Cemaluk Egbuonu

The children were busy all morning
picking the African pears he knocked down.

Nze lachaa otogbo odu ya —
a titled man forgets or drops his elephant tusk
because of the unique sweet taste.

Their duty was to gather and assemble the pears
in safe heaps, hoping for settlement
when the work was done.

He came down.
Separated the harvest into two:
the completely darkened,
and the not-yet-darkened with at least one spot.

From the undarkened portion
he began to share — two to each child.
He gave his son also.

But the son threw the pear at him, fuming:
'How would you give this to the owner of the pear tree? '

The man shouted, as understanding hit him.
He apologized.
Scooped a large quantity
from the completely darkened pears
and heaped it before his son.

It was never preferential treatment.
It was appeasement.